Mental Disability Of Homelessness In America
Homelessness in America
He walks in the door, tired and weak. He has no car, or home, and he’s walked from the complete other side of town just to get food. Starving, he orders his sandwich with the utmost politeness. His name is Frank, a homeless man that we--at Jimmy John’s--give free food to. Frank comes in very often to get food, because there’s not many other ways for him to get food because he can’t afford it himself. Frank also suffers from mental disabilities, and it is incredibly sad to see him homeless and hungry like he is. Frank can not maintain a stable job because of these mental disabilities. Instead of neglecting the homeless for not getting a job, we should be doing everything we can to help them get back on their feet.
Food …show more content…
insecurity is defined as: The state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable and nutritious food. More than 800,000,000 people live with food insecurity. In 2015 “43.1 million people were in poverty, and the overall poverty rate is 14.3 percent” (Hunger and Poverty).
I realize that homeless people don’t work, but it is a lot harder for many of these homeless people to work.
Many of them have mental and/or physical disabilities that forbid them from working and function like a normal human being. Some have bad physical problems, and some are even technically autistic and you might not even know it. Many homeless people have mental disabilities. “Within homeless populations, those with mental illness may have greater challenges meeting subsistence needs than those without mental illness” (Food Insecurity…). The nice homeless man who comes into Jimmy John’s and we give free sandwiches to, Frank, inspired us to go through with the type of service project that we did. Frank is a lot like the homeless people interviewed in a documentary I watched for my major source of this paper. Frank has a mental disability--I’m not exactly sure what it is, but it’s obvious that he has one--and much like some of the people in the documentary, it makes it incredibly difficult for them to maintain a stable job, or function like a normal human …show more content…
being.
Some homeless people have children that suffer as well. Most children would get taken away from these homeless people that can’t provide for them, but what about if they haven’t even been born yet? I watched a documentary about homelessness called “On The Streets,” and through watching it I developed a much stronger and deeper understanding about homelessness, and it made me much more passionate and caring about what I’m researching and what we did to help out for our project. In this documentary, they interviewed a homeless woman who was eight months pregnant with her child. Not only is this child going to be malnourished because the mom isn’t getting the nutrition she needs due to food insecurity from her being homeless, but after the child is born, he is going to have nowhere to go.
Many veterans go homeless after returning back from the war. This is an extremely sad issue derived from homelessness. How can someone who has fought for this country return home and not even have a stable place to sleep in the country that they fought for? Many of them suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and many of them lost many of their friends, and the people that they care about in the war. Now they’re homeless, hungry, and with nothing. In the documentary I watched, one homeless man was shot in the head twice. The interviewer asked how he was and he responded “in pain, everything hurts.” This is why they need our help.
Before my research, I didn’t know much about the homeless; I didn’t realize how difficult it truly was to be one of them, and--aside from my own opinions--I didn’t know how they were seen by the average person. It is shocking to read, and hear about some of their stories, and how they are treated by many people. I never realized that some homeless people are also smart, educated, and relatively well-groomed people, and that really surprised me. Some homeless people were autistic, and some had life changing tragedies happen to them. It was surprising to me to see that there isn’t even close to enough homeless shelters for all of these homeless people, and I couldn’t believe how they were treated: Often getting kicked out of where their tent is, and where they sleep.
To conclude things, I would recommend that people look at homeless people in a more positive light, and step up to do more to help them and the whole homeless community in the future.
Anyone could go homeless, all it takes is one life changing tragedy. That is why it’s so important that people give back to the homeless by giving back to organizations like the soup kitchen because for some homeless people, those places are their only hope. Instead of neglecting the homeless for not getting a job, we should be doing everything we can to help them get back on their feet. I am truly proud of myself and my group for how much money we raised for the soup kitchen, and how that will help this community. I encourage everyone to do something for the homeless community, whether it be giving them food, money, or clothes, anything will help. “There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up” -John Holmes. (60
Lines)
Works Cited
"Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics." Feeding America. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.
Parpouchi, Milad, et al. "Food Insecurity among Homeless Adults with Mental Illness."
Plos ONE, no. 7, 2016. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159334.
(364 Quotes). N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.
Tesfaye, Markos, et al. "Food Insecurity, Mental Health and Quality of Life among People Living with
HIV Commencing Antiretroviral Treatment in Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study." Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, no. 39, 2016. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/s12955-016-0440-8.
Krajewska-Kulak, Elzbieta, et al. "Differing Attitudes for Various Population Groups Towards
Homeless People." Progress in Health Sciences, no. 1, 2016, p. 57. EBSCOhost, galesupport.com/migeoipcheck/migeoipcheck-encore.php?url=http://0-search.ebscohost.com.elibrary.mel.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.457976007&site=eds-live.
He walks in the door, tired and weak. He has no car, or home, and he’s walked from the complete other side of town just to get food. Starving, he orders his sandwich with the utmost politeness. His name is Frank, a homeless man that we--at Jimmy John’s--give free food to. Frank comes in very often to get food, because there’s not many other ways for him to get food because he can’t afford it himself. Frank also suffers from mental disabilities, and it is incredibly sad to see him homeless and hungry like he is. Frank can not maintain a stable job because of these mental disabilities. Instead of neglecting the homeless for not getting a job, we should be doing everything we can to help them get back on their feet.
Food …show more content…
insecurity is defined as: The state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable and nutritious food. More than 800,000,000 people live with food insecurity. In 2015 “43.1 million people were in poverty, and the overall poverty rate is 14.3 percent” (Hunger and Poverty).
I realize that homeless people don’t work, but it is a lot harder for many of these homeless people to work.
Many of them have mental and/or physical disabilities that forbid them from working and function like a normal human being. Some have bad physical problems, and some are even technically autistic and you might not even know it. Many homeless people have mental disabilities. “Within homeless populations, those with mental illness may have greater challenges meeting subsistence needs than those without mental illness” (Food Insecurity…). The nice homeless man who comes into Jimmy John’s and we give free sandwiches to, Frank, inspired us to go through with the type of service project that we did. Frank is a lot like the homeless people interviewed in a documentary I watched for my major source of this paper. Frank has a mental disability--I’m not exactly sure what it is, but it’s obvious that he has one--and much like some of the people in the documentary, it makes it incredibly difficult for them to maintain a stable job, or function like a normal human …show more content…
being.
Some homeless people have children that suffer as well. Most children would get taken away from these homeless people that can’t provide for them, but what about if they haven’t even been born yet? I watched a documentary about homelessness called “On The Streets,” and through watching it I developed a much stronger and deeper understanding about homelessness, and it made me much more passionate and caring about what I’m researching and what we did to help out for our project. In this documentary, they interviewed a homeless woman who was eight months pregnant with her child. Not only is this child going to be malnourished because the mom isn’t getting the nutrition she needs due to food insecurity from her being homeless, but after the child is born, he is going to have nowhere to go.
Many veterans go homeless after returning back from the war. This is an extremely sad issue derived from homelessness. How can someone who has fought for this country return home and not even have a stable place to sleep in the country that they fought for? Many of them suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and many of them lost many of their friends, and the people that they care about in the war. Now they’re homeless, hungry, and with nothing. In the documentary I watched, one homeless man was shot in the head twice. The interviewer asked how he was and he responded “in pain, everything hurts.” This is why they need our help.
Before my research, I didn’t know much about the homeless; I didn’t realize how difficult it truly was to be one of them, and--aside from my own opinions--I didn’t know how they were seen by the average person. It is shocking to read, and hear about some of their stories, and how they are treated by many people. I never realized that some homeless people are also smart, educated, and relatively well-groomed people, and that really surprised me. Some homeless people were autistic, and some had life changing tragedies happen to them. It was surprising to me to see that there isn’t even close to enough homeless shelters for all of these homeless people, and I couldn’t believe how they were treated: Often getting kicked out of where their tent is, and where they sleep.
To conclude things, I would recommend that people look at homeless people in a more positive light, and step up to do more to help them and the whole homeless community in the future.
Anyone could go homeless, all it takes is one life changing tragedy. That is why it’s so important that people give back to the homeless by giving back to organizations like the soup kitchen because for some homeless people, those places are their only hope. Instead of neglecting the homeless for not getting a job, we should be doing everything we can to help them get back on their feet. I am truly proud of myself and my group for how much money we raised for the soup kitchen, and how that will help this community. I encourage everyone to do something for the homeless community, whether it be giving them food, money, or clothes, anything will help. “There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up” -John Holmes. (60
Lines)
Works Cited
"Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics." Feeding America. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.
Parpouchi, Milad, et al. "Food Insecurity among Homeless Adults with Mental Illness."
Plos ONE, no. 7, 2016. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159334.
(364 Quotes). N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.
Tesfaye, Markos, et al. "Food Insecurity, Mental Health and Quality of Life among People Living with
HIV Commencing Antiretroviral Treatment in Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study." Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, no. 39, 2016. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/s12955-016-0440-8.
Krajewska-Kulak, Elzbieta, et al. "Differing Attitudes for Various Population Groups Towards
Homeless People." Progress in Health Sciences, no. 1, 2016, p. 57. EBSCOhost, galesupport.com/migeoipcheck/migeoipcheck-encore.php?url=http://0-search.ebscohost.com.elibrary.mel.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.457976007&site=eds-live.