Homelessness: How can we help them?

Shannon Elliott

July 31st, 2024

Homelessness is no joke and speaking from experience can be very difficult to stay in the right mind, when you got to constantly be on guard to protect yourself, your stuff, and if applicable others that are with you. For one month, I got to experience homelessness and from that experience people can be very rude to you, when they find out you are homeless and living on the streets on in a car and this is why most f not all people over time that is homeless goes crazy. There needs to be a better global system in place to help the homeless by giving them a hand up not just a handout, what I mean is instead of shouting out to them get a job, maybe help them get help to find a job or resources to learn to read and write if they do not know how. Be compassionate when you come to some one homeless people, because you might find yourself in their shoes one day and want help from someone too. I can tell you homelessness is hard and from my experience, I am grateful to have a family that help both me and my mom get out of sleeping on the streets/in a car and into a temporary (transitioning) housing to get back up on our feet since my mom had a stroke on Father’s Day of this year. Other ways to help the homeless is by helping them get into a shelter or transitional housing to help themselves get back up on their feet and be able to be apart of society without worry, by giving them a hand up even if it just getting them to a place where they can get clean up to go for job interviews or to be able to go eat without the harsh treatment is a step in the right direction. By offering to help them with education, food, housing, and rehab if needed, we can ensure that the homelessness will begin to decrease instead of increase. Another solution is to get your congress person or senator to pass a law where no one can get evicted and put out on the streets without having another place to go.

            The homeless population is only increasing, because of many different reasons and in America it comes down to rising costs of rent and housing that is leaving families who can not afford the high price rent/mortgage payment to find a safe place on the streets or in their car for them and their children. Instead of being a rude person, just have compassion and help in any way except for giving money. So if you see someone experiencing homelessness give them a hand up not a hand out, it will help solve the homelessness problem and you can be proud that you are apart of the solution instead of being apart of the problem. Please bookmark my site, so you can always be in the know of new blogs, recipes, and more.