@end-homelessness

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Social Blog #6 & #7

Academic perspectives 

I chose two peer reviewed articles for this week’s deliverable blog. Article 1 is called “Homelessness” by Caitlin E. Synovec and the 2nd article is called “Understanding Homelessness” by Peter Somerville. Article one explained about homelessness issues, in this article they express how “individuals experiencing homelessness undergo limited opportunity” (Synovec, 2012). Many of us when we are walking in our city we sometimes feel grosed out or believe that every homeless person we see is a theft, but we don’t take a moment and realize that they aren’t out there because they chose to but because they don’t have the same opportunities as everyone. Either because it's for health or living situations that make them be homeless, especially with the expensive house we currently have. In this article they also express how there are programs to help homeless people and how everyday they are creating new programs so homeless people don’t feel unwanted. According to the article “ Individuals who are homeless may also have long and familial histories of living in poverty and housing instability” (Synovec, 2012). Reading this article I was able to see that the main topic  was how and why homeless are the way they are to have people understand that homelessness isn’t something that people choose. For article 2 it was more of a research. It is broken down into sections which it was very easy to understand the author to what they were wanting the reader to understand. For example, It gave us a little bit of the history of homelessness and how it has evolved. It also explained to us how homeless people are increasing everyday and many cities aren’t doing anything to change that. They also talk about the “pathway into homelessness”. In this section they explained in more detail the reasons why people become homeless.  aAccording to article 2 “A home;essness pathway has been defined more specifically as “te route of an individual or household into homelessness, their experience of homelessness and their route out of homelessness insecure housing” (Anderson and Tulloch, 2011). In both articles I chose I believe the biggest difference was the way it was written, one was more of a historical article and the other one was more of a current experience. However, these two articles had a lot in common because they both talked about the definition of homelessness, they also touched based on history within homelessness and they also spoke about different programs that people are creating in cities to help homelessness although there are other cities that still don’t have anything to help the homeless people. Both articles had great point of views and I believe that reading both of them really opened my eyes and motivated me to keep on helping homeless people. As a person I believe that we are all equal and almost every weekend I go out to Portland and handout food and sometimes drinks to help people who don’t have the money to even buy a drink. I enjoy doing this and I will continue to do so. 

Citation:

-Synovec, C. E. (2020). Homelessness. Work (Reading, Mass.), 65(2), 233–234. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-203099 

-Somerville, P. (2013). Understanding Homelessness. Housing, Theory, and Society, 30(4), 384–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2012.756096 

Other Media Sources 

The video I chose is called “Why The U.S can’t Solve Homelessness” In this video I was able to learn how many cities are becoming expensive one being California and two being Seattle. Both these two cities and other ones have a high homeless population. Another eason that the U.S isn’t able to help homeless is because they believe that it’s a waste of money when they can be using the money for other necessary things. In this video they also interviewed a homeless person and asked him why he was living outside, and he responded because he had no choice, he had no money, no family and no job which led him to become homeless. He also said that he wished that their was more shelters around the area so he wouldnt have to walk 30 minutes to the closest one. He mentioned that besides the cold he enjoys the people around him and he has found people that can relate to him which has made him feel safer. This video had great information about homeless people which is why I chose this as my deliveral Blog because ot gives good information to what the U.S is doing wrong which is causing a higher population on homeless people. 

Video:

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Social Blog #5

Podcast: 

The podcast I chose was called “Homeless Podcast” by Matthew in the “podcast” app in an iPhone. In this podcast the interview was an hour long, they interviewed a homeless male called Charles who had a dad that was in the army and a mom who worked in the house. He lived a very happy life when his dad would come home but the unfortunate thing was that he would only drink and wouldn’t pay much attention to Charles. As Charles grew older his parents and himself started to have huge problems which led him to get kicked out of his parents house. He didn’t work since all he did was go to school (college). He then had to quit school because he didn’t have the money to pay for it anymore, he then try applying for jobs to have some money but jobs didn’t hire him because he had no good recommendations letters. He eventually felt like he was never going to find a job and apartments were to expensive to afford which made him start living inthe streets. He felt like no one supported him and he met people out there that would comprehend him because of their own life stories. This podcast caught my attention because we are able to just see what people experience in their life which causes them to be homeless. Some people don’t chose to be homeless but because theu have to. Which is why we should create more shelters lower the costs of house or even provide jobs to those in need because many homeless people do want to work but because certai requirements it stops them from getting the job. 

Song: 

A song I chose that talks about social change is called “Where is the Love?” by The Black Eyed Peas. This song was released in June 2003 in response to the 9/11 this song includes lyrics of terrorism, racism, gang crime, pollution, war, intolarance, and violence agaisnt LGBTQ people. The Black Eyed Peas primarily exemplifies the theme regarding human right between individuals and society. In a part of their song they describe “nations dropping bombs,” “Children hurt” and “people killing, people dying.” they also say “if you only have love for your own race then you only leabe space to discriminate and to discriminate only generate hate.” Every single one of these words are true and I’m sure it can relate to social change because we are living in a world where we don’t feel safe because everytime we turn the TV on look at the news is either a terrorist attack just happened to a person of color was just killed. Which is why the titlte of the song is called “where is the Love” because we just can’t be at peace and be able to feel safe. No matter how much we try to safe our own community/ world hate will continue. However this doesn’t mean that we should stop helping our community because every second of your help can make a change and it can help. This is why I like this song because it speaks the truth of our everyday world and because social change has been cause by us humans and we now have to do our best to reunite it the right way.

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Social Blog #4

With my previous blogs I talked about how homelessness is a big issue and how their are many solutions to help homeless people. However, not everyone believes that we should help homeless instead people believe that in order to help homelessness their should be requirements and those requirements should be met in order for a homeless person to have a home. For example, in the article infobase on the opponent argue they said “The government should encourage self-sufficiency by requiring homeless people to meet standards like passing drug tests or securing jobs before providing housing” (__, 2020). Other people believed that having homeless in the streets would increase violence and it would be less safe to walk around the cities. However, in the FOSBURIT article it states “we should help homeless because they are humans who deserve to survive another day in peace and comfort like everyone else” (Davis, 2022). In this world their will be many different point of views within homelessness I believe that we should help each others because not everyone choses to be in the streets most people are there because family problems, financial problems, jobs problems and more. Just like this article says “Homeless people are still humans beings, just like everyone else. They have hopes, dreams and goals.

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Social Blog 3: Stakeholder

A stakeholder is “a person with an interest or concern in something, especially a business. (Fernando, 2022). A stakeholder can be referred in many ways withing homelessness. A stakeholder can be a homeless itsfel because sometimes homeless people like to get in groups within other people living in a street because they feel safe and help each other to find solution towards their problems. Other type of stakeholder can be the government staff/officials. For example, according to NCSL article “the federal government provides housing primarily through its section 8 vouchers programs.” also “each year, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awards Hoemeless Assistance Grants to communities that administer housing and service at the local level” (Fernando, 2022). Many of these stakeholders believe that opening better opportunities would make homeless people get off the streets. They believe reducing the cause of houses or creating a better health insurance for those in need would help many people getting them off the streets because homeless people aren’t there because they want to be but because they have to be due to the high prices. According to the community impact article “Homelessness isn’t someone else’s issue. It has a ripple effect throughout the community. It impacts the availability of healthcare resources, crime and safety, the workforce, and the use of tax dollars. Further, homelessness impacts the present as well as the future” (Lawrence, 2022). Not solving these issues will cause for the population of homeless people to increase which would also cause the governments spend more money. I personally believe that if they start taking actions by creting better insurance and lowering the cost of house for homeless people this would cause a much better living style for all homeless people.

Citation:

-Colletti, J., PhD. (2019, February 4). California Continuums of Care: What Stakeholders Are Participating and What Stakeholders Are Not - Homeless. Homeless and Housing Strategies for California. https://homelessstrategy.com/california-continuums-of-care-what-stakeholders-are-participating-and-what-stakeholders-are-not/ 

-Stakeholder perspectives on integrated services for people who experience chronic homelessness. (n.d.). Taylor & Francis. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10530789.2018.1501947?journalCode=ysdh20 

-Community Impact | The Community Impact On Homelessness. (2022, April 13). CaringWorks, Inc. https://www.caringworksinc.org/our-impact/community-impact/ 

Interview with City Stake Holder of Beaverton/Portland 

Today I interviewed a very great friend of mine called Larisa Aguilar Santiago I met her through church and she told me how she works for a church and her role there is to help organize groups to go to Portland three times a week. Whitin this interview I will be asking her questions about what she feels about homeless people.

“When you hear about homeless topic, how does it make you feel?”

Larisa: When I hear about this topic it breaks my heart specially when its winter and summer because during winter it gets supper cold that I have to wear two sweaters to keep myself warm and even then I am still shivering and during summer it’s way to hot and I can’t imagine what people feel without an A/C. I sometimes wished I could help every single on of them but there’s so much and I wish the city would do something to help these people because no one deserves to live this way.

“How have you helped within this issue?”

Larisa: As you know I work at a church and my role there is to gather up people and 2-3 days a week we go to Portland to give out food, coffee, and any aid kit that they want. Even with me doing this I sometimes feel like it is not enough because sometimes we don’t have enough food for everyone and it breaks my heart seeing them with a sad face. Another way I help them is by referring them to the closest shelter. 

“What do you think the city should do solve this situation?”

Larisa: I believe that they should reduce the prices on houses and create more shelters because sometimes the closest shelter can be 30 minutes walking and some people i’ve met are disable and can’t walk. I also believe their should be fundraisers where homeless people come and get clothes, blankets, socks, etc. 

“Do you feel angry towards the homeless?”

Larisa: To be completely honest with you no, and the reason for that is because no one chooses to be homeless, most people either have financial issues or health issues or even mental issues which causes them to not have a job. However, jobs can also be a big impact towards this because not every job gives opportunity to these people and see what they are capable of.

Last question 

“What do you like about your job?” 

Larisa: I love my job! I think helping others in need has always been my passion and I wouldn’t get tired of helping people. Especially learning about the stories the homeless people go through is very impactful which motivates me to keep helping the community.

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Social Blog 2

Homelessness started in 1730, New York established its first almshouse which created more openings in different colonies. During the industrial revolution and the transition to the new manufacturing process many people decided to migrate to cities where there would be better opportunities. Due to the migration it caused a new urban poverty which caused homelessness to occur. After the Civil War, the economy turns down and causes for many people to lose their jobs and homes. According to history of homeless article “by the 1830’s, tens of thousands of homeless people lived in police stations by night and in the streets by day. Adolescent boys boys left home to look for work and ease the financial burden on their families.. Many ended up homeless” (Lux, 2022). Moving forward in the 1970’s more people became homeless because officials cut federal funding for housing, state mental hospitals were de-institutionalized and single room occupancy decreased. In the 2000’s the number of homelessness increased more due to the fact that the US continued to experience an affordable housing crisis. Throughout all this it was cause by the high cost in houses, wages, and lack of affordable housing stocks. According to the article “during the Great Recession of 2007-2009, many people defaulted on their mortgages due to economic conditions and the real estate market. As a result, there was a big increase in foreclosure, evictions, and unemployment, which led to increased homelessness” (Lux, 2022). As we can understand homelessness has been a topic for years now and always a brief description of its history there’s a lot more to learn about it. Throughout the years there have been many ways that the government has tried to tackle the problem of homelessnes on nearly every level. However, due to the fact that they are spending billions over time has caused many areas to not be able to help homeless people. Which is why many programs have been created to help homeless people. For example, the 3 best charities for helping homeless people are National Alliance to End homelessness, Coalition for the Homelessness, and National Homelessness Law Centre. These are programs who help homeless people by providing them food, clothes and a roof where they can spend the nights. A way that America is helping homeless people is by federal housing assistance. According to the article “federal housing programs are one of the most successful housing-based solutions to reduce homelessness. The two largest federal housing programs are public housing and federal housing vouchers, known as Housing Choice Vouchers or section 8 vouchers” (Coalition, 2022). Throughout my research I wasn’t able to find any big actions on the way. However, many cities are still building shelters, creating funds, donating and volunteering to help homeless people. A couple of cities still doing this are New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Jose, San Francisco, and San Diego. Which are the top 6 U.S. cities with the highest homeless population. Homelessness is a big issue nationwide and we should try to help our community whether it is by volunteering or donating towards programs. 

Citation:

-Proven Solutions. (2022, February 15). Coalition for the Homeless. https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/proven-solutions/ 

-People, I. (2022, October 9). History of Homelessness. Invisible People. https://invisiblepeople.tv/history-of-homelessness/ -Homelessness Among Individuals with Disabilities: Influential Factors and Scalable Solutions - NACCHO. (n.d.). Devmode. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.naccho.org/blog/articles/homelessness-among-individuals-with-disabilities-influential-factors-and-scalable-solutions

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Social Blog 1 

Homelessness is an ongoing problem social that is drastically growing despite programs trying to find a solution (Edelman & Judzmans, 2018). Homelessness is defined as “an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets” (Walker & Alperns, 2020). There are many definitions of what it means to be homeless, but the most widely accepted definition of homelessness is comprises three categories which are primary homelessness, secondary homelessness, and tertiary homelessness. Primary homelessness is when “people don’t have conventional accommodation” (Oasis, 2019). For example, someone who improvised dwelling like sleeping in the car. Secondary homelessness is when “people are forced to move from one temporary shelter to another (Oasis, 2019). For example, when someone is moving between emergency accommodations and refuges. Finally, tertiary homelessness is when “people live in accommodations that fall below minimum standard (Oasis, 2019). For example, people living in a single room without their own bathroom, kitchen, or security tenure. Throughout the years as evidenced by statistical analysis, in 2019 Oregon had 15,876 homeless which increased by 1,400 since 2018 (United States Integracy Council on Homelessness, n.d.). Those experiencing homelessness included families, veterans, young adults, and those with chronic homelessness (United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, n.d.) Several factors such as financial issues, unstable relationships, unemployment, abusing drugs, and mental illness can contribute to homelessness (Treas Wilkinson, Barnett & Smith, 2017). Living under these unprecedented conditions has exposed individuals to extreme temperatures, poor nutrition, substance abuse, and unsafe living conditions that can put their health at risk (Edelman & Kudzma, 2018). Many people believe that learning about homeless isn’t an important topic. When we see a homeless person on the street, we feel pity for a second, and then we just keep walking our own way. The first thing that comes to our mind is that as long as we have a job and roof over our head, homeless is something that doesn’t cross our minds. The truth is , homeless is caused by the failure of the systems such as funding and support. Most people do not choose homelessness, instead homelessness result from a social system which fails to help people. Homelessness is the result of a lack of affordable housing, cognitive, financial mental, discrimination, etc. According to Anawim article “Key factors include; lack of adequate income, access to affordable house and health support, experiences of discrimination, and shifts in the economy that can leave people unable to pay their bills” (Brown, 2014). Although this topic has been solved in certain areas it is yet to be solved in many places of the world. I believe their can be many more resources to help those people living in the streets. For example, providing them shelters or lower the costs of apartments so it can be affordable to people. We can also have volunteers to go out in their city to provide these people resources or we can start donating food, money or host fundraiser so they can have a better lifestyle and feel cared by the community.

Citation:

-Edelman, C.L., & Kudzma, E.C. (2018). Health promotion throughout the lifespan. [Elsevier]. Retrieved from https://pageburstls.elsevier.com/#/books/9780323416733/

-Chanay, J., Desai, N., Luo, Y., & Purvee, D. (2018). An Analysis of Homelessness & Affordable Housing Multnomah County, 2018.

-Edison-Brown, T. (2016, January 13). What Causes Homelessness? Homelessness as a Social Problem | Anawim House. Anawim House | Empowered People Embracing Life. https://www.anawimhouse.com/what-causes-homelessness-homelessness-as-a-social-problem/

-Our Story | Salvos Oasis. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2022, from https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/oasis/about-us/about-oasis/

-Definitions of Homelessness | SOAR Works! (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2022, from https://soarworks.samhsa.gov/article/definitions-of-homelessness

-Walker, A., & Alpern, E. (2020, June 11). How We Talk About Homelessness Is Finally Changing. Curbed. https://archive.curbed.com/2020/6/11/21273455/homeless-people-definition-copy-editing