Not every impoverished person is hungry, but most hungry people are impoverished. Prosperous people in today’s society wake up and wander into their pantries, and are presented with numerous options of what to eat for breakfast. Finding something to eat is the least of their worries. Although, one in eight people, globally, continue to go to bed hungry (The Millennium Development Goals Report 2013). These people are being held back from opportunities because they are deprived of basic necessities that should be a given. For the homeless, finding food to eat is only one of their many challenges. Impoverishment could be defined as having a lack of money to maintain or live at a level of comfort. They struggle to provide themselves with an income, shelter, healthcare and other basic necessities. For example, in a story of a twelve-year-old homeless girl named Angelina, she stole food due to hunger and was arrested. “They brought her here in handcuffs” said Angelina’s mother (Buckley 87).
This can lead to being held juvenile detention facilities for several months. (Cleve 11). These adolescents are unfairly put in a dangerous environment where they are exposed to real criminals. Many of the homeless have multiple methods and resources to find food, housing, and other services. In today’s changing economy has put numerous people out of a job. Without a steady income, people are losing their homes and security. The reliance on technology has also put qualified workers out of a job. Seventy years ago, over 3% of the U.S. workforce was employed by the railroad industry moving cargo and passengers around the country. In the modern day, only 0.1% of the workforce is involved in the railroad industry, yet it transports approximately three times the amount of cargo around the country (2015 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Letter).
This shows how robotics and mechanization have been connected to lost manufacturing jobs in the U.S. The homeless have less opportunity to be familiar with the changing world of technology and therefore has a disadvantage compared to others in the workforce. Homeless people can be placed into one of two broad categories: sheltered and unsheltered. The sheltered have access to temporary housing and are more likely to occupy a job. The Union Rescue Mission reports that about one-third of their occupants are employed. However, the unsheltered are not as fortunate. They must survive by scavenging, day labor, makeshift shelter, pets, and crime. Correspondingly, mental illness often extends homelessness which increases the chance of indictment for criminal offenses.
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Overall, those who are unsheltered are more likely to have previous involvement with nonviolent and violent offenses, have mental disorders and drug misuse troubles, and are less educated and unemployed. Closely thirty percent confessed to committing a ‘minor crime such as shoplifting or anti-social behavior’ hoping they would be given a place to sleep for the night, even if there are consequences for their actions (American Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 42, No. 3). Rough sleepers believe they have no other choice but to commit crimes in order to avoid their harsh living conditions. The lack of affordable housing and a low income are two factors that can result in being homeless.
According to Feeding America, seventy-two percent of the families served by its associated food bank live at or below 100% of the federal poverty line and have an average annual household income of $9,175. This means these families cannot steadily provide food for themselves. To add on, poor physical or mental health, drug and alcohol abuse and physical and/or sexual abuse also can contribute to one being homeless. This leads to both health and personal issues. The homeless experiences a loss of reality and suffer from, loss of self-esteem, behavior problems, and substance misuse. For example, one may develop cardio-respiratory diseases, drug dependency, cold injury, mental illness, and nutritional deficiencies.
Hypothermia can be a threat when temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, although many shelters do not open until it is much colder. Approximately seven hundred people experiencing homelessness die from hypothermia yearly in the United States (Winter Homeless Services: Bringing Our Neighbors in from the cold 2010). The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced their yearly report that calculated nearly 554,000 vagrants across the nation in January 2017, which is an increase of 1 percent from 2016. The benefits of prosperity are not equally distributed and are more rather focused at the top of the income and wealth distributions (Gerdes 63).
Wages have been declining in which makes housing being unattainable for many workers. Therefore, employment does not guarantee an escape from poverty. The more the public understand the homeless, the less likely people will label and denounce them. There are many viewpoints in which people view the homeless, ranging from empathy to aggression. People learn to ignore the homeless due to guilt, fear, or misinterpretation, although as more individuals realize the homeless are normal people trying to live an ordinary life, they accept the situation and wish to help. For instance, Joan Curtain, a volunteer at a homeless shelter in Hollywood states “I am so blessed and take so much for granted. So I thought maybe it was time to do something with those feelings” (Buckley 93).
This describes how once people are educated about the homeless they choose to help as much as they can. To start, world poverty and hunger will only reduce if people voluntarily participate in to help hinder this global issue. There is not one simple answer to ending homelessness. Though providing an affordable and accessible education for all people should be a necessity which will prompt change. In 2001, The National Coalition for the Homeless found that 42% of the homeless are employed by day labor agencies, which are low paying, insecure and lack health benefits. It is nearly impossible for these workers to obtain a higher paying job without a quality education.
The power of education can provide critical skills needed for one to have a stable living situation. By and large, an education reduces poverty, increases income, increases health, contributes essentially in making individual’s lives more successful. Our civilization is should be morally obligated to help other in a time or place in need. If not, generations will be ruined by personal rivalry and obsession about our own well-being. Individuals in poverty are not able to provide themselves with basic necessities. They have insufficient resources and are not able to survive proficiently. More money is being put into keeping the homeless barely alive than into education in which homelessness can be prevented.
