Homelessness Statistics

Today, 564,708 people in the U.S. are homeless (“2016’s Shocking Homelessness Statistics”). As we speak, the rate of homelessness continues to rise. There are many reasons for homelessness: national debt, natural disasters, and unemployment. Although national debt and natural disasters are important factors of homelessness, society mainly focuses on unemployment and limited job opportunities. In fact, society stigmatizes homeless people as lazy and hopeless individuals. For example, many people think that if you don't have a job and are on the line of paying your rent, you are lazy. People don't keep into account the person’s story. Since the person stigmatizing them has never been in that person’s situation before, how can they possibly come
It says “Homeless with a 2-year old”, “Without food”, “Please help.” Just from viewing this sign, you get a glimpse of what this person is going thru. This is a parent struggling to provide food for their child. This parent has a legitimate reason of why they need money. It is so them and their child don’t starve. While society thinks that it’s the homeless person's fault, perhaps there could be uncontrollable factors that they cannot control. For example, the parent could have lost their job or over the course of a few years, they might have not had enough money to pay for rent or other living expenses. You cannot predict these outcomes, they just happen and you just have to adapt and do the best that you can to fix or get out of this
The child’s face is a classic image of a homeless person’s emotions. What this means is that the child’s face shows similar emotions of a homeless person’s emotions such as unhappiness, frustration, and worry. As a homeless person is trying their best to get a job and a place to live, they go through tough times emotionally. They hate to see themselves as well as their family living in fear: No food, no shelter, no security, and no stability. As a result, they get upset and often times turn to depression. This following example of emotional disparity, shows that while homeless people are struggling to provide for their family and themselves, they are also going through a tough time; it is not right for society to judge/stigmatize them without knowing their side of the