Hong 1

Serena Hong

Writing for College Section 3

Mr. Smith

30 March 2018

Nothing to Lose: Homelessness and a Compassionate Society

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,

and be willing to listen to stories of those who are homeless.

Section 2: Types of Homelessness

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

figure out what to do to stop this from increasing any further.

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,

feel pity and provide them with food and/or money.

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

to provide for her baby and herself.

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

when they’re at the shelters or on the streets.

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

nice car. We all need to be thankful for what we have.

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

the nice places hoping to get more money and food.

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.

Section 3: Successful and unsuccessful policies

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

the homeless population.

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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

change their minds of wanting to assimilate back into mainstream society.

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

because of health issues and/or felt unsafe.

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

more difficulty obtaining a job, let alone living independently.

Another ineffective method as described in Counterpoint: U.S. Homeless Policy Does

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

various groups of homeless people:

“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

it can be shared effectively.

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

one of the most successful housing-based solutions to reduced homelessness. Housing

vouchers allow low-income households to rent modest market-rate housing of their

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

out of the shelter system” (“Proven Solutions”).

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

possible to envision a future in which the number of homeless people decreases.

Another type of successful research study which helped reduce homelessness is

‘permanent supportive housing,’ a “housing model which combines affordable housing

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

for both the homeless and the taxpayers in society.

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,

correctional facilities” (“Proven Solutions”). With approaches such as low-income households,

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

increasing which will further negatively impact our community.

Section 4: Counterargument

However, researching the issue of homelessness without gaining a full perspective of

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

them.” (Bailey and Stingl)

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

empowered and continue to follow the right path.

Section 5: We must listen to the homeless stories

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

forever if you really try to change your life around.

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

illnesses, and we must show compassion for social progress.

Section 6: Conclusion

To create a more compassionate society towards homelessness, we need to be well

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.”

Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 6 Dec. 2017, www.staradvertiser.com/2017/12/06/breaking-

news/hud-hawaii-still-no-1-in-per-capita-homeless/.

“Three Types of Homelessness.” Homelessness,

homelessnessevaherzog.weebly.com/three-types-of-homelessness.html.

“How Many People Experience Homelessness?”

National Coalition for the Homeless,

www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/How_Many.html.

“HUD Secretary Says a Homeless Person Costs Taxpayers $40,000 a Year.”

@Politifact, www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/mar/12/shaun-

donovan/hud-secretary-says-homeless-person-costs-taxpayers/.

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themselves/.

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