The issue at hand is homelessness.
In many instances, an entire community is affected by
homelessness because of direct exposure to the homeless on a daily basis. Many families and individuals, are subjected
to homelessness due to a variety of reasons such as; poverty, lack of jobs,
mental illness, and substance abuse.
Unfortunately, lack of public resources forces the homeless community to
seek shelter in city neighborhoods, alley ways, and around business because of
the direct access to disposed food and goods.
Homelessness cannot be solved
over night, there are city resources that assist the homeless and attempt to
improve living situations for all. An
example of the resources is cleaning the streets, which is costly, to both
taxpayers and non-profit organizations.
In many cases, over night shelters, food shelters, educational
facilities, churches, and other community resources are set up to temporarily
assist those in need. When the community
has access to these resources, it not only assists those in need but also
provides a better quality of life for those subjected to the problem.
According to the Department of Human Assistance, there are
about 2,500 homeless in Sacramento California Sacramento
While the resources are there, one of the issues I have
noticed is the lack of publicity the organizations have to promote their
assistance programs. Considering that
private charities do not receive government assistance, they rely on donations
and volunteers in order to succeed.
Having volunteered with the homeless myself, I know it is a very
rewarding feeling and many are not aware of the ways they can help by simply
donating their time and spreading the word.
I have come to believe that it’s not necessarily
how great the resources are, but rather how many people can benefit from them
locally, state-wide and at a national level. In order to minimize homelessness
in the future, we need to understand the reasons why people become homeless and
help the issue whether it is substance abuse, mental illness, poverty, or even
being jobless.
Understanding the events and problems that lead to homelessness are important in preventing and helping those in need. I think it is great that you have been involved with the homeless and the programs and organizations should have as much publicity as possible.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the positive feedback. I hope to be more involved in assisting the homeless in the future. Unfortunately, there are multiple reason why people become homeless and it is hard to help every issue.
DeleteNowadays, you never know who is really homeless. There are people out there just scamming for money and posing as an imposter. With the idea that's possible that people do pose as an imposter makes it hard for me to donate sometimes. But you made a great point about homeless. Even though, there are many programs to help homeless, why do we still see them on the streets?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feedback. Yes, there are those who pose as being homeless in order to receive money and services. It has not prevented me from donating, but I do try to be cautious about who I donate to. We still see many people on the streets because not everyone is homeless for the same reason. Those who are unemployed to receive help in finding jobs, although those with a mental illness do not always receive the services in order to help their condition. Funding for the organizations is also an issue which affects the homeless themselves.
DeleteGreat information about the homeless issue. Especially in this economy, I think we start to see more and more homeless people asking for money at street lights. This is an issue that does effect the community and we can easily tell what neighborhoods are effected by it. What do you think about the Broken Window Theory? Do you think it is something that goes hand in hand with the homeless?
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting; I didn’t know that there was that many people that where homeless in Sacramento County yet along California. Many people overlook homelessness as a social issue but it is a problem that we are facing. We need to stop this and help them. There are many reasons why people become homeless but if we don’t have a way to help them we will never solve this problem of homelessness.
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