Homelessness Essay -- essays research papers

Homelessness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Homelessness as an issue in today's society is largely ignored. To many, the problem of homelessness is invisible or barely noticed. When these people do see the homeless it is found in the form of beggars who need to â€Å"pull themselves up by their bootstraps† or mentally ill people who â€Å"just can't help themselves†. In either case the central point remains; the homeless must be people who are incapable or unwilling to help themselves. After all, wouldn't they stop being homeless if they just tried? These sorts of rationalizations cover a more disturbing truth; that for many in today's society, the spectre of homelessness is more pressing of a problem than helping those who are already on the streets. The millions living below the poverty line live in constant fear that at any time an event may occur that will drive them below the cultural and economic radar. Therefore, one major effect of homelessness is the creation of a threshold that force s people to remain in poverty for fear of losing what meager possessions they have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The economic structure of the US, while changing from a product-based to a service-based job pool, remains with a similar split of the rich and the poor that has existed throughout the world since the beginning of recorded history. The illusion of the middle class in the 1950s created an expectation in modern America that great material achievement is not just possible but almost a bir... Homelessness Essay -- essays research papers Homelessness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Homelessness as an issue in today's society is largely ignored. To many, the problem of homelessness is invisible or barely noticed. When these people do see the homeless it is found in the form of beggars who need to â€Å"pull themselves up by their bootstraps† or mentally ill people who â€Å"just can't help themselves†. In either case the central point remains; the homeless must be people who are incapable or unwilling to help themselves. After all, wouldn't they stop being homeless if they just tried? These sorts of rationalizations cover a more disturbing truth; that for many in today's society, the spectre of homelessness is more pressing of a problem than helping those who are already on the streets. The millions living below the poverty line live in constant fear that at any time an event may occur that will drive them below the cultural and economic radar. Therefore, one major effect of homelessness is the creation of a threshold that force s people to remain in poverty for fear of losing what meager possessions they have.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The economic structure of the US, while changing from a product-based to a service-based job pool, remains with a similar split of the rich and the poor that has existed throughout the world since the beginning of recorded history. The illusion of the middle class in the 1950s created an expectation in modern America that great material achievement is not just possible but almost a bir...