The Plight of the Homeless

Does seeing a homeless person begging for money make you squirm in your car seat? When I did a quick Wal-mart run earlier this week, there was a brunette woman with a stray dog; she had a sign that  said "out of work. hungry. every little bit helps."

My first internal response is usually skeptical. How do I know you're not trying to fund alcohol or drug additions you're enslaved to? And then uncomfortable. What of the shelters that are downtown? Are there enough resources in this town, or is it not enough to go around?

A quick google search showed there are a wide variety of of estimates on how many homeless people exist in the United States. It's a hard task to do a census on homeless since they're always on the go from one place to another, and the count is affected by weather, economic times, and high turn-over rates in shelters.

In addition, it's equally hard to pinpoint a certain cause for homelessness. Often people who are poverty stricken are one paycheck away from living in the streets. When illness or loss of work opportunities strikes, the biggest bill, usually the house or apartment payment, gets postponed in favor of food and necessities, leading to foreclosure or eviction.

Other causes, according to The National Coalition for the Homeless, include addictions of different forms, domestic abuse, lack of affordable housing, lack of health insurance, mental illnesses, decline in public assistance, or a combination of several factors. Overall, a mind-boggling 100 million people are estimated to be homeless world-wide.

Interestedly, there is also a list of ways to help given, some of which I hadn't thought of.

• Smile. Avoiding eye contact with homeless people dehumanizes them. They may or may not be at fault for their situation, but still crave human connection nevertheless. 

• Donate. Shelters can use many items such as non-perishable foods, toiletries, clothes, etc. Give of any excess you may have. 

• Help. Organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and your local shelters can always use hands-on volunteers.

• Give. It may not be a wise idea to hand out cash to homeless, but some people give out gift certificates to fast food joints, bus pass tickets, paid phone cards, or keep snacks such as crackers, water, dried fruit, etc to hand out.

What are your thoughts on homelessness or what ideas do you have to help?