According to dictionary.com, the word homeless means "without a home; persons who lack permanent housing." Yes, that may be the simple and more direct definition of the word homeless, but is that truly the real meaning. There is so much more to being homeless than just not having permanent housing. To me, being homeless has a lot more to do with other things other than not being able to go home everyday because you do not have one. Being homeless means not knowing if you're going to be able to eat at least one meal a day. Being homeless means not knowing who is watching you at any time of the day. Being homeless is not having anyone in your life that really cares about your well-being. Being homeless is also having to move around from shelter to shelter on weekly and even daily basis.
People judge the homeless for being in the state of living that they are in. I myself, in the past, have said that homeless people should just stop being lazy and get a job. The matter of the fact is, that is a narrow minded way of thinking. People become homeless for many different reasons, and no one wakes up and says to themselves, "ok I want to be homeless today." Many of us have a lot of people that care about us and would never allow us to become homeless. But, there are a lot of people who are not as fortunate as some of us. Not everyone has a family that loves them. Not everyone has the same benefits that many of us do. Some people are put in difficult financial situations where they just cannot afford to take care of their kids, let alone pay for a place to live in. Sometimes it is difficult for people to find a steady job because of their lack of education or any other reason. Before we judge the homeless, we must first place ourselves in their position and try to walk a mile in their shoes. Like I said before, no one wants to be homeless. Many times it is something that people have no control over.
I feel that society doesn’t really understand what it is to be homeless. A homeless person is often stereotyped as being a drug addict. Well, not all homeless people are drug addicts. Like you said, they simply cannot afford to live in a house for whatever reason. I feel that society can do so much to prevent homelessness but no one cares enough to do anything. Our world has become so greedy and people have become so adapted to putting themselves before anyone else that our homeless people in the world have been put on the back burner of faith. The main reason why this is happening is because our economy has been; well, not so well, in the past year. People have been lost their jobs due to poor business factors. Not everyone who lost their job is homeless. It is mainly the people who were barely making their budget and couldn’t afford to maintain their families. This is why many people in the past year have become homeless.
ReplyDeleteHomeless people go through alot in their lives. I agree with what Roy said, you cannot judge a homeless person and say that they are just lazy and that is why they arent doing anything with their lives. You never know exactly what happened to them in order for them to be in that position. At least everyone once in their lifetime should try and reach out to help the homeless people. Homeless people usually have no one to love them, and take care of them. Everyone knows that is the worse feeling to feel alone and no one to look out for you. Homeless people have to worry about making sure they make it to the next day. They need to worry about if they will have clothes for the next day, food for the next day, and a roof to live under for a couple more days. Reading posts like these make you more aware of a homeless persons everyday life, and makes you appreciate your own, and what you have.
ReplyDeleteI feel that people should treat others the way they want to be treated. No one wants to feel alone or neglected by anyone. So why ignore a homeless person when you see them, when in return you would want them to acknowledge you. People should give a helping hand to the homeless because in reality the ones who aren’t homeless have no idea how difficult the homeless people have it. I hate it when people say, the homeless people asked for that to happen upon them. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would choose to be homeless. Things just happen. And when times get rough sometimes the one thing that people need is supporting people right by their side to bring them back up again. I feel that there should be an organization for the homeless so that when times get rough they have somewhere to turn to for help and that way the institute can search for opportunities for them to bring them back on their feet.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about this post Roy. On one note i understand what your saying how its their fault that they are homeless. But, there are always things that can be done to prevent someone of getting to that point. Just like there are ways of people helping themselves get out of being homeless. It all depends on the person and their ability to think outside the box. If someone finds themselves with alot of debt and money issues, that is when they need to go get help to accomidate their fiances before its too late. Once someone choses to ignore their debt, they just end up digging themselves deeper and deeper into debt to the point where they lose everything. Just like if someone is already homeless they can go to the shelter homes, or soup kitchens. Once they are there they could network with the people there to find a way out of their situation.
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