- the picture on the right is extremely powerful and works well with your article title- maybe just use the one to place more emphasis on it? or arrange it in a way were the reader has to pay attention to it 

Homelessness. How do stereotypes affect our judgement on the way we perceive the homeless? Are they all really the same? 

Hernandez, Nancy

English 105

  When we are asked to give our opinions on what we think homeless people are really like, the first 

thing that comes to mind is all the stereotypes society has already perceived of them. They are nothing but liars, criminals, drug addicts, alcoholics, or they chose to be like that. When this is not the case! Many of us have these misconceptions of the homeless because of one bad experience, ignorance on the issue, or simply because society taught kids growing up that all these stereotypes are true.

-I can see this as a good place to create a follow up paragraph that details where those negative stereotypes come from (but in detail- examples) and the extent to which people are influenced by these ideas   
-the personal example you mention (I've moved it here) already is an example of how these stereotypes/realities are created- work off of this 
  Before i became aware of this serious issue, i also mistreated the homeless because of one bad experience and because of the stereotypes i was taught growing up. I went to go eat with my family one day and a homeless lady asked us for money. She was tall, blonde, had ripped clothes, and had dirt stains here and there. Since we just ate we spent all of our money and had only a little bit of change to give to her. She took the money and called us poor motherf@#$ers and left while still saying things. As we got in our car we saw the women cross the street and get into what seemed to be a brand new 2013 Bugatti. But before she got in she changed into nicer clothes and cleaned herself off before getting in the car. Me and my family were shocked seeing how she pretended to be poor and then drove off in an expensive cars, knowing an actual homeless person could've used the money she received. Because of that experience i saw all homeless people as liars and i chose to ignore them. But after becoming more aware of this issue, i know understand that this is not the case. not every homeless person is the same and they all deserve the same respect we give one another. Become more acknowledged of this issue and learn how you can help on changing this issue. Stand Up For Those Who Need Help Most.

  Because of the stereotypes listed above, the majority of the homeless are perceived as criminals and are treated as criminals. In the following article, "California Cities Band Together To Preserve Their Right To Treat Homeless People As Criminals,"Alan Pyke, it talks about discusses how law enforcement are targets those that are unsheltered and how many California towns have laws that criminalize the homeless activity. These limitations include where they chose to sleep on public areas, where they stand, or even asking for food in some towns.- I can see some more info on these laws here being helpful. What actual laws/legislation state these things, when were they placed on our city/state, and how do they in reality affect those who are homeless? How do the limitations that the homeless have to deal with here in California compare to other places- I mention this past point since you make the comparison to Canada further down.  


Why are these rights being taken away from the homeless? Because who they are or is it because how they choose to live in general? Not every homeless man is homeless because of drug addiction or something that would tie him in with being a criminal. Some are veterans of war and choose to be homeless. Who are we to mistreat those who have fought so hard for our country so we can keep our rights? Who are we to say they can't have the same rights as us just because they are homeless? How do we know who are veterans and who are not? The answer is we don't, but everyone deserves to be treated with the same respect as another. We are all humans, just because we might live different lives doesn't make us any different.
-I wonder if this section would work better as a follow up to your section detailing stereotypes? If you create that paragraph, this paragraph touches on some of the aspects I mentioned above- the extent to which we neglect the homeless due to how negative stereotypes and representations we have internalized

in the following video it shows how our society treats the homeless vs how Canada treats them:

- follow up about this video and why it is relevant to your overall article