Travis Luce
Amanda Reyes
English 105
September 17, 2015
California is a beautiful state just on the beach (on the beach?) of the even more extravagant Pacific Ocean. California itself is full of extraordinary scenery, historical landmarks, and most of all, homeless people. In 2014 alone California accounted for the most homeless people in the entire country, coming in at a whopping 113,952 homeless people (source?).
When people see these numbers they assume that the homeless people get caught up with either drugs, alcohol, or simply have a mental illness. Unfortunately that is not the case with a vast majority of the homeless population and it is unfair to judge them as such. Some homeless people prefer to not have a home at all and are more comfortable on the street or in a shelter.
-I'm separating this out because here you are starting to get into negative stereotypes and the effect they have on people. I think this can be developed into its own section where you take some time to discuss where these negative representations come from, how they stick around, and to what extent they effect us
-then you can transition into the next sections where you have clear examples of how the negative stereotypes are not always the case: reason #1 loss of jobs, divorce, etc. reason #2- personal experience & story of Roger
-reasons why people become homeless that challenge negative stereotypes
Each homeless person's situation may vary and often it is not because they are addicted to drugs, abuse alcohol, or have a mental illness that caused them to end up where they are.
Homelessness is unpredictable, it can come on at the worst of times and effect someone's entire livelihood. A loss of a job, a divorce, or even health issues bring on the sad but true realities of losing your home. As of 2014 California has seen the second largest decrease in homeless population, falling 3.9% or 4,600 people. While in prior years, going all the way back to 2007, that number was even larger at 18% or 25,034. Furthermore in 2014, it was reported that 23% or 135,701 of the total 578,424 homeless people in the U.S were under the age of 18. It puts a stark realization of whom the homeless truly are and how it affects family's.
-example of someone who challenges negative stereotypes
I seem to recall a time where I met a young man, no older than 20 at the time drawing something in front of a Rite Aid pharmacy as I was on my way home from school. He had a sign next to him saying "Smile! Its a new day!". It was not uncommon to see panhandlers in front of the pharmacy from time to time with a sign saying they needed money for booze, drugs or their "family", I thought nothing of the man or his sign and continued walking without even so much as looking at him when suddenly he looked up from his drawing and said "Hey, brotha-man! You have a great day!". I was taken back from what he had said, I was expecting him to say something along the lines of; "..Spare some change?". Being taken back from his positivity I actually stopped walking and looked down, smiled, and said, "You too man.". For a couple weeks I continued to see this young man in front of Rite Aid, always drawing, with a smile on his face. He greeted everyone that walked by and tried to treat everyone with the same positivity that he had showed me. After a couple weeks of this going on I finally decided to go into a store and buy him a gallon of water and a sandwich. I sat down next to him and asked "Why are you always so positive if you're in a bad situation?" and he replied "Because I know whats it like to be down on your luck like I am now, and I know that being negative isn't going to do anything for me. Being positive and honest will.". Roger never did drugs, abused alcohol or was even mentally ill at all, he was just a young guy down his luck for a while and was hoping to get back on his feet soon.
Policies have come to fruition supporting the homeless people of the U.S. On August 6th, 2015, "The U.S Justice Department urged a federal judge to block enforcement of Boise, Idaho, city ordinances making it a crime to sleep in public places when homeless shelter space is unavailable.", a huge step in making moves to help the homeless population. Funding is coming through slowly as well, "On Dec 11. and 13 respectively, the House and Senate passed a combination of an omnibus funding bill and a continuing resolution for fiscal year (FY) 2015 funding. The bill funds the Department of Homeland Security through the end of February 2015 and funds all other federal operations, including homeless assistance and affordable housing programs, through the remainder of the federal fiscal year to Sept. 30, 2015. This legislation was signed into law on Tuesday, December 16.". - long quote- can you paraphrase?
The homeless in California are a large portion of a much larger problem in America and the negative stereotypes that are enforced are unfair. Addiction and alcohol abuse are widely considered the cause of homelessness. That remains largely untrue, addiction can come in many different forms for Americans and can substance abuse can manifest itself when it pleases. The most significant difference between the homeless and people whom own a home are that their are different forms of support for people who begin to lose their home and if that is not taken advantage of then you end up with nothing. Many people who own their home and are beginning to slip are only steps away from the people they step over everyday on their way to work.
Work cited
http://www.endhomelessness.org
http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/federal_homelessness_appropriations
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-brief-address-criminalization-homelessness
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/department-justice-argues-against-criminalizing-homeless-people-n405391
https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2014-AHAR-Part1.pdf
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