Homelessness in America
...y had fallen on hard times. Contrary to Perkins’ statement, some of the homeless are people like you and me; as Linda Weltner illustrates in her essay, "How She Became Homeless" (669), Adrienne, a bright, ambitious young lady found herself facing homelessness for the second time in her young life. Adrienne was not mentally ill or a substance abuser; she was like you and me. Weltner says, "the money spent on three months’ emergency housing for Adrienne could have provided a $500 monthly housing voucher to a family for a year" (671). The fundamental cause of homelessness is the inability to pay for housing due to inadequate income to meet basic needs. The emergency housing program needs to be reevaluated; the money is not being used wisely. We cannot ignore the problem of homelessness; we have to find programs that work. In many homeless cases, a cycle does exist—that cycle must be broken. On an individual basis, we can get involved with some the homeless programs through local organizations at church, homeowners associations, schools, sororities, and fraternities—we must combat homelessness. If combating homelessness means higher taxes to prevent families living under bridges, living in cardboard make shift homes, eating discarded scrapes, then let’s pay higher taxes. We need to provide more family shelters, so the children get an education and the parents regain some of their dignity and find employment. Employment of the homeless would not only take them off the streets, but also would strengthen the economy. Society can no longer look the other way; as we drive the freeways of our great country, homelessness is everywhere. In a 1992 survey, conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the mayors found that 28 percent of the homeless population in the cities were mentally ill and 41 percent substance abusers (Perkins 667). Even if the...