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.
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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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