The Reoccurring Problem Of Homelessness In Philadelphia, Philadelphia
Homelessness is a reoccurring problem throughout America, that millions of people struggle with. People from all ages, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds live their lives each day, without food, water, and a roof over their head. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is ranked as the 10th highest city for the amount of homeless people Philadelphia has in its city. Homelessness in Philadelphia is a intractable problem that needs to be addresses in order to aid and save thousands of people who sleep on the streets each night. In a documentary, a homeless man named Joe tells his story about living on the streets in Philadelphia. Joe ended up on the streets after his divorce. He started working for a concrete business until it went out of business. Joe
…show more content…
says that if he had three wishes, his only wish would be to make everyone happy. This kind hearted man lives on Philadelphias’ crowded and cold streets each night. Joe isn’t the only person having to pick a local bench or find a corner to bundle up in each night. Project HOME is a non-profit organization in Philadelphia who encourage those to stand up against poverty and homelessness. Their statistics state that approximately “15,000 people access shelter in Philadelphia each year, in addition to the numerous individuals who are turned away due to capacity” (Project HOME 2018). This tragedy needs to be addressed and solved because as Project Home says, “None of us are home, until all of us are home”. People typically think that the main cause of homelessness is the result of an individual’s poor decisions throughout their lives, but this is not the case at all. Philadelphia has one of the highest poverty rates amongst big cities. High poverty rate means high risk of people losing everything, therefore people don’t just become homeless, it is an continuing struggle; “Research now suggests that the extreme situation of homelessness may be more accurately portrayed as the result of the convergence of many factors that drive this phenomenon, including housing market dynamics, housing and welfare policy, economic restructuring and the labor market, and personal disabilities” (Shlay, Rossi 2018). There are three main reasons for people resulting in homelessness: “System Failures, Structural Factors, and Individual Factors” (Homeless Hub 2017). These three categories are typically the cause of homelessness because when a person becomes homeless, it is typically not because of a single event, rather than a cumulative number of factors. System Failures has to deal with our systems of care and support such as hospitals and care centers. For example, a patient has just been discharged after undergoing a traumatic brain injury. They have no family, no friends, and no where to go. With just getting back up on to their feet, it is a hospitals obligation to seek that a patient has a secure place to stay. Another example would be the lack of support for immigrants and even veterans. When these people come back or to the United States, the lack of support causes vulnerable people to end up on the street. Structural Factors include the economic and societal problems. When these people have lack of income, access to affordable living, and health support, the streets tend to look like the only option. The final main cause is Individual Factors. Someone who is homeless may have undergo a traumatic event such as their house burning down or a job loss, a personal crisis such as divorce, a mental health such as a brain injury, or an addiction such as being an alcoholic. These causes are on-going events that result in an individual turning to homelessness. Homelessness has many effects on our society as a whole because of the costs and stereotypes relating to homelessness. Health Care takes the biggest hit because many homeless citizens do not have access to a quality health facility to attain monthly check ups. When a homeless patient is admitted to a hospital, they typically tend to stay four days longer than an average patient because of the beds, care, and food. This cost approximately $2,400 per incident, meaning that this cost will be divided up amongst the communities tax payers. Therefore prices continue to rise, causing more poverty and struggle in Philadelphia. This access to health care is so expensive because “Homelessness inhibits access to treatment and recuperation, making health issues more dangerous, more expensive and a higher risk to society at large. For instance, tuberculosis is a highly infectious disease that is rampant among homeless people” (Cassaday 2017). People who are homeless tend to develop mental health issues over time. These problem can include physical, mental, emotional, and social health problems that could result in harm to society. “The rate of psychiatric hospitalization for homeless people, two-thirds of whom have either mental illness or substance abuse disorders, is over 100 times higher than non-homeless people” (Cassaday 2017) furthermore, the homeless need quality care that they are not receiving in order to maintain a healthy mindset and lifestyle. With this being said, homelessness has a big impact on taxpayers in order to cover all of their expenses. For example, if a homeless man or woman, is put into jail, “for each homeless person who spent at least one night in jail, it cost taxpayers an average of almost $15,000 per year. For more serious crimes, the average cost of a prison bed is $20,000 per year” (Cassaday 2017). Therefore, cities need to start putting a plan into action in order to save all taxpayers from paying thousands of dollars to cover the expenses of those who can not afford it. With taxpayers having to constantly dig out money, high funding events such as tourism begins to decrease, “Merchants, their customers, visiting tourists and municipalities seeking to increase tourism are finding that there are no easy answers to ridding their streets of homeless people who are turned out of shelters during the day” (Cassaday 2017). Therefore, tourists may feel uneasy walking through the streets of Philadelphia and being approached by homeless people in search of money. These effects that homelessness has on Philadelphia, should be noticed by the city, and find a solution in order to fix these problems. Throughout the many non-profit organizations that are fighting to end homelessness, one organization that stands out the most is Rosa’s Pizza in Philadelphia.
As seen on Ellen Degeneres and the local news, this pizza place has their walls covered in sticky notes. A worker at Rosa’s Pizza states that “the sticky note program started in 2013 and one day a gentlemen came into the restaurant and asked if he could pay for two slices of pizza, but only receive one. The other slice should be given to someone who is less fortunate who can’t afford to eat”. The owner then left a sticky note on the wall to remind himself that someone had paid it forward. Customers saw this sticky note and was curious as to what it was for. This started a chain reaction, and now so many people come from all over to not only buy a slice of pizza for themselves, but to also pay it forward for someone else. With this, Rosa’s Pizza feeds from 50-100 homeless people a day. It is small acts of kindness such as this one man wanting to pay for a piece of pizza, to start a chain reaction. Many homeless people have shared their story, and it inspires those to continue helping out as much as they can. Robert was a homeless man who lived on the streets of Philadelphia. For dinner, he would come to Rosa’s Pizza to get a slice so he didn’t have to use the very little income he was receiving. Robert now attends a Community College in Philadelphia. He states that, “When it’s all said and done, the best thing to do is …show more content…
give back and help others along the way because humanity is a network. Pull others up and they’ll pull you up. I’m very, ‘Give good energy, get good energy” (Robert 2017). Others share their similar stories on how Rosa’s Pizza helped get them through their hard times. If all of Philadelphia’s community members would stand united and do small things here and there to act on homelessness and promote it, homelessness would become a thing of the past. As a society, there are many ways to once and for all end homelessness.
Providing permanent supportive housing is a cost effective solution that could help prevent homelessness. “Permanent Supportive Housing is long-term (not time-limited), safe and decent living arrangements linked to supportive services for homeless and disabled individuals and families. This housing enables persons experiencing homelessness to live independently” (Hersh 2018), this cost effective solution will save each person an average of $7,700 each year. An academic article over a study on the affects of permanent supportive housing states that, “More recent research has found significant cost reductions associated with "housing first" programs (immediate housing without requirements for sobriety, treatment session attendance, and other barriers to housing)” (Poulin, Maguire, Metraux, Culhane 2010). With the addition of more homes, more people can be taken off the street and put back up on their feet to try and find a stable job and source of income. Opportunities for Employment and Education are two solutions that are easy to manage and cheap to provide. Philadelphia could provide computer classes, career training, readiness workshops, life skills workshops, GED classes, etc. These programs could help homeless civilians learn basic skills that they may not have ever learned. Furthermore, they can take these skills into the work force in order to find a consistent
job. Everyday, thousands of people in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania struggle to provide food for themselves and their families. Finding a place to sleep at night becomes a big hassle and is not an easy task. Homelessness is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with, and this can be solved through non-profit organizations, permanent supportive housing, and opportunities for employment and education. So spread the word about the hidden complications of homelessness, inform neighbors and communities. Lets stop this one homeless person at a time and bring everyone in from the harsh conditions of the outdoors. As Project Home says, “None of us are home, until all of us are home”.
says that if he had three wishes, his only wish would be to make everyone happy. This kind hearted man lives on Philadelphias’ crowded and cold streets each night. Joe isn’t the only person having to pick a local bench or find a corner to bundle up in each night. Project HOME is a non-profit organization in Philadelphia who encourage those to stand up against poverty and homelessness. Their statistics state that approximately “15,000 people access shelter in Philadelphia each year, in addition to the numerous individuals who are turned away due to capacity” (Project HOME 2018). This tragedy needs to be addressed and solved because as Project Home says, “None of us are home, until all of us are home”. People typically think that the main cause of homelessness is the result of an individual’s poor decisions throughout their lives, but this is not the case at all. Philadelphia has one of the highest poverty rates amongst big cities. High poverty rate means high risk of people losing everything, therefore people don’t just become homeless, it is an continuing struggle; “Research now suggests that the extreme situation of homelessness may be more accurately portrayed as the result of the convergence of many factors that drive this phenomenon, including housing market dynamics, housing and welfare policy, economic restructuring and the labor market, and personal disabilities” (Shlay, Rossi 2018). There are three main reasons for people resulting in homelessness: “System Failures, Structural Factors, and Individual Factors” (Homeless Hub 2017). These three categories are typically the cause of homelessness because when a person becomes homeless, it is typically not because of a single event, rather than a cumulative number of factors. System Failures has to deal with our systems of care and support such as hospitals and care centers. For example, a patient has just been discharged after undergoing a traumatic brain injury. They have no family, no friends, and no where to go. With just getting back up on to their feet, it is a hospitals obligation to seek that a patient has a secure place to stay. Another example would be the lack of support for immigrants and even veterans. When these people come back or to the United States, the lack of support causes vulnerable people to end up on the street. Structural Factors include the economic and societal problems. When these people have lack of income, access to affordable living, and health support, the streets tend to look like the only option. The final main cause is Individual Factors. Someone who is homeless may have undergo a traumatic event such as their house burning down or a job loss, a personal crisis such as divorce, a mental health such as a brain injury, or an addiction such as being an alcoholic. These causes are on-going events that result in an individual turning to homelessness. Homelessness has many effects on our society as a whole because of the costs and stereotypes relating to homelessness. Health Care takes the biggest hit because many homeless citizens do not have access to a quality health facility to attain monthly check ups. When a homeless patient is admitted to a hospital, they typically tend to stay four days longer than an average patient because of the beds, care, and food. This cost approximately $2,400 per incident, meaning that this cost will be divided up amongst the communities tax payers. Therefore prices continue to rise, causing more poverty and struggle in Philadelphia. This access to health care is so expensive because “Homelessness inhibits access to treatment and recuperation, making health issues more dangerous, more expensive and a higher risk to society at large. For instance, tuberculosis is a highly infectious disease that is rampant among homeless people” (Cassaday 2017). People who are homeless tend to develop mental health issues over time. These problem can include physical, mental, emotional, and social health problems that could result in harm to society. “The rate of psychiatric hospitalization for homeless people, two-thirds of whom have either mental illness or substance abuse disorders, is over 100 times higher than non-homeless people” (Cassaday 2017) furthermore, the homeless need quality care that they are not receiving in order to maintain a healthy mindset and lifestyle. With this being said, homelessness has a big impact on taxpayers in order to cover all of their expenses. For example, if a homeless man or woman, is put into jail, “for each homeless person who spent at least one night in jail, it cost taxpayers an average of almost $15,000 per year. For more serious crimes, the average cost of a prison bed is $20,000 per year” (Cassaday 2017). Therefore, cities need to start putting a plan into action in order to save all taxpayers from paying thousands of dollars to cover the expenses of those who can not afford it. With taxpayers having to constantly dig out money, high funding events such as tourism begins to decrease, “Merchants, their customers, visiting tourists and municipalities seeking to increase tourism are finding that there are no easy answers to ridding their streets of homeless people who are turned out of shelters during the day” (Cassaday 2017). Therefore, tourists may feel uneasy walking through the streets of Philadelphia and being approached by homeless people in search of money. These effects that homelessness has on Philadelphia, should be noticed by the city, and find a solution in order to fix these problems. Throughout the many non-profit organizations that are fighting to end homelessness, one organization that stands out the most is Rosa’s Pizza in Philadelphia.
As seen on Ellen Degeneres and the local news, this pizza place has their walls covered in sticky notes. A worker at Rosa’s Pizza states that “the sticky note program started in 2013 and one day a gentlemen came into the restaurant and asked if he could pay for two slices of pizza, but only receive one. The other slice should be given to someone who is less fortunate who can’t afford to eat”. The owner then left a sticky note on the wall to remind himself that someone had paid it forward. Customers saw this sticky note and was curious as to what it was for. This started a chain reaction, and now so many people come from all over to not only buy a slice of pizza for themselves, but to also pay it forward for someone else. With this, Rosa’s Pizza feeds from 50-100 homeless people a day. It is small acts of kindness such as this one man wanting to pay for a piece of pizza, to start a chain reaction. Many homeless people have shared their story, and it inspires those to continue helping out as much as they can. Robert was a homeless man who lived on the streets of Philadelphia. For dinner, he would come to Rosa’s Pizza to get a slice so he didn’t have to use the very little income he was receiving. Robert now attends a Community College in Philadelphia. He states that, “When it’s all said and done, the best thing to do is …show more content…
give back and help others along the way because humanity is a network. Pull others up and they’ll pull you up. I’m very, ‘Give good energy, get good energy” (Robert 2017). Others share their similar stories on how Rosa’s Pizza helped get them through their hard times. If all of Philadelphia’s community members would stand united and do small things here and there to act on homelessness and promote it, homelessness would become a thing of the past. As a society, there are many ways to once and for all end homelessness.
Providing permanent supportive housing is a cost effective solution that could help prevent homelessness. “Permanent Supportive Housing is long-term (not time-limited), safe and decent living arrangements linked to supportive services for homeless and disabled individuals and families. This housing enables persons experiencing homelessness to live independently” (Hersh 2018), this cost effective solution will save each person an average of $7,700 each year. An academic article over a study on the affects of permanent supportive housing states that, “More recent research has found significant cost reductions associated with "housing first" programs (immediate housing without requirements for sobriety, treatment session attendance, and other barriers to housing)” (Poulin, Maguire, Metraux, Culhane 2010). With the addition of more homes, more people can be taken off the street and put back up on their feet to try and find a stable job and source of income. Opportunities for Employment and Education are two solutions that are easy to manage and cheap to provide. Philadelphia could provide computer classes, career training, readiness workshops, life skills workshops, GED classes, etc. These programs could help homeless civilians learn basic skills that they may not have ever learned. Furthermore, they can take these skills into the work force in order to find a consistent
job. Everyday, thousands of people in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania struggle to provide food for themselves and their families. Finding a place to sleep at night becomes a big hassle and is not an easy task. Homelessness is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with, and this can be solved through non-profit organizations, permanent supportive housing, and opportunities for employment and education. So spread the word about the hidden complications of homelessness, inform neighbors and communities. Lets stop this one homeless person at a time and bring everyone in from the harsh conditions of the outdoors. As Project Home says, “None of us are home, until all of us are home”.