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Paea Sotele
Professor Jerri A. Harwell
ENGL 2010-055 (Position/Proposal)
17 November 2015
Giving Hope to Those Experiencing Homelessness
On any given night there could be over 600,000 people experiencing homelessness across
America. (Annual homeless assessment) Homelessness as defined in Webster dictionary simply
states, having no place to live. (Webster) In other words, homelessness is sleeping outside or in
shelters or when a family or individual lacks permanent housing. I know for certain that we have
all experienced in one form or another, examples of homelessness. Those experiences vary for
example, it could be from driving home from work one day and someone on the side of the road
asks for spare change, to maybe even seeing people sleeping on sidewalks or camped out in front
of different buildings to even experiencing being homeless first hand. Even with all of these
experiences I would say more than often we
have those thoughts that come to our mind
like, go get a job, we are all struggling!
There maybe even times where we might
wonder, how did you get into that situation?
But more sympathetically and most important
Figure 1 Seeking Human Kindness

to us we should really be asking, how can I be

of help to you?
There are many ways in which we could be of help to those who are experiencing
homelessness. In order to help the homeless and less the fortunate I hope to share some facts and

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ideas of how that could be done. In order to be of help we can first know the factors that
contribute to homelessness, second understand and determine the relation between being poor
and homeless and finally knowing and understanding resources in which we could help those
experiencing homeless seek for help. I hope by knowing and understanding these things we will
be better able to understand the constant need that our society needs in order to make a difference
in the lives of these people.

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Let us begin by first
understanding the factors that
contribute to homelessness. The
highest cause of homelessness
according to these statistics show
that it is the loss of job/income
and

the

homelessness

least
is

cause
from

to

natural

disaster. There are many other

Figure 2 Factors to Homelessness

include poverty, divorce, mental health and etc. Though these causes of homelessness vary the
actual effects and factors are different contributors to the cause. An example of becoming
homeless can be by losing your family home do to the loss of a job. Not only does the loss of the
job cause homelessness, but also losing the family home which can result in a divorce. Divorce
costs and the associated lowering of familys total income can cause one or more family
members to become homeless (HomeAid). From this example we can see that there are not only
social problems affecting homelessness but also economic issues that could affect anyone of us
at any time. In recognizing homelessness from that example and many others we can understand
that there is a cycle that leads to becoming homeless or actually experiencing homelessness.
Homelessness in fact is caused by tragic life occurrences like the loss of loved ones, job
loss, domestic violence, and divorce and family disputes. Other impairments such as depression,
untreated mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, and physical disabilities are also
responsible for a large portion of the homeless. Acknowledging these can help facilitate the end

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of homelessness in America (HomeAid). As we could see also from these examples that
homelessness can affect us all anytime anywhere. More importantly from these experiences let
us remember how much society needs us in order to make a change in the lives of the homeless
community.

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Understanding homelessness and its causes allows us to better recognize the distinction
between being homeless and poor. Other than loss of job or income there are some questions that
may arise to why people are lead to experience homelessness. Let us however answer the
question, how did you get into that situation as stated previously. While trying to determine the
difference between homelessness and being poor let
us take in to perspective these words. Homelessness
is more than being poor and without a home;
homelessness is a condition of disengagement form
ordinary society- from family, friends, neighborhood,
Figure 3 Connect Lives
church, and community (Baum). On first-hand account a homeless man once shared his
experience of homelessness and said, The first time, I felt like this is not me. I felt less than a
man (Baum). Can you imagine that? Feeling less than what you see looking back at you in the
mirror. I know that it would be really hard to imagine that feeling and experiencing those
thoughts. Though I feel fortunate enough to never have experienced homelessness Ive had
friends and people Ive met who were homeless and can relate to those thoughts. Though we may
not relate to those thoughts there will still be many of us who will still look at homeless people
on the side of the road as an object taking space on the road. Becoming homeless may affects
so much of our thoughts that we could only imagine experiencing it on a personal level. Its very
humbling for me causing me to want to recondition my thinking from having those thoughts of,
go get a job! To how can I be of help for you today, when seeing homeless people?
Homelessness means being disconnected from all the support systems that usually
provide help in times of crisis; it means being without structure; it means being alone (Baum). It
is human nature to seek for assistance in times of need. It makes people who care to help people

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in need think who do the homeless turn to in time of need? All people need assistance whether
they think they do or not at one point or another people need assistance even people who are not
willing to help the homeless. Ive often wondered why I get an awkward feeling or maybe even
laugh or even experience being afraid when seeing homeless people on the streets or being
approached by one. The answer to that is that they are also experiencing the same exact thoughts
and feelings. Being homeless gives them the opportunity to seek for help that maybe sometimes
or more than often we are to prideful to ask for. Its very unfortunate for people to experience
homelessness where a person no longer has any relationships. What is the resolution to having
negative kind of thinking towards people experiencing homelessness? By having this
background information of causes of homelessness how can we help these people? How will you
help these people? What does society, government, and individuals have to offer? And finally ask
yourself what is it that the homeless seek?
By understanding the causes of homelessness as previously stated we are better able to
recognize and determine ways in which to help homelessness as a whole whether it is in our
individual communities to actual whole government issued plans, there is a solution! We often
link homelessness and all those who are homeless to mental health issues. We also may assume
that an individual who is asking for money on the side of the road needs it to buy drugs or
alcohol. Rather than thinking of that, have we asked how we could help them other than giving
them money? Individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders are
among the most difficult groups to put in stable housing and treat. This is due to the limited
availability of integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment in most locations (National
Mental Health 2006). What is holding back our local government in establishing these
institutions that help the mentally ill who are homeless? These people cannot be reintroduced to

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normal lifestyle living without our help. Even if homeless individuals with mental illnesses are
provided with housing, they are unlikely to achieve residential stability and remain off the streets
unless they have access to continued treatment and services. Research has shown that supported
housing is effective for people with mental illness. (National Mental Health Association 2006)
Once again homeless people with mental illness need our help. And if we were to ask the
mentally ill what caused them to become homeless we will see once again that there is a cycle.
In order to break the cycle that is consistent with the mentally ill remaining homeless
there are programs that need to be advertised to the public. If homeless programs were advertised
to the public, the public would better be able
to help those who are homeless. Not only that,
but the public would be able to know
resources in which we could refer the
homeless to get help. In an example given
from the city of Portland, Oregon in the early
90s there was a local program created called
the city assistant program. There were
different aspects which had to be taken into
consideration when creating this program.

Figure 4 Mental Illness and Homelessness

Some things that had to be implemented in this program were to have a lot of enthusiasm, and
learning how to collaborate closely with nonprofit organizations and governmental programs.
The close relationship amongst the different programs allowed each program to use their
resources and ideas into creating an environment to help the homeless community.

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The steps included into promoting this program and to hopefully sharing it with the
nation with the purpose of helping the homeless community would first be to understand that
there are resources available to the homeless. Where are these resources found? They can be
found by advertised programs either televised, or shown through the newspapers, radios, or
billboards. The knowledge of knowing that there are resources for the homeless to get help will
allow us or the general public to learn and recognize the need that the homeless people need.
After knowing that there are resources and hopefully with the community getting involved in
wanting to serve the homeless people there needs to be an active and aggressive outreach.
An aggressive outreach program includes having a desire to help the homeless
and helping clear the streets of homelessness. As simple as it may sound that would not be the
case because there will be many who would oppose the help being provided. A way in which
would help create an environment for those who are not seeking help is to create non-threatening
environment. The non-threatening environment allows homeless especially mentally ill and
substance abuse homeless the opportunity to gain trust people from volunteers and helpers
willing to help. A man I knew by the name of Richards said, Whats hard about being homeless
is that it is hard to gain trust with anyone because were tired of being let down and compared to
those are not willing to better themselves. People who dont care for this issue dont have in
mind these thoughts, As we withdraw from the homeless, so do they to protect themselves from
the sense of failure that comes from comparison with their peer. Ashamed, abandoned, rejected,
fearful, and sick homeless people give up, not because they choose to live this way or because
they are lazy, shiftless bums, but because alcoholism, drug addiction and mental illness are
conditions that, if left untreated, propel people into a downward spiral (Baum).

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The goal in mind needs to include taking into account that gaining trust takes time. Time
may vary for gaining trust of the homeless and can take days, months, to even years, but with
that in mind those willing to help allow the homeless to gain hope through the programs and with
our help.
Following an intense outreach of allowing the homeless to know that there are open arms
willing to help and to gain trust, other government issued programs are able to use their
resources. These resources include treatment placement programs including inpatient care for
both mentally ill and those struggling with drugs. In these inpatient care facilities and short term
strategy programs homeless are further able to join programs that may assist with dealing with
withdraws but most importantly continuing to gain trust that people are willing to help.
Remember that the perspective for those who are willing to help would need to be long-term.
After intense outreach programs and introducing those who are homeless or mentally ill
to short term and long term strategy programs those willing to help will continue to help by
working on programs to help the homeless and mentally ill be reintroduced to society and help to
finding jobs to support their needs. In these strategy programs members will be trained for jobs
and learn basic fundamentals to job placement.
How can I be of help to you? May that be the question we may think of next time we
approach or come across the less fortunate, mentally ill and those experiencing homelessness.
Through acknowledging resources for homeless by way of advertisement through radio,
television and media I hope we gain a desire to reach out to those in need. By consistently
reaching out to the homeless we allow an opportunity for trust to be gained. Once trust is gained
through the programs and in the people those experiencing homelessness are likely to make

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changes in their lives to be better people. May we remember that we can give hope to those
experiencing homelessness!

Work Cited

Baum, Alice S., and Donald W. Burnes. "Facing The Facts About Homelessness." Public

Welfare 51.2 (1993): 20. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
"Can Good Graphic Design Help The Homeless?" Seeking Human Kindness Co.Design. 14 Aug.
2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
"Factors Contributing to Homelessness." Homeless Resource Network RSS. 3 Aug. 2011. Web.
12 Nov. 2015.
"HomeAid." HomeAid. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
"Mental Illness and Homelessness." Global Economic Intersection. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

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Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

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