Homelessness
Troy Muenzenberger
Causes
In a moment your life can change. You can be living by yourself or with your family and creditors come to remove you from your home. You could loose your job for no other reason than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You could also have a slow and steady decline from an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Any of these things can put a person in a position I would not wish on my enemy. Never having a place to call home or feel safe. While it may take only a moment to loose your home, the process to acquire a new home can take years.
Brion
Brion is a young man who was taken from his parents at the age of 10, and has been placed in over 13 foster homes until he reached the age to join the army. Brion was discharged after injuring both of his ankles and on his return to his family his mother would not let him live with her unless he gave her money for drugs. He refused and ended up homeless.
Miguel
Miguel was taken away from his mother at the age of 8. Over the next few years he was placed in over 10 foster homes. When he returned to his mother the living situation was so volatile that he ran away and is currently homeless in New York.
Governmental Aid in Homelessness
Opening Doors is a policy that sets the goal for solving the problem of homelessness. Also the government has issued a Recovery act which gave 1.5 billion to local communities to stem the economic downturn and help prevent homelessness. Next, the government has set up multiple programs to inform the public about what strategies work, and which don't in aiding the homeless. Finally, many federal agencies are working together to help improve city conditions.
What can Homeless do?
Homelessness is mixed. There are many who are trying to get out of homelessness, but there are still many who choose to live a life of homelessness. For someone to get out of homelessness, they have only a few opportunities. They must apply for federal aid and put on a list. If you are underage, you will be placed in foster homes which ends in very mixed results. Also, homeless need to look for any form of job opportunities because it is unlikely that many employers will hire a homeless person.
Communities
Community efforts can include local drives for either food, clothes, or gift items. Personally i know of salvation army work, and our own school holding drives for items and clothes during the winter. Communities have also sometimes opened up their own doors to shelter homeless community members for periods of time.