Homelessness in America: Why Should We Help the Homeless?

Homelessness in America: Why should we help the homeless? 

 Anabel Ortega

     We are used to seeing homeless people in our everyday lives, but how often do we stop and think of ways we can help them?  Most of us just stroll awkwardly by them and some of us don't even notice them at all.  In either case we don't take the time to help them; we don't give them money or food.  This is the problem with our society today--we are becoming highly desensitized to the major issues going on around us. We don't worry for those who are less fortunate than us and the issues that plague them.  The homeless need our help, many people complain about them, but they are not going anywhere any time soon if we don't find ways to aid them.

   

     There has been a sharp increase in homelessness due to the United States' damaged economy.  In 2010 there were approximately 407,966 homeless people that number increased to about 640,000 homeless people in 2012.  According to the Jan.17 2012 article on endhomelessness.org, this number represents just the people that have been in shelters.  This means there are actually about 1 million homeless people in the U.S., when you count all the people that haven't been in a shelter.  The U.S.' economy is bad, that is why there is a high unemployment rate.  When people lose their jobs and can't get any form of income they struggle to pay their mortgage, and when people can't pay their mortgage they lose their homes.  There are thousands upon thousands of homeless people in the U.S.; most of these homeless people don't live in homeless shelters because there aren't enough shelters in America for them. There are currently only 2332 homeless shelters in America, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless organization.  This number is decreasing since these organizations don't have enough money to keep their programs running.  2332 homeless shelters are not enough to house almost 1 million homeless people. Some have argued that we should solve the homelessness problem in America by having more government funding towards homeless programs. Other news articles have argued that homeless people should not receive help from the taxpayers; they claim that the homeless brought this bad luck upon themselves and that it is not their responsibility to help them. 

   

     This argument is illogical, and it is tragic that some people actually think like this.  It's like arguing we shouldn't give aid to those who are injured because it is their fault they got hurt.  We shouldn't blame the homeless for their current condition.  Sure--some of them may have come to their current state of homelessness because of drugs or alcohol, but this is not always the case.  Even if they did, it is not our place to judge.  We don't know what may have led them to turn to drugs and alcohol, so unless we know these people personally we shouldn't judge them.  

     Sadly, there are many major cities in the United States that don't offer a lot of help to the homeless instead they criminalize them.  For example, San Francisco has a "Sit-Lie Ordinance" which prohibits people from sitting, laying, camping, sleeping, and begging for money in public places.  Los Angeles has a similar rule as well.  People who break this rule are fined or sent to jail.  This is completely ridiculous; most homeless people do not have another choice but to sleep on the streets, and they certainly don't have the money to pay their fines.  Cities shouldn't punish them for that. In Baltimore, Maryland the homeless population is decreasing due to their 10 year plan to end homelessness.  Their plan consists of creating more affordable housing and healthcare.  This 10 year plan to end homelessness will also create more programs for the homeless and more services for those who are at risk of becoming homeless.  If Maryland can help their homeless population, than there is no reason why cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles-whose homeless population is increasing because they don't focus on those people's needs- can't do the same.  People need to realize that helping out the homeless will eventually benefit them too, even if taxes need to increase to do so.  

     Editorials such as Jason Williams' the Aug. 5th editorial on SeattleTimes.com have argued that we shouldn't give money to the homeless because they will most likely use it for drugs or alcohol.  This is partially correct; a PBS article from June 2010 cited that 38% of homeless people in shelters report alcohol use problems, and 26% report drug use problems.  These figures do give the impression that if we give money to a homeless person chances are they are not using it for something good. 

     However, this does not mean our kind acts and efforts to help the homeless will be gone to waste.  If the government and people in our society really push to improve homeless programs then we can make a change.  According to the PBS article mentioned above, 39% of homeless people report mental health problems and 46% report chronic health conditions.  This proves that we need to create better homeless programs and shelters because in doing so we will be saving the lives of many people.  Homeless people can't access health care easily, so it is our job to help them.  If new homeless shelters and programs are created then we are giving these people a chance to rehabilitate themselves.  When they do get better they can become useful members of society.  By helping the homeless we are making our society better as well because we are taking mentally ill people off the streets, and we're giving them proper care; so that they can get better.   Those who argue that we shouldn't help the homeless because they are criminals should also be in favor of improved homeless programs.  If these new programs are done well then they will be an effective way to take homeless people who are criminals off the street.  In doing so we will be creating a safer society and we will be giving these people a second chance to have a better life for themselves.

   

     Even if some of us can't donate much money to homeless programs we can donate our time.  Homeless people don't get enough help or attention in homeless shelters because there aren't many people working there.  By volunteering our time in shelters we are making the lives of these people better.  For those who can donate money, do it.  It is a matter of having morals above anything else. It's the right thing to do. When we see someone who needs help it should be an instinct to want to be able to aid them.  Imagine if more people thought this way; we could really make a change.  If we take this matter more seriously, and we press our communities to take it more seriously as well, homelessness could one day be non-existent