lewin 2005 - iEARN Australia International Education and Resource ...

The war on homelessness
Homelessness has always been a national issue in our country.
Numerous people are without shelters, and they live in the streets, alleys,
or any available niche they can find. The percentage of homeless people
increased from around twenty-five percent in 1980 to nearly forty
percent in 2003. People are homeless in America because of their
unsuccessful attempts in finding homes, there are not enough
government programs, and danger lurks around them when they do not
have a home. Homelessness is becoming a major factor because not
much is happening to stop it from growing.
First, many people who cannot afford homes or were kicked out for
certain reasons become homeless. They look for shelter, but at times,
they are unfortunate. Many homeless people live on the street and have
no hope of ever doing anything else while other people become
momentarily homeless and are forced to seek help from others. In major
cities people earn a living by selling items they find in the garbage or by
begging. Some dispossessed people are desperate enough to commit
crimes intentionally in order to be thrown into jail where they can get a
meal and a warm bed. Many homeless people are having a harder time
finding safe havens, even in cardboard boxes on the street. Despite
improvements in the inner-city neighbourhoods, many homeless people
cannot find shelter.
Second, the government and many private organizations have failed to
improve the homelessness problem. A few, like the great Habitat for
Humanity (a program where volunteers build nice houses for destitute
people) or the National Alliance to End Homelessness (an organization
that seeks to destroy homelessness by raising money and alerting
Americans about the troubles of homelessness) have succeeded in
helping the homeless people. There are also programs, like the National
Resource Centre on Homelessness and Mental Illness, promoted to help
homeless people, whether they suffer from financial problems to drug
addictions to mental illnesses. These programs are either local or
national, and have achieved in helping many destitute people.
Also, without homes and shelters, homeless people are in great danger.
They are vulnerable targets, and since they do not have homes, serial
killers have their fun by slaughtering them since they are out in the open.
They like to eradicate them since they live in dark, small areas, like
alleys where it’s easy to kill and hide the body. They also like to murder
262