How do personal problems intertwine with public issues?
In this paper I am going to talk about how personal problems intertwine with public issues. The example I am going to use is homelessness. I am going to talk about all the different types of homelessness, the causes of homelessness, and also examples of homelessness I see around me every day. I will also talk about my personal experiences in this subject I have dealt with in my own life.
For many years now homelessness has been an issue not only in the United States, but around the world. No matter if you are living on the streets, in a shelter, or even in assisted housing of some kind, it is defined as being homeless. According to Jeanty (1999), “The National Coalition for the homeless showed a population of 30,000 to 7,000,000 homeless people in the United States as of 1995”. The reasons for becoming homeless vary from working low wage jobs, not being able to receive public assistance, and even having mental health issues. But the real main issue that causes a person to be homeless mostly is poverty. According to Jeaty(1999), there are also theories that say that personal problems cause homelessness such as: not wanting to work, excessive substance abuse, and poor money management skills. Also growing up many could have been struggling all there life and they don’t know any other way to live, but in the low income branch of living. Many may be uneducated where they can’t get a great job to support their family and also be able to have a roof over their head. So therefore they live in a shelter, on the streets, or if they are lucky like I stated earlier they may find some kind of assisted housing in the town they live in. if you are a veteran of the military there is programs through the veteran affairs which they provide housing for you or your family to live in. But along with the housing the VA provides counseling to get you and your family back on your feet. They assist you in job searches and how to get you back living on your own.
The Essay on Poverty And Homelessness "Homeless To Harvard"
After watching the film, Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story, I realized that if you try, you can do whatever you put your mind to. I believe that although the movie was sad it was very inspiring. Liz Murray was the product of a bad environment. Her parents were drug addicts and she felt like she single handedly had to hold her family together. She decided she was better off at home taking ...
University of Richmond (2003) statistics show that in 1996 many homeless people went without food for parts of a month. These people also faced deprivation and constant threat of harm. Many homeless people end up in jail for theft or trespassing, because they have no place to go or they are so hungry they will do anything to get some food to eat. It is said in that 60 % of single men make up the homeless population; about seventy percent of the population lives in central cities. One-fourth of the homeless have been homeless for over five years. (University of Richmond,2003).
Jeanty (1999) states that: The different types of homelessness are put into three different categories: Transitional, which is those people who only been homeless one time for under 59 days. Episodic is those people who have been homeless four or five times for less than 266 days. Chronic is those who have been homeless at least two times for up to 650 days total.
How to prevent these people from being homeless is by providing low cost housing, cheap health care, mental health for those in need, educational opportunities, and also more job openings. They say that there is little money to provide for these things, but if you really look at it, if they were to provide these assistance we would have less problems in communities. For example, if they were to give more assistance there would be less going to jail or even prison. Many criminals get out of jail or prison looking for new opportunities in life and can’t find them. A lot of these former inmates live in shelters when they get out and go out looking for jobs. Many of these criminals can’t get the high paying jobs they need to survive and many run out of time staying at the shelters. Therefore these criminals do what they are good at and that is committing
The Business plan on Homelessness: Poverty and Homeless People
... place of residence. Homelessness affects hundreds of thousands of people today. Many people make the incorrect generalization that those who are homeless ... (p.3). Nobody wants to stay outside in bad weather but most homeless people are staying in dangerously cold weather, ... resources, and time. Therefore, we should provide funds, drugs, technologies and human resources to homeless people. We shouldn’t ...
crimes. They then end up back in prison or jail as a result. I believe if there were more opportunities for success we would spend less money on the prison system which could be used for other things.
As for my time in Flagstaff, Arizona I have seen many homeless people come and go from this area, many come from Phoenix area during the summertime to escape the heat. I myself am a former Navy veteran of 10 years. I have gone through many problems as a result which caused my wife and I to separate seven months ago. Therefore I came to flagstaff where I stayed at a shelter called Rescue mission. While at this shelter I met many people from all over the United States that had either came to Flagstaff to visit or got stranded or they just got out of jail. I had never been in a place like this before, so it was all new to me. Many of these people had very little and would beg for money during the day for things they wanted. I didn’t let myself stay in this place very long, I wanting to be productive went and found resources to get back on my feet. I went to veteran affairs here in flagstaff where I found out about a program they had for veterans called VASH. While I was waiting for this to all go through I also then stayed at another place that a former marine had organized called vets serving vets. While staying here I met several veterans from all branches who were homeless. Many of these vets were living in the forest for long periods of time, but due to the drought they were forced to leave to prevent fires. My time finally came were I received my housing and I moved into a beautiful one bedroom apartment where I currently live and will live till I can get where I am able to have my own place. This program is helping me look for employment and also provides counseling to get me adjusted to living normally again.
In conclusion, there are many homeless people around the world in today’s society. Many of these homeless people can be off the streets and living normal lives again if the government just provides the funding and opportunities for the people. Many people think that people just chose to be homeless, but that is not the case. Many people have no choice sometimes because they can’t receive the benefits they need to survive. Therefore from what I have heard the military in trying to get rid of vets being homeless by 2015 by providing more housing for the vets and other programs.
The Essay on Homelessness Poor People Homeless
Homelessness Homelessness as an issue in today's society is largely ignored. To many, the problem of homelessness is invisible or barely noticed. When these people do see the homeless it is found in the form of beggars who need to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" or mentally ill people who "just can't help themselves." In either case the central point remains; the homeless must be people ...
Resources
1. Jacquelyn Jeanty, 1999
What are the leading causes of homelessness?
http://www.ehow.com/about_4587661_what-leading-causes-homelessness.html
2. University of Ricmond, 2003
Preventing homelessness in America
http://www.solutionsforamerica.org/thrivingneigh/homelessness.html
