Homelessness vs. Society

"What hurts me the most, I mean I don't care if I get a nickel or a dime, but what hurts me the most is the kind of acknowledgement I get, like we don't even exist...they don't hear you, they don't see you, but you know you just gotta keep pushing…"- Joseph

The term homelessness has been wrongly stereotyped as a result of drug or gambling addictions. Therefore homeless people have been cast out of society, as if they were never part of it in the first place. This issue causes plenty of homeless people to be degraded on a daily basis. Society will never know or understand the situation of a homeless person, therefore society shouldn't judge them.

Yesterday I attended an information session called Deconstructing Misconceptions of Homelessness and Urban Poverty, basically showing and explaining the different faces of homelessness. This session was led by a public panel of homeless people located in Riverside. There were six people on the panel: Bernice, Brett, Joseph, Cliff, Jasmine, and Diana. They were all homeless, but with different situations; none were drug or gambling addicts.

Bernice's situation was caused by our current economic problems. Her husband, who provided the only income in the family, lost his job as a truck driver. Due to no money to pay for their assets, Bernice, her husband, and kids had to enter themselves in a homeless shelter. As she tearfully spoke about her setbacks, Bernice makes sure she states that she is the "new face of homelessness"; proclaiming that people look at her as if she was a drug addict, when that was definitely not the case.

Brett and Diana's situation was unfortunate, but not rare in the homeless community. Brett's educational background consists of a Bachelor's degree in Humanity Services from Cal State Fullerton. One unfortunate day, he got into a fight that went too far, and was sentenced to two years in jail for manslaughter. Diana graduated with a Business degree from Cal State San Bernardino. When she came out to her husband that she was a lesbian, he embezzled money from the state and fled the country. The government then sentenced her to two years in prison. Though they don't live near the Inland Empire, Brett and Diana are both paroled in Riverside County. So basically, after being released from jail, they both were abandoned in a city with no relatives, friends, and coworkers to stay with. Also, money is an issue because nobody will hire a criminal. Therefore their only resort was to stay at a homeless shelter until they are off parole.

Everybody has a different reason to be homeless. It is true that some homeless people were victims to drugs and gambling. But that doesn't mean society should shun all of them. Food is their number one priority, so if society doesn't want to give them money at least give them the pleasure of a meal.

What do you think? Share your voice.