Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Homelessness Final Project - Serena Hong
Homelessness Final Project - Serena Hong
Serena Hong
Mr. Smith
30 March 2018
Section 1: Introduction
Stereotyping homeless people as those who are poor beggars and are too lazy to get a job
actually perpetuates the cycle of homelessness. Hawaii has the highest rate of homeless people
per capita in the US (Nakaso). We need to be a compassionate society to lessen the amount of
homelessness. Homelessness is one of the biggest problems that is happening world wide and
nobody is doing anything to try and stop this problem from getting bigger. While some people
may try to make a difference by leading them to homeless shelters or IHS, others give them food
and money because they feel bad. But giving food and/or money to them can make them more
greedy and think that they can live off of pedestrians that feel pity for them. With such a
complex problem, we must think of ways to create a more compassionate society towards the
homeless population if we are to make progress. To do this, we must first be more informed
citizens who understand the gravity of the homelessness problem and the difference between the
types of homeless people, pay attention to successful and unsuccessful policies to the homeless,
It would be remiss to discuss the problem of homelessness without first establishing its
impact on society. The first step in finding solutions to homelessness is to understand the
different types of homeless people. This is important because knowledge of the different types of
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homeless people allow us to understand the heart of the matter and find unique solutions for each
group of homeless people, which is more appropriate. To resolve any complicated matter, it is
essential to investigate what the problem truly is and, with homelessness, it begins by
understanding who they are. Homelessness may seem like it is not the biggest problem in the
world and that we should not worry about it, but in fact it is actually getting worse each year:
“As many as 3.5 million people are homeless each year, more than 1 million being children”
(“National Coalition for the Homeless”). This is a huge deal because it impacts on the society
around us. First of all, according to University of Pennsylvania researcher Dennis Culhane, each
homeless person costs taxpayers $40,000 a year and goes up even more when they are mentally
ill. Furthermore, homeless people are likely to use drugs and/or alcohol which increase the
danger to our community. With homelessness getting worse each day, our community must
While walking out on the streets, people may think all homeless look the same and act
the same. But there is a huge difference amongst the types of homeless people, and it is
important to differentiate the various groups so that the solution to helping the group is specific
and effective. Not all of them have the same reasons and stories as to how they got there and
why. Yes, it is true that they all have similar stories but each of them has a meaningful story.
“Homeless: An Overview,” written by Ellen Bailey and Alexander Stingl, provides the types of
homelessness out there in the world. An example of a type would be chronic homeless. One type
of homeless group is those categorized as those who are “chronic.” What this indicates is that
these people are homeless for a longer amount of time, and are comprised of mostly older or
injured people. This is the least common type of homelessness, but it is still essential to find
appropriate solutions to help those who are chronically homeless. Another example would be
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“pauper: someone who is able to work but refuses to, or cannot find work. In the past, paupers
were sometimes provided for in poorhouses” (Bailey and Stingl). In addition to this argument,
not every homeless people were forced to live out on the streets. Some chose to leave because
they did not want to pay taxes or work and wanted someone else, pedestrians who walk by them,
Another type of homeless is those who are considered ‘transitional.’ Transitional are
people who “stay at the shelter for only a short period of time due to a catastrophic event, usually
younger people, who are forced to go to a homeless shelter for a short time. This is the most
common type of homelessness” (Herzog). There are specific reasons why people are homeless
and are out on the streets. Teenage homelessness happens because they are from an abusive
family, came out as gay or been kicked out. In the article, “1 in 10 Young Adults Has Been
Homeless over the Past Year, Survey Finds.” Kera Pingree, a former homeless person who left
her house because she had a child at age 15, told her homeless experience. She was separated
from her child and so she bounced from her friend’s house to shelters but was never able to settle
because of bed bugs and drugs. Once she found a family shelter, she settled in until she was able
Another story was about a guy who came out gay to his mother at the age of 17. His
mother disapproved and told him to leave. Coming out gay did not stop the guy from graduating
high school and going to college. He was able to get a teaching job but did not have enough
money to provide for himself, so he turned to shelters. But because he did not feel safe at the
shelters, he started to sleep in his car. The reason why most homeless people are not staying at
the homeless shelters is that they feel unsafe, so they turn to the streets or at a friend’s place.
Young teenagers are not able to provide for themselves until after they get a job so it’s harder for
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them to survive. We may not be able to stop parents from kicking their kids out but we are able
to change their minds by letting them understand the problems that their kids are going to face
Finally, there is a final group of homeless people who deserve much attention because
they have a high need for medical attention. Those who are “episodic” are those who are
frequently going in and out of homelessness, usually younger, and due to abuse, unemployment,
and experience mental illness or medical problems. The article on homelessness and mentally ill
had a section where it talked about the new mental institutions. It talked about how it is still a
decision whether politicians and the public should continue with efforts to provide services for
the mentally ill. Not only are the mentally ill a problem, but so are the beggars out on the streets
asking for money, weed, food etc. In Counterpoint: U.S. Homeless Policy Does Not Work,
Pearson explains “in San Francisco, Proposition N cut cash payouts to the homeless from $395
per month down to $59. Passed by a huge margin in 2003, the measure offered additional food
and shelter relief in place of handouts” (“Counterpoint: U.S. Homeless Policy Does Not Work”).
Something needs to be done to help those who are in need because leaving them out on the
streets, begging and stealing, can annoy the public and cause the area to be full of homelessness.
For example, when you are on the way to the highway, you would usually see homeless people
under the bridges with tents and umbrellas as their house. Whenever I see them, I feel super bad
because I’m living in a nice house with my family, wearing nice clothes and driving around in a
Another point to help the homelessness is to direct them in a right direction. Do not let
them stay out on the streets begging, but help them up and bring them to homeless shelters or
encourage them to find a job. One thing not to do is to give money since homeless people would
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take advantage of them and keep asking for money. Instead, what you can do is lead them
towards homeless shelters, IHS. John Pearson informs us that some states in the U.S. are
removing homeless people from clean and nice neighborhoods. I would understand why they
would do that, to attract more residents to live there and to live in a nice environment but instead
of removing the homeless people, they should try and help them find jobs. Removing homeless
people in a nice neighborhood would ease the residents since they do not feel as threatened when
living near a homeless drunk person. In my opinion, homeless people are trying to gather around
All these different diseases are spreading not only in our community but also around the
world. To stop this problem from getting worse there are several solutions: family promise, IHS,
and many other homeless shelters. We need to understand the different types of homeless people
because acknowledging them would help us to understand the urgency. And with urgency, we
are more likely to do something rather than to sit around doing nothing.
Additionally, it would be careless not to know the successful and unsuccessful policies
regarding homelessness. Repeating the wrong mistakes can be very ignorant and can lead to
difficulty when trying to fix them. Homelessness has been an increasing problem the past couple
of years and the government and independent people and companies have put a lot of effort into
decreasing the amount of homelessness anywhere. By learning about various policies that have
not been successful in decreasing the homeless population, people will realize that homelessness
is a serious and complicated issue that deserves much attention. Conversely, by learning about
successful policies, people will realize that there are effective solutions and have hope in helping
One of the most ineffective “solutions” as shown in the documentary, “Hiding the
Homeless,” discussed how American cities are ticketing or arresting homeless people for being
homeless out on the streets. Vice NeMws suggests that a lot of people are trying to get rid of
homeless people off the streets and although that may seem like a good idea, they can’t be forced
out of public areas. By arresting or ticketing the homeless people, it won’t make a difference or
One of the places that are facing scrutiny for the homelessness is Boise, Idaho. A lot of
people in the homeless group sued the city government saying that the laws are cruel and unusual
(Boone). In order to stop fights or even protests, people need to act in a way where both sides get
a fair deal – a situation in which both sides are happy and do not feel a need to fight anymore in
the future. Unfortunately, It may be hard to keep homeless people off the streets and into shelters
In another situation, Janet Bell, a homeless person for ten years, lost her arm and nearly
her life to an infection she got off the streets. She was one of the victims who got a ticket from
the police officers for living on the streets. To her shock, she got another ticket for sitting
outside. A lot of homeless people are getting tickets for just being out on the streets, and they
argue that it is unfair. Another victim who was sick and tired of the police kicking people off the
streets was Richard Morgan. He eventually moved into the woods where the police wouldn’t be
able to find him. He had to make sure that he could not be tracked and made every effort to
prevent the police from becoming suspicious. Morgan wasn’t alone in the woods and there are
other homeless people who stay in there “to avoid the citations the police gives for public
camping.” Some people who are not living in the woods and out on the streets keep getting
ticketed and when they go to jail, they will not be able to get housing. Lydia Blackwell, a social
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worker, explains that even after getting out of jail, homeless people would go right back out on
the streets but with an additional barrier. These facts and stories behind the life of homelessness
can help the audience how big of a deal this is since the police are involved with tickets and jail
cards for the homeless people. Society needs to understand that we must take action now
otherwise innocent lives will be forced to live behind bars and back out on the dirty streets for
the rest of their lives. And if the homeless people have a record of being in jail, they have much
Not Work, illustrates the how some of the policies the government has created to help the
homelessness is ineffective. Pearson explains how homelessness is increasing slowly each year
and the systems that the government is providing for those with no home, no jobs, and no food is
not working. The homeless people are taking advantage of the food and shelter that they are
getting for free and are not trying to find a job. Pearson further explains how most of the
homeless people who are mentally ill use up most of the resources that are allocated to all the
“However, a small number stay homeless for long periods of time. Estimated to
be only about ten to twenty percent of the total number of people living in shelters and on
the street, the chronically homeless usually fight debilitating mental illness. They also use
up as much as fifty percent of the resources allocated to shelters and health programs”
(Pearson).
Overall, there are funds allocated to helping the homeless, but with so many who are
mentally ill, the funds are being drained on those who have the most severe problems, leaving
other groups of homeless people who have a higher chance of being mainstreamed back into
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society behind. Not every homeless people will have a chance at living a normal life but with the
sources that they are provided by the government, there is hope for a decrease in homelessness if
Fortunately, there are other policies that have been successful and are still successful
today. Most of the research studies which successfully reduced homelessness through long-
termed housing are in New York. One of the successful policy was through ‘federal housing’
assistance.
“Federal housing assistance, one of the proven housing-based policies, has been
choice and provide a flexible subsidy that adjusts with the family’s income over time.
Studies show that public housing and federal housing vouchers are highly successful at
reducing family homelessness and in ensuring that these families remain stably housed
With the help of federal housing assistance, not only can we decrease the amount of
homelessness but we can also save money from low-income. Now families and other homeless
people do not have to worry about living out on the streets and looking for food to live on. The
homeless people will now have a chance at living a good life and even getting a job where they
can pay off their debts or save up for education or a real home. This successful policy makes it
assistance with vital support services for individuals living with mental illness” (“Proven
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Solutions”). This cost-effective solution to this homelessness crisis helps “save taxpayer dollars
that would otherwise have been spent on costly shelters and hospitalizations” (“Proven
Solutions”). When organizations help taxpayers with their tax dollars, it is a win-win situation
Additionally, ‘housing first’ is another proven solution which “involves moving long-
term street homeless individuals - the majority of whom are living with mental illness, substance
abuse disorders and other serious health problems — directly into subsidized housing and then
linking them to support services, either on-site or in the community” (“Proven Solutions”). This
approach is “far less costly than emergency and institutional care, such as shelters, hospitals and,
the homeless population can not only improve their health problems but also their lives. The
main cause of homelessness is because of the “widening housing affordability gap” (“Proven
Solutions”). Although the issue of homelessness may not seem as serious when compared to
other problems in the world such as gun-violence, society should not turn their backs on those
who may need the most assistance and support. Without our help, the homelessness will keep
Section 4: Counterargument
both sides of the issue is incomplete. The fact of the matter is that there are homeless people who
do not take advantage of the opportunities to improve their situation and instead make matters
worse for themselves. While supporters maintain the position that many people are homeless
because society has let them down, “critics argue that homelessness is due to personal failure and
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that it is, therefore, unfair for the government or the rest of society to be expected to care for
Even when it is to help themselves live a better life, homeless people still choose to be
selfish and live the way that is more comfortable for them. Bailey informs readers, “Although
advocates argue that the government should provide services to homeless citizens and prevent
homelessness since housing is a basic right, critics claim that the homeless should be responsible
for their situation since homelessness is mainly the result of personal problems.” (Bailey and
Stingl) According to Wes Nessman, a radio host who dedicated a segment to researching why
homeless people don’t choose to stay in shelters, he interviewed homeless people who claimed
that they “wouldn’t stay at the Salvation Army only because they [The Salvation Army] won’t
let them smoke. Others mentioned that they will not live with their family members because they
do not like their mom. There are some homeless people who know that if they want a job and
help provide for themselves, they need a home address, but they still choose to not to receive
help from homeless shelters. Furthermore, in places on the East Coast, winters can be brutal.
According to David Pirtle, member of the Faces of Homelessness Speakers' Bureau, National
Coalition for the Homeless, “hypothermia kills an estimated 700 people experiencing, or at-risk
of homelessness each year.” As a result, “street outreach workers in cities across the nation go
out into communities to encourage people on the street to take shelter, but many homeless people
refuse” because they refuse to abide by the shelter’s rules. (“Why Some Homeless Choose the
Streets Over Shelters”) Homeless people do not realize how irresponsible and selfish they are
being when they turn down an offer from the government. Not only does this make it harder on
themselves, but also to the society who wants to decrease this problem. Indeed, there exist some
homeless people who make it difficult for people to continue to want to help them.
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Yet, according to Hailey York, “The pervading notion that people who are homeless
became so because of their own faults and failures creates an illusion that people with homes are,
in some ambiguous way, better than homeless people. This ignorance of factors outside of an
individual’s control makes homelessness even more difficult to overcome.” (“Attitudes Toward
the Homeless Affect Us All”) One of the most important ways to help the homeless population is
to listen to their stories for several reasons. First, it allows non-homeless people to be
compassionate and change their perspective and/or encourage them to help by donating
time/resources to help other homeless people; this is important because so many of the homeless
people are children and women, some of whom are also victims of violence. Second, stories of
regret might raise awareness for other homeless people to prevent them from following the same
path. Last but not least, stories of hope might encourage other homeless people to feel
To let people feel more compassionate towards homelessness, they need to understand
the pain that children have to go through. According to ‘Homelessness: An Overview,’ there are
people from the mainland that would fly homeless people for free to Hawaii since it’s a warmer
climate and the mainland is cold. With more and more homeless people flying out to Hawaii, the
population of homeless people keeps increasing. Also, we need to think about how homelessness
can affect children's lives. There is some concern for poor children that become servants with
local families until they are seventeen and kept away from unsafe poor houses. Orphanages also
provide care for children that are poor. It was reported that in 2004, about 40% homeless families
have children. This is a big deal because if families can’t provide for themselves how are they
going to provide for their kid? Why do the kids have to suffer from their parents? Kids shouldn’t
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have to grow up knowing that their parents can’t provide a roof or food for them. There should
be a system in the world where children can live a healthy life and not have to suffer. Parents
should be making an effort to get a job for their children’s tuition instead of using the money
they begged for drugs. There are some parents that send their children to orphanages so that they
can have better care rather than being stuck out on the streets with their parents.
Last but not least, Marsh added a homeless story about a 57-year-old guy (whose name
wasn’t mentioned). When he was young, he got a short prison sentence for smoking dope and
after that decided to leave his hometown. He first stayed with his friends but fell out after a while
so in the end just moved around. He started taking drugs again and ended up being homeless on
and off. After a while, he went into rehab and was good for four to five years but crumbled again
after hearing about his son’s death he went back to heroin. After another rehab, he got involved
with a local homelessness charity and is now a full-time support worker. Adding this story to
theGuardian helps the audience know that all of these stories are in a way similar. None of them
went to the shelter and all survived being homeless. Some may have couchsurfed or spent time in
prison but overall they were able to get back up to their feet and tell the world their story. This
engages the readers because it will make them feel better about homelessness being able to clear
up and not last forever. If we take action and help all the homeless people back on their feet and
into rehab (for those who takes drugs), we can decrease the homeless population.
In order to help the homeless people and make a difference in their lives, it’s important to
understand what they are going through and how they got there in the first place. Paul Curtis, a
68-year-old man, became homeless after his marriage broke up. He lost an income and his job
and could not pay his debt repayments. To survive he moved from one friend's place to another
and was lucky enough not to live out on the streets. Putting this story out to the world to know
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can actually help some people feel at ease because they know that homeless is not forever. Also,
this is not a common story like ‘I got kicked out of my house and was homeless for a long time
and now I’m used to it now so I’m fine but I hope that my life can get better soon.’ This is more
like an ‘I went homeless but was able to figure out a solution and now I’m living happily.’ This
mini-story that Marsh has put out gives hope to the readers and can let people know that
anything is possible.
Another story that Marsh put on theGuardian was about a woman, age 44, who was
mentally ill and needed help. She has been homeless twice but both had the same situation.
Unlike the previous guy, she was not able to survive couch-surfing from a friends place to
another. The first time was when she left her job and was not well. Her parents and friends both
asked her to leave so she had nowhere to go but to wander the streets. She then went to her
psychiatrist and was admitted to the local mental health hospital for a few weeks. They helped
her get on medication and after she got out she was able to rebuild her life. But sometime later
she went back to homelessness because she left her job again and had no money to pay rent.
Although she paid for benefits, the money was sent to the wrong account leaving her with
nothing. Again, she was taken to the local mental health hospital and thankfully did not have to
go to a shelter, streets or the park. Lastly, she survived as a homeless person once again and is
now with a good job. Putting this story out is another hope for homelessness. It doesn’t last
With stories like these, people will need to understand the true life of being a homeless
person. Some people may think that life-changing stories are useless, but it’s actually very
meaningful and can change any persons perspective on things. With the help of these stories,
people will realize that homeless people aren’t at all the same. Different people end up out on the
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streets with different reasons, and not only because they are drug addicts, or suffer from mental
Section 6: Conclusion
informed and know about the different types of homelessness. Despite the various perspectives
and stereotypes people may have of those who are homeless, it is important for individuals not to
treat the homeless as second-class citizens. After all, the average American is not that different
because the majority of the population knows what it feels like to be in the poverty line. When
many people begin to realize this they should also start to notice the successful and unsuccessful
policies regarding the homeless population and although there are homeless people who act in
such a way that they do not “deserve” all the resources (or may seem to be a waste of precious
taxpayer’s dollars), we must also listen to their stories to raise this awareness for other
homelessness. The society that we live in may think that we cannot relate to the homeless but we
actually can. “40 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 60 experience at least one
year below the official poverty line, and 54 percent spend a near in poverty or near poverty”
(Yook). Furthermore, whether or not individuals accept homelessness into our community,
people should not treat the homeless as if they were lesser beings than them.
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Works Cited
dnakaso@staradvertiser.com, Dan Nakaso. “HUD: Hawaii Still No. 1 in per Capita Homeless.”
news/hud-hawaii-still-no-1-in-per-capita-homeless/.
homelessnessevaherzog.weebly.com/three-types-of-homelessness.html.
www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/How_Many.html.
@Politifact, www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/mar/12/shaun-
donovan/hud-secretary-says-homeless-person-costs-taxpayers/.
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“Proven Solutions.”
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themselves/.
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homeless-affect-us/.
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Marsh, Sarah, and Guardian readers. “How I Became Homeless: Three People's Stories.”
www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/15/how-i-became-homeless-three-peoples-
stories.
Boone, Rebecca. “Homeless Idaho Residents Sue City over Camping Law.”
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