Thursday, February 9, 2012

Homeless


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.  In the state of California, there are approximately 135,000 homeless people.  There are private charities and organizations in Sacramento and throughout the state, which contribute to help and assist the homeless.  The organizations provide services such as: feeding the hungry, counseling, educational help, and a place to sleep.  The homeless benefit from the services, although no one benefits from people being homeless.     

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.