Homelessness

By megan Acri

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Who are the
homeless?
Chapter 2: How do people
become homeless?
Chapter 3: Are there
myths about the homeless?
Chapter 4: What ways can
we help?
Glossary/sources

Introduction
Imagine living on the street with it being
below zero degrees. Would you want to move
somewhere warm? Well, you couldn't have moved
because you don't have enough money to get
there. Think about all you have. Do the homeless
people even have a bed to sleep in at night? No.
They don't have anything to live on. No food,
nowhere to sleep, not a lot of clothing or even
hope. They would rather live somewhere warm with
a bed and have a good life. They are suffering.
Just remember when you go to sleep tonight,
remember that a lot of people are on the streets
shivering.

Chapter 1: Who are the homeless?

Many people judge the homeless and
don't even know who they actually are. They are
the same exact people as us but they live life a
little bit differently. The homeless people are
all a community and it is devastating to watch
the community drift away and fall apart. All
that they want is to live a happy life and we
have to help make their dreams come true. There
are certain points when you are homeless that
people don't want to live the harsh life any
more. Well, it's not fair that they don't want
to be on this earth, and all of us, living the
best days of our lives. I never think about how
lucky I am, but right now, writing this, I feel
like the luckiest and blessed girl in the world.
The homeless are the helpless.
Without the people's help in the world, all of
the homeless people would be dying. We give the
homeless shelters, food, and essentials we all
need in life. The world can be a two way street,
or an 100 way street. This means that either two
people could help the world, or 100 people
could. We all help in different ways to make our
world and society work. It is exactly like an
ecosystem. All of the animals contribute to
their world and ecosystem to make their own
world work. Although, some people who are
homeless live in their cars, campgrounds, or
where they are not easily found. About half of
the homeless population are African Americans.
If you were to break down the word homeless and
read the definition, it would be, "lacks a
fixed, regular, and adequate night-time
4

residence." Basically, the homeless are people

who do not have a place to stay at night or any
time in the day.
All of these states: Alaska,
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada,
Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington State, and
Washington D.C. have the highest population of
homelessness according to the National Alliance
of End Homelessness. One out of 50 American
children (or 1.5 million) are homeless each
year. People who are chronically homelesspeople
who suffer some kind of a disability: mental
illness, drug abuse, alcoholism, development
disability, or chronic physical illnessusually
get lots of help which makes it harder to live a
life where usually a lot of money is required.
Even veterans are homeless. They suffer from
post-traumatic stress disorder which is hearing
noises and hallucinating because the war is
stuck and implanted in the brain.
According to Stephanie Watson, 50%
of single men live homeless. 18% of single woman
live homeless throughout the world. There are
30% families with children, 2% unaccompanied
youths, 40% african americans, and 16% of
mentally ill people who live homeless. In the
world, 25% of people who are disabled, and 10%
of veterans are homeless. The veterans are
mostly homeless because of their post-traumatic
stress disorder or sometimes, they are very
badly brain damaged so they will soon run out of
money to take care of themselves. Sometimes,
when woman are forced to choose between domestic
violence or the streets, they choose the
5

streets. And when people are working and getting

paid minimum wage, they tend to lose their
houses quickly. All of these percentages are
just heartbreaking because a bunch of teenagers
choose to live homeless because they rather live
homeless than be in their own house.
When homelessness broke out in all
of the big cities,there was no going back to
change these things. The homeless people even
knew that they could never live their regular
lives again. Saying this, mainly when people are
homeless, it is incredibly hard to get a job,

find a house, and get more money. According to

The National Coalition for the Homeless, usually
when people become homeless, they stay homeless
for most of their lives. It is devastating to
watch the homeless live on the streets in the
brutal cold and not have any winter clothes.
Many homeless people should move to warmer
6

places. So, if you ask me who homeless people

are, I would say that they were the exact same
as us, but do not have a residence to stay in at
night.

Chapter 2: How do people become

Homeless?
Many people are homeless as a consequence
of not owning or having some sort of living
space. The homeless learn how to survive and do
understand that for the rest of their lives,
they will be living on the streets. Many kids
are dying each year because they are homeless.
About 5,000 kids are dying each year because
they were harshly treated on the streets.
When someone becomes homeless, there are
three types of homelessness. Chronic
homelessness is where the homeless are likely to
stay in a shelter for a longer period of time
instead of an emergency arrangement.
Transitional homelessness is a short period of
time in the shelters. The people who are
transitional homeless are usually younger, and
leave after a very short time in the shelters.
This is where people shuffle in and out of
homelessness unexpectedly. The episodic homeless
people are usually younger, most likely
unemployed, and usually suffer from mental
illness, medical illnesses, and substance abuse
problems.
When people become homeless, they tend to
ask for money and beg. They are desperate so
they ask and ask until they have had enough.
They survive on the money given to them but it
is the smallest amount that they cannot have a
lot of food in their lives. A sleeping bag in
needed when people are homeless because they can
sleep in it and it keeps them warm. Usually, the
homeless people I see have either backpacks or
8

carts to keep all of their stuff in. It helps a

lot so that they don't have to carry that much.
They also always need toiletries because then
they can brush their teeth and just keep clean.
The homeless people definitely need clothes to
wear so that they don't wear the same thing
everyday. In the winter, it is freezing cold out
so they need hats, gloves, scarves, or even face
masks so that they don't get frostbite or
hypothermia. The homeless also need boots or
shoes to walk through the snow, water, and keep
their feet warm. Bags are needed on the streets
to. It could be a raincoat, a bag to keep all of
your things, or a place to lay things on so that
they don't get wet.
In the end, homeless people know how to
survive, get money, and live on the money they
have. They also become homeless from tragedies
or maybe not, so they have experience on how to
live on the streets with grieving inside them.
They know how to be themselves when they are
embarrassed. Even though it is terrifying that
people have to serve the consequence of living
on the streets because they don't have a place
to live, they still are people that are exactly
like us. And, I am very grateful for what I have
and want to help them as much as I can.

10

Chapter 3: Myths
Many people assume a lot of things about
the homeless. They assume that they sleep on the
streets and they have no money. People
generally, judge the homeless based on how they
look or act. There is a point in life where no
one wants to be judged or looked at a different
way than everyone else. That is why no one
deserves to live on the streets.

1. Homeless people all live on the streets or

sleep in shelters.
Some homeless people sleep in their cars.
But after they have been homeless for a while,
they can't afford to pay it off. They are
allowed to park their cars in some spaces, free
of charge, and free of people. And sometimes,
people sleep on benches or find some place not
totally on the streets, to sleep.

2. Homelessness is always related to mental

illness and/or substance abuse.
Homelessness is more than a lack of
shelter. Those living in RV's, vans and cars
are likely doing so because of economic
hardship." said Mark Horvath. Sometimes, people
are just homeless because of a divorce, losing a
job, getting evicted and lots of other reasons.
There are many ways to become homeless and
definitely, mental illness or some sort of
substance abuse is not the only way to become
homeless.

11

3. Homeless individuals are fine with being

homeless.
Accepting that you are homeless is a pretty
hard pill to swallow. People seem to be
embarrassed, and not fond of their living
choices and their past choices. Sometimes,
people are even stressed and desperate. The
people that are outside, begging for money, they
are the ones who do not want to be living their
lives on the streets and barely getting by life.

4. They don't take care of themselves.

Joining a gym gives the homeless a place to
shower and to stay clean. But one of the biggest
concerns of the homeless is staying safe. Public
libraries provide warmth in the winter, and air
conditioning in the summer, and free public
bathrooms all year long. Homeless children use
public libraries and their free computers to do
homework. Libraries also provide free programs
for both children and adults.

5. They only want money and food.

"There's something about a brand new pair
of clean socks that when you put them on, you
feel better." The point is that the homeless
don't necessarily want anything, but I think
that they want things that make them feel good.
They do not even get a lot of anything because
they cannot afford it. So when they get
something special from a person, it shows that
they want to feel like they are known and that
they do take place in the world.

12

6. Humans are the only ones who need help.

Pets often live with homeless people and
they need help too. Between 5% to 10% of the
homeless people have cats or dogs as pets. In
some areas, that number is as thigh as 24%.
There is always someone or something to help on
the streets. They just want to live a normal
life and not suffering while doing that.

7. They don't use the internet.

Free wifi is one of the few things
available to the homeless. Every homeless person
that talked to Anne Brenoff from The Huffington
Post, had a cell phone or a tablet. From their
phones, they can gain online access and apply
for jobs, find out about information about where
they can park, and stay in touch with contacts
through text, call or email. Libraries also
generally offer free wifi.

13

Chapter 4: Ways we can help

Many people ask themselves, "how do we help
the homeless live better lives?" We all can help
in many different ways but we never stop and
think about the people who don't have as much as
we do. The homeless people who are living on the
streets right now, are desperate and want to
live the lives that they did have at one point
in their lives. I have always wanted to help and
now, I can make a difference in life and help to
give homeless people a second chance at life.
According to Just Give, a nonprofit
organization, one way to help the homeless is to
understand who the homeless are. They just want
to have people think of them as normal people.
Also, you can help the homeless by spreading
kindness across the whole town so that the
people living on the streets, can feel a little
bit of the joy inside them.
The one way that people need to think about
and act about is understanding the homeless.
This just means to put your feet in their shoes
and have empathy for what they are going
through. Listen to why they are homeless and
what their thoughts are. Understanding people
for who they are, makes people feel good and
gives them a chance to find out who they truly
are. It just shows how people act toward others
and I always hope, that everyone wants to meet
new people and be kind. The homeless deserve the
exact same respect, and there has to be a change
in life of how people treat one another.
Another thing that the homeless appreciate

14

is to volunteer and dedicate your time to the

homeless. Volunteering in soup kitchens,
shelters, volunteering your hobbies, your
professional services, and even simple programs
will help the homeless. Anything to volunteer
for, would help a bunch of the homeless. Just
for the homeless to know that we are at least
trying to help, makes them feel good and not
totally unknown. Now, that all of the homeless
are living on the streets in the ice cold, they
will need as much care as they can get. Many of
them will get the care they need, with the whole
worlds help. We can make a difference.
Lastly, donating objects such as clothes,
money, food, or even toys. These things just
help make the homeless feel better and respect
everyone in the world for helping them. If there
was a homeless woman sitting on the streets with
her kids begging, what would you do? Give money
or say sorry and that you don't have anything
for them? Would you pass them or choose kind and
offer something? The nicest possible thing to do
is to give your time or donate an object for
them to keep in memory of you. I would want them
to remember me and have good thoughts about me.
I want them to live their life better and soon.
All good wishes to them.
In the end, hopefully the world soon
realizes that the homeless deserve to get the
things that we have. The homeless have been
through so much that there should be no more
struggling or suffering. They should start fresh
in a new life. It's not fair for them to be
freezing outside in the winter cold when
everyone else is in a warm building. Now, when
the world is changing, I hope that the homeless
15

get back on their feet and start their new life

all over again.

16

Conclusion
What are homeless people asking for?
Here are a few:
Money
Clothing (socks)
Hope
Food
Just a little love
And there are many more.
Homeless people are the same exact people as
you. They are human beings.
And that's why you should try to help the
homeless and volunteer your time or your efforts
to help make the homeless live a better life.
If you want to find out what else you can do for
the homeless, go to:
https://www.justgive.org/donations/helphomeless.jsp

17

Glossary
Chronic homelessness: a homelessness where the
homeless are likely supposed to stay in a
shelter for a longer period of time instead of
an emergency arrangement.
Domestic violence: violent or aggressive
behavior within the home, typically involving
the violent abuse of a spouse or partner.
Episodic homelessness: is a homelessness where
the people are usually suffering from mental
illness, or something like a substance abuse
issue.
Minimum wage: the lowest wage permitted by law
or by special agreement (such as one with a
labor union).
Post-traumatic stress: is a condition of
persistent mental and emotional stress occurring
as a result of injury or severe psychological
shock.
Substance abuse: over indulgence in or
dependence on an addictive substance, especially
alcohol or drugs.
Transitional homelessness: a homelessness where
the people don't stay in the shelter for a long
period of time.

18

Sources
huffingtonpost.com
National Coalition for the Homeless
Stephanie Watson
howstuffworks.com
think progress.org
https://www.justgive.org/donations/helphomeless.jsp

19