100 Million
Though I grew up in an upscale neighborhood, there was one thing that plagued the area: homelessness. Brentwood is located next to the Veterans Center. This institution includes a hospital as well as other services for Vets. Due to this, there was always a lot of homeless vets that would sleep on the streets outside the center and surrounding the area. Due to PTSD and other mental problems, veterans did not have jobs, leading them to be homeless after fighting for our country. Every winter, a military storage warehouse on Wilshire in Brentwood, becomes a homeless shelter, providing hot meals and a bed to many of the homeless veterans. Every year, with my school, I would go and volunteer there; preparing and serving meals. It was sad to see the amount of homeless trying to get into the shelter for the night, many with obvious mental and drug issues
Now attending USC, I live in an area even more struck with homelessness. I drive down Skid Row on a monthly basis and see the devastating amount of homeless men and women on the streets. Homelessness has become a part of everyday life so that people tend to not even notice anymore. For me, the first step of making the world a better place is shedding light on the homeless issue worldwide with an emphasis on mental health and drug abuse.
We must create an environment where homelessness is not looked at as disgusting, but rather come from a place of understanding. This understanding will be created by spreading awareness of core issues mental health as well as drug abuse, and poverty in general.Homeless can force people into isolation, affecting their ability to share and communicate, only further distancing them from the chance for a job.
There is an evident issue right now where there are far too many homeless people in not just Los Angeles, but the world, with the worldwide homeless population estimated to be 100 million. Unless something is done, this homeless population will only grow. There are many issues in the world and different ways to try to make the world a better place. To me, homelessness is a very important and pressing issue in this world. It is up to every government and community to create more opportunities and services to homeless men, women, and children.
Now attending USC, I live in an area even more struck with homelessness. I drive down Skid Row on a monthly basis and see the devastating amount of homeless men and women on the streets. Homelessness has become a part of everyday life so that people tend to not even notice anymore. For me, the first step of making the world a better place is shedding light on the homeless issue worldwide with an emphasis on mental health and drug abuse.
We must create an environment where homelessness is not looked at as disgusting, but rather come from a place of understanding. This understanding will be created by spreading awareness of core issues mental health as well as drug abuse, and poverty in general.Homeless can force people into isolation, affecting their ability to share and communicate, only further distancing them from the chance for a job.
There is an evident issue right now where there are far too many homeless people in not just Los Angeles, but the world, with the worldwide homeless population estimated to be 100 million. Unless something is done, this homeless population will only grow. There are many issues in the world and different ways to try to make the world a better place. To me, homelessness is a very important and pressing issue in this world. It is up to every government and community to create more opportunities and services to homeless men, women, and children.
Hi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I concord with everything you mentioned, and it's interesting how similar our posts are.
I was shocked to read that 100M individuals across the world are homeless. I really agree with the fact that we need to shed light on the issue of homelessness and create an accepting environment where homelessness is not looked at as disgusting, but rather from a place of understanding. I finally began to understand that many people are homeless for reasons beyond their control. For example, some women are abused by their husbands and prefer to live on the street or in their car than in a home with someone they fear. Or other people may be born with mental or physical illnesses, preventing them from being able to work.
I agree with everything you said here. It's important to shed light on the issue of homelessness and to take initiative in alleviating this issue. Considering the powerfulness of social media, I think a great approach would be to spread the word on social media platforms. It's fascinating how people can connect and communicate virtually nowadays, which could be extremely helpful in facilitating the founding of a movement and in raising awareness. I believe internet activism is effective in reaching a wide audience, thus encouraging people to look into the issue and better educate themselves to see how they can contribute to solving the problem.
ReplyDeleteHey Elizabeth! I totally agree with your post, as soon as I got to LA the huge amount of homeless people is the thing that shook me the most. I read an article about homeless people last month, and I found out how extremely 'easy' is to become homeless. After it started (usually with the loss of a job) it is an almost unstoppable process. I also think that homeless people are not very recognized by the more fortunate people. In addition to what you suggest to do, I would like to propose also a deeper involvement of Non-Profit Organizations that help homeless people to be able to find a job again. Such as Crysalis, born and raised at USC.
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