As previously mentioned, homelessness is widespread and often overlooked in the United States. When people continue to ignore or look away from the issue, they are turning their backs on other human beings who more than likely did not ask to be in their current situation. Making a difference in other people's lives is not always easy or what most people aim to do. Despite this, there are many ways that one can easily add their support to the homeless population.
Contribution comes in many different forms. One model that is simple and easy to remember is to CARE. CARE stands for contribute, advocate, reach out, and educate (National Coalition). Contribution is anything from donating to your local shelter to smiling at a homeless person you see living on the streets. For obvious reasons, smiling at someone may not seem as beneficial as giving handouts, but for some, a smile could make a huge difference. Many people without a shelter are used to being given dirty looks for begging, or are used to just simply being ignored. Acknowledging that they are a human being (in the form of a smile) can completely change the way they are going about their life, just by realizing that people do care about them. Other forms of donation, such as food, clothing, and money, are always appreciated by homeless shelters. Typically, people do not feel comfortable giving out money to someone begging because they believe the money will be spent on drugs or alcohol, so giving something such as food or clothing is always a good option. Secondly, advocating is extremely important. Advocacy doesn’t mean you must march around and tell people to support the homeless, as there are many different options. The National Coalition for the Homeless suggests following local politics, getting involved with a local street newspaper, or being more aware of your language. Becoming more aware of your language is a concept that many have not heard of before. Oftentimes, we hear the homeless being referred to using derogatory terms, such as hobos or bums. These terms are extremely derogatory and just becoming aware of how you speak about the homeless can make a difference and change the way you, as well as others, think. Finally, reaching out and educating refer to volunteering and teaching others what you have learned. Volunteering and directly helping the homeless is one of the best ways to understand the way of life and situations that they have been placed in. It allows you to interact and get a unobstructed view of their lives. Volunteering can be done at shelters, soup kitchens, working with children, and many other possibilities. Helping out the homeless is not a difficult or complicated task. Using any of the CARE methods can make a difference in someone’s life whether it is volunteering or just sharing a smile. As awareness begins to spread for the homeless population, the more help that will become available. Homelessness is never a issue that should be overlooked, and I personally hope that recognition continues to spread.
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The more often that people turn a blind eye to the situation of homelessness, the harder it will be to help. Every person has their own personal reasons on why they believe they should ignore the homeless, and it will always depend on their previous preconceptions. It is important that people become aware of the homeless population, and begin to see what is occurring around them. In an article from the Homeless Hub, they address the different types of attitudes that people have about the homeless, often explaining why they ignore these people. So, what defines a homeless person? Is it the way they dress? The way they speak? Or where they are hanging out? Answering these questions is important to learn how you address the homeless. Oftentimes, we will define homeless people as scary or dangerous. These feelings can come from past experience, family influence, or simply movies and television. If thought is put into it, many of us do not have personal experience that would give us a reason to conceive homeless people as scary or dangerous. We may have had homeless people ask us for money, but I personally have never had any homeless person become a threat to me. On the media, typically only the “bad” stories are posted. We are more likely to hear about someone who has a drug or alcohol addiction and committed a crime, rather than someone who was living on the poverty line, lost their job, and became homeless because of it. Furthermore, when the homeless are presented in the media, it is usually depicted in a way that seems frightening. Television will show people who look like they are barely alive, while the newspaper is dramatically describing how often they are begging for food. Once again, this is not always the case, but the media continues to draw our attention to these types of situations. This is important because the way we think about the homeless greatly influences the way we act toward them. Instead of being frightened, we should think about their side of the story, what has happened in their life, and what has caused them to be in this situation. As soon as people start to realize these types of things, the more often, and easier, it will be to get help for the homeless. Awareness can be spread quicker and more efficiently if people are already interested and care about the situation. There will always be people that will support the stereotypes against the homeless population, but there are many people who do not fit into this category. Keeping an open mind, and addressing your own concerns, allows for a better response and reaction toward helping out the homeless. On a single night, over 500,000 people are experiencing homelessness. New programs, as mentioned in the previous blog post, have slowly been created to help combat this problem. With the more types of solutions being found, awareness is trying to be raised in addition to helping these people. It is important that the general public is aware that homelessness is a problem, and is not something that can be “hidden” or turned away from.
Homelessness is not something that all people realize as a major issue. People often find it easy to brush off a single homeless person that they walk by in their hometown, without even regarding that man or woman as a person. It is easy to ignore someone that you don’t know, and that you most likely never will. We have already formed our own preconceptions of who this person is, their story, and what they are doing about it. For anyone that does not come in contact with the homeless population on a daily, or even a rare, occurrence, they do not have a understanding of what life is like for someone living on the streets. Many often think of homeless people wearing dirty clothes, pushing around a shopping cart, and carrying bunch of bags, but this is not always the case. Some people are only a few paychecks away from being homeless. A homeless man, who recently lost his home stated “I’m still the same person I used to be when I worked,” he said. “The only difference is I don’t have a roof over my head right now.” This man says he spends his days wandering through the downtown area of his city and public areas. Most of his clothes are donations, and he does not have difficulty receiving them due to local missions. Shelter is the biggest concern for him, as the main shelter in the area is only opened when it under 40 degrees. Furthermore, in this specific situation, this man lost two of his friends during the winter months due to the frigid temperatures. In the housing shelter, it can only accommodate 100 people, and then there is a waiting list to get in. Each day a couple people are typically turned down. More information about this situation can be read here. Homeless is not always caused because of lack of money from careers. Alcohol and drugs are leading causes of homeless as they become expensive if one is addicted. Keeping this in mind, not every single person is a addict. There will always be mix of reasons why people have become homeless, but it is important to remember it is not always from the reasons that are often assumed. Scrolling through my explore page on Instagram, I came across a video about tiny homes being created in Detroit for the homeless. I was instantly intrigued by the video and proceeded to watch the entire thing, and even do a little research afterward. In these tiny homes, rent is $1 per square foot, and after residents pay rent for 7 years, the home is theirs. They range in size from 250 to 400 square feet and come furnished with all major appliances. The residents living in the home also agree to take financial literacy classes. These homes are reasonable and manageable for residents making as little as $9,000 a year. They provide a efficient and new solution to a huge issue throughout the country. After watching the video, I looked up these homes on google and found out that they are being built in several other cities as well. On this website, several different types of tiny house communities are shown in cities across the United States. The first community mentioned is the one in Detroit, which the video focused around. Besides that, tiny houses are being built in Seattle, Nashville, Los Angeles, Dallas, Portland, as well as several other cities. This goes to show that tiny houses are spreading and becoming an effective solution to fight homelessness. Giving people a place to live at a low cost allows them to jumpstart their lives and get a better grasp on their goals. This research, along with the video, helped me decide that I would like to focus my research project, for my composition class, around homelessness and poverty. Previously, I had been struggling to come up with an idea that I felt passionate about and interested in. Seeing this video, and realizing my interest in this idea, prompted me to choose the issue of poverty as my topic. Homelessness is spread across the world, and is certainly evident in the United States. Around 500,000 people, only in the US, are without a place to sleep, eat, and have a life. Different programs, such as tiny homes, are beginning to be implemented in order to reduce this number.
Furthering my research on tiny homes, I found that Utah was able to reduce their homeless population by 91 percent in 2015. Despite this, they still have around 14,000 homeless people. Utah is using an approach called “Utah’s Housing First.” People chosen are asked a few simple questions and are then housed. Residents being placed in homes will have to still pay rent around $50 per month, but this is still much less than an average apartment rent. Not all homeless progams are perfect, and are often hard to fund. Throughout the United States, projects, such as Utah’s Housing First, are being started up as an attempt to combat this overwhelming problem. The following morning of our adventures, we had to wake up at 2:15 a.m. to head to Rome! Our plane did not actually leave until about 6:30, but we still had a fairly long bus ride to the airport. After our flight to Rome, we jumped right into the activities of the day. We started off by visiting the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Our tour guide, Louis, informed us of a myth surrounding the fountain - throwing a specific number of coins over your left shoulder with your right hand will lead to favorable outcomes. He said that throwing one coin will result in you marrying someone, throwing two coins will result in you marrying someone attractive, and finally, throwing three coins over your shoulder will result you in you marrying someone attractive and Italian - and of course we had to throw some coins in. Mid-way through the day, we were on our own to find lunch and have some time to shop around. This was unusual to be able to be set free after just arriving in the city. We did not have have much of a bearing of where we were, and we were already on our own. We went through a few souvenir shops and bought some things. Once we were ready for lunch, we went to a local shop and ordered a few sandwiches. Once it was time to meet back with the group, we had a designated meeting place at the Trevi Fountain. From there, we started heading toward the Colosseum. In Rome, it was extremely hot. I can honestly say this was one hottest places I have ever been at that time. It was in the high 90s and we were doing TONS of walking. The Colosseum was amazing to see, even though we were suffering through the heat. While also seeing the Colosseum, we got to tour the Roman Forum. It was really cool and interesting to see all the ruins and remains of “old Rome." After our touring, we headed back to the hotel. The hotel was pretty far away so we had a long bus ride. At this hotel, it was almost set up as a house. Each room was different, and ours was especially small. There were two twin beds and one full, all crammed into a room with a few feet of walking space between the walls and the beds. We did have a balcony, which was very nice, since there was no air conditioning, so we ended up leaving the balcony door open overnight. For dinner that night, we ate at the hotel. They began with serving us lasagna, and we were somewhat confused on why we were only receiving a small portion. After that, they brought bruschetta and salad. Once we were done with everything, and offered seconds, they brought us tiramisu for dessert. It was interesting to see this unusual style of presenting the meal. At this hotel we had a pool, and many people went out to use it later that night. My friends, Regan, Katie, Grace, Isabelle, Don, Noah, Kate, and I did not feel like swimming so we went out to the deck and spent the rest of the night playing the card game, spoons, expect we didn’t have spoons so we used twigs off the ground! The next day, we had the opportunity to walk around and explore again. We saw St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican, and the Sistine Chapel. There was also a market going on, which had everything from clothing to food products. I bought some different types of olive oil for my parents, and some of my friends bought clothes. Being able to walk around this market and just see everything that the people had made and were selling was really cool. This was the very last night of our vacation, and everyone voted to stay out later in the city, instead of going back to the hotel. After eating even more gelato than we had already had, and doing our final souvenir shopping, we decided just to sit down in a plaza area to hang out, talk, and people-watch until it was time to go back to the hotel. The following morning, we were on our way back home. It was a long and exhausting trip, but definitely worth it. I would recommend to anyone to travel whenever they have a chance, and to encourage them to not spend all their time doing tours and hitting the “popular” spots. Of course you want to visit the major sights of the city, but always take time to relax and absorb what is happening around you.
This trip was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation and I am so thankful I had the opportunity to go on it. I would go back in a heartbeat, and certainly hope I will have the chance in the future :) In the morning, we woke up at 6 a.m. to travel to our next destination. We were headed to Paris! First off, we got on a bus from our hotel and were transferred to a train station. After a while wait, we got on the “Chunnel” and were on our way. Right upon arrival, we hopped on a bus and got the opportunity to see Paris while driving around. At first sight, I was not in love. The area of the bus station was very run down and the part of Paris we were in was not as beautiful as you would expect. As we continued, we ventured into the gorgeous part of Paris. It became a beautiful place filled with magnificent buildings and vibrant life. We proceeded to get off at the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was, of course, stunning, and then walked around inside and took many pictures. After Notre Dame, we went on pursuit of a ATM and stumbled across a macaron (pronounced mac-uh-RON not mac-uh-ROON) shop. I bought several macarons, but by far my favorite was the rose flavored one. It tasted exactly like eating a rose. We proceeded to find Louis, our tour guide, and headed to dinner. After dinner, we got to do exactly what we were waiting for - see the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing to see something that everyone knows about, and we had only seen in pictures. Louis planned for us to take some pictures around the Eiffel Tower, and then go on a boat tour on the Seine River. It was incredible to see all of Paris while on a boat. Everywhere along the shore there were people sitting, eating, talking, and having a good time. It was interesting to see the people that lived here in Paris, and how they were just outside relaxing on the river. After our tour, we went to the new hotel and passed out. The next day, we got on another bus tour. We were able to see all of Paris and hear a little bit about it. Later that day, we stopped our bus tour and got lunch. After this, many of our tour group had signed up to go to Versailles. Although I thoroughly regret not signing up, I was able to have some of my own exciting experiences. Once everyone left, the only people that did not sign up were myself, my friend Regan, and my new friends Faughn and Katie. This left us to explore a new city all alone. The only instruction we had was to meet at a certain place for dinner, which we later found out was on the other side of the city. We decided that we wanted to hit some souvenir shops, so that is mostly what we looked out for. Regan had been wanting to get some coffee from a coffee shop, so we stopped for that as well. Once we decided that we needed to head to dinner, we realized how long a walk it was going to be. When we finally got there, we decided that we had pretty much walked across the entire city. After dinner, we went to this extremely tall building. In Paris, many of the buildings are only a few stories tall. Despite that, there is a loan skyscraper in the city, and we went up in it. It is called the Tour Montparnasse, and it gives the most gorgeous view of the the Eiffel Tower and the city. The following day, we visited the Louvre. The Louvre is an art museum that holds the Mona Lisa and many other pieces of famous artwork. My friends and I were mainly interested in seeing the Mona Lisa, so we followed the many signs that zig-zagged all through the museum until we finally reached it. The Mona Lisa is a small painting, much smaller than expected. I would say it is in between a textbook and a backpack sized. Outside the Louvre, there are these huge triangle-shaped glass structures. They are really unique and unlike anything I had seen before. That day for lunch, we visited a local restaurant/pub. We decided we would order a typical French lunch, and they were called Croque Monsieurs. After ordering we took our lunch to the Seine River and ate on the riverfront. Once we had finished eating, Regan, Faughn, and I wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower. We had only got to see it outside before, but not actually go up inside. Walking from the river to the tower took a while, but it was definitely worth it. It was amazing to actually be inside of a building you have never dreamt of seeing in person. We were incredibly thankful for being able to spend this time in Paris, and were not ready to leave. Although we did need to go to sleep early, because it was going to be a early morning the next day!
To be continued! Last Saturday, I went to a little coffee shop in Eureka, IL called Mika's. I was getting interviewed, along with my childhood best friend, and some new friends, about one of the most exciting and life-changing adventures I had ever experienced. Jump back to June 5th, when I picked up my friend from Eureka and we drove to the train station in Bloomington. In this train station, I met some of the people that would become my best friends for the upcoming week. We all got on a bus and got transported to O'hare in Chicago. From Chicago, we flew into Dublin. This was a 8 hour plane ride that I did not sleep on. From Dublin, we had a 1 1/2 hour plane ride to London. I would be arriving in London the next day, as this was an overnight flight that I should've slept on. On these long and exhausting flights, I became acquainted with some of the people I would be traveling with. My friend, Regan, was the only person I knew before we left. Everyone else, besides me, attended Eureka High School. We were going to spend 10 days together, so it was best that I would get to know them! Once we arrived in London we had a whole day ahead of us. I hadn't slept since the day before, and I had a full day of activities. In the airport, we met our tour guide, Lewis. He was British, and had a super fun accent. We started our day by experiencing the Tube, which is the main subway system in London. Riding the Tube became one of my favorite parts of London. There are all sorts of people that you see, and you have to learn to navigate so you don't get lost. We had our own personal "Oyster Cards" that had money on them to hop on and off. After a little introduction to the Tube, we spent the rest of the day getting a few small tours of local areas and squares. We ended our first day overseas at a Japanese restaurant. One thing I was not expecting to do in London was to go to a Japanese restaurant. Since our meals were preplanned, we did not have a choice in where we wanted to eat. The food was surprisingly good (since I wasn't expecting much) and we were pleased with our first meal. After eating, we were all extremely ready to go back to the hotel and sleep. I had been awake for AT LEAST 30 hours. At 1 a.m. in the morning, my alarm clock decided it was going to go off. This was a great wake-up call and pleased the whole room :) We quickly fell back asleep with a little grumbling and fumbling around. In the morning (not at 1 a.m.), we all climbed out of bed and got on with our day. We had a buffet-style breakfast at the hotel, and we were surprised to find baked beans in the buffet. Besides that, most of the foods we were familiar with as breakfast foods. After a filling breakfast, we hopped on a bus for a long and very informational tour. We got many bus tours during this trip, and they were not my favorite part. We saw Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, the London Eye, Baker Street, the US Embassy, and the Ritz Carlton. Fortunately, we got a photo stop at Big Ben and West Minister Abbey. This was the end of the bus tour (!!) and we proceeded to Buckingham Palace. After arriving at Buckingham Palace, we watched the changing of the guard. This was super cool to see, and I really just enjoyed being able to see the palace and absorb what was happening around me. The place was packed from all sides, and it was almost hard to see the actually change. Once we were ready to move on, we split into groups. I ended up going to the Tower of London. If you are not familiar with the Tower of London, it is a historical castle that holds the crown jewels and many other interesting artifacts. While we were walking around, we noticed some ravens inside the castle. Later on, we learned that there was a legend surrounding these ravens. There are seven ravens in the Tower of London, and if they were all to leave, London would fall. After a few other events here and there, we made our way to Piccadilly Circus. Before I begin, I would say this was the most "real" experience I had on the entire trip. We sat on a fountain step and watched some street performers perform. In front of us, there was a magician doing magic tricks, and to our right there were "golden" people. These people are painted and dressed head-to-toe in gold, and you must pay to take a picture with them. A bit later, some dancers came over to take over the magicians spot. After some bickering and disputes, the magician left and the dancers began to set up and dance. At the end of the day, we headed back to hotel for another sound sleep after a exhausting day.
In the morning, we woke up at 6 a.m. to travel to our next destination... To be continued in the next post! |
AuthorMy name is Alyssa MacDonald, and I am a senior at Dunlap High School. I will be writing about some of my exciting travels that I have been able to experience! Archives
April 2018
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