Our Tired Our Poor, Our Children Analysis

1451 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effect of poverty and homelessness

San Antonio’s Complete Disregard for the Homeless and Impoverished Sleeping in a cramped one-room apartment with six or even seven other people, or even worse, sleeping in the gutter; these are major problems faced by millions of Americans everyday. Especially in our city of San Antonio the problems of poverty and homelessness are rampant. The poor are looked at by the middle class and upper class as second class citizens. Often times policies are made that inconvenience or even severely hurt the impoverished. Although San Antonio has several programs to help the homeless and impoverished, the city has shown time and again that it does not care as much as it should about helping the needy; even actively trying to sabotage the poor and individuals Anna Quindlen, a celebrated novelist and winner of a Pulitzer Prize, writes “Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids.” The essay gives a window into life for impoverished citizens in our country and the how families struggle to survive in this system. Families are struggling just to survive with the little government assistance they receive. The quality and space in a shelter or even government provided living is atrocious and, to be frank, borderline unlivable. Quindlen describes a family of six cramped into a single bedroom, an inexcusable and terrible way to live and yet better than nothing at all (332). Children of families that have to live in situations like this grow up not knowing stability or security. Quindlen, passing on the sentiments of the children who live in these housings: “The older kids can’t wait to get out of this one” and “He’s humiliated, living here” (332). These kids are stricken by poverty and want nothing more than to have their own When distributing hot home cooked meals to homeless people on one night in April 2015, just as she has for the past fifteen years, Cheever was issued a $2,000 fine in order for her to be made an example of. (Garcia 2015). The police of San Antonio are trying to dissuade any would be do gooders. The police of San Antonio are mixed up. For some reason the police see the homeless as a problem that needs to be fixed but that is just it; the problem is homelessness and not the people that happen to be homeless. Instead of trying to stop the homeless from being a problem, we should kill the problem at its source, we should combat

Show More
Related

  • Diana George Changing The Face Of Poverty Rhetorical Analysis

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    The idea of this essay is to explain how poverty is being represented the wrong way by nonprofit organizations here at home. The author uses the title to explain to the readers that poverty is not being represented the correct way. The way organizations represent poverty is by using images from a third world country instead of using pictures of people that live here at home that are living at poverty. The author explains how there are children here in America that need help just to get their basic needs, she explains “There are so many children like her – children that are deprived of their basic necessities right here in America” (George 668). The author is referring to “Mandy”. The picture of the girl on the Children Inc. flyer. She looks normal but she is need of help. The title gives an understanding to the reader about what is about to be

    Read More

  • Review of Ordinary Resurrections by Jonathan Kozol

    2123 Words  | 5 Pages

    The children in this book at times seem wise beyond their years. They are exposed to difficult issues that force them to grow up very quickly. Almost all of the struggles that the children face stem from the root problem of intense poverty. In Mott Haven, the typical family yearly income is about $10,000, "trying to sustain" is how the mothers generally express their situation. Kozol reports "All are very poor; statistics tell us that they are the poorest children in New York." (Kozol 4). The symptoms of the kind of poverty described are apparent in elevated crime rates, the absence of health care and the lack of funding for education.

    Read More

  • Poverty And Eviction In Evicted By Matthew Desmond

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most prominent concerns of Evicted is the issue of inescapable financial instability as it relates to eviction. In the very first few pages of the book, Desmond reveals that the majority of poor renting families in America spend over 50% of their income on housing, with an even more astonishing one in four spending over 70% of their income on it (4). When families are spending the majority of their already meager income on housing alone, it is no surprise that they have little money left for savings or self-betterment programs such as a college education. Compounded with this is the fact that some welfare systems are constructed in a way that discourages long-term financial responsibility. For example, Supplemental Security Income, a program that provides monthly stipends for low-income elderly or disabled individuals, is revoked if individuals have too much money in their bank account (217). For

    Read More

  • Homelessness: A Community Problem

    1709 Words  | 4 Pages

    As per the State Housing Authority, the issue and trend of homelessness has changed particularly throughout the most recent three decades. Public homelessness first turned into an issue in the 1970's and now it is normal to see individuals congregating before sanctuaries and thinking about park seats. Soup kitchens are generally stuffed to limit. Safe houses have multiplied their ability since 1993 and they dismiss individuals consistently because of absence of cots (Kenyon 1991). During 1987, Congress passed the Stewart B. Mckinney Homeless Ass...

    Read More

  • Chronic Homelessness in the United States: An Unaddressed Crisis

    1682 Words  | 4 Pages

    Homelessness in the United States has been an important subject that the government needs to turn its attention to. There has been announced in the news that the number of the homeless people in many major cities in the United States has been increasing enormously. According to United States Interagency Council on Homelessness reported that there was an estimation of 83,170 individuals have experienced chronic homelessness on the streets of the United States’ streets and shelters on only a single night of January 2015, which is a small decrease of only 1% from the previous year (People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness, n.d.). The United States must consider this subject that most of the people underestimate it and not pay attention

    Read More

  • Homeless Families in America

    3762 Words  | 8 Pages

    Although most people know what homelessness is and it occurs in most societies, it is important to define because the forces of displacement vary greatly, along with the arrangement and meaning of the resulting transient state. The Stewart B McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 defined a homeless person as “an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence or a person who resides in a shelter, welfare hotel, transitional program or place not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation, such as streets, cars, movie theaters, abandoned buildings, etc.” Resent surveys conducted in the U.S. have confirmed that the homeless population in America is extremely diverse and includes representatives from all segments of society, including: the old and young, men and women, single people and families, city dwellers and rural residents, whites and people of color, employed and unemployed, able workers and people with serious health problems. The diversity among people that are homeless reflects how difficult it is to generalize the causes of homelessness and the needs of homeless people. Robert Rosenheck M.D., the author of Special Populations of Homeless Americans, explains the importance of studying homelessness based on subgroups, “each subgroup [of homeless people] has unique service needs and identifying these needs is critical for program planning and design.” Despite these diversities, homelessness is a devastating situation for all that experience it. Not only have homeless people lost their dwelling, but they have also lost their safety, privacy, control, and domestic comfort.

    Read More

  • Poverty In New York City

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    New York City is claimed to be one of the greatest cities in the world. Many are blinded by the breathtaking skyline, the endless opportunities, and the hustle and bustle of the streets. As one of the economic capitals of the world, it is surprising to hear that about 30 percent of children currently residing in New York City are living in poverty (Cheney). New York City has evolved into a city for the wealthy by eliminating inexpensive housing and jobs, forcing many families to the streets (Elliot). Many are unaware of how prevalent child poverty is. To raise awareness, the New York Times did a series of articles that followed the life of a young girl named Dasani. The article highlights the brilliance that Dasani had at such a young age and emphasizes the everyday struggles that she had to face growing up as a child in poverty. Some ways that can lower the amount of child poverty is through after school programming and through work-for-rent housing.

    Read More

  • Solutions To Homelessness

    1837 Words  | 4 Pages

    This great nation of awesome power and abundant resources is losing the battle against homelessness. The casualties can be seen on the street corners of every city in American holding an ?I will work for food? sign. Homeless shelters and rescue missions are at full capacity. There is no room at the inn for the nation?s indigent. Anyone who has studied this issue understands that homelessness is a complex problem. Communities continue to struggle with this socio-economic problem while attempting to understand its causes and implement solutions. The public and private sectors of this country are making a difference in the lives of the homeless by addressing the issues of housing, poverty and education.

    Read More

  • Homeless in The United States

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    McNamara, Robert Hartmann. "Homelessness." Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Social Issues. Ed. Michael Shally-Jensen. Vol. 3: Family and Society. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011. 1024-1031. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 May 2014. .

    Read More

  • Causes of Homelessness in San Antonio

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are an estimated 2,981 homeless people in San Antonio each day. Out of these, 1,243 were unsheltered and a staggering 31% of those are people with families. In addition, the average age of a homeless child in San Antonio is 6 years old. An overall picture shows that homelessness has dropped nearly four percent from 2012 to 2013. Further, an average of 610,042 people are homeless across the United States on any given night. “Of that number, 36 percent – 222,197 people – were in families, representing a drop of 7 percent for that group” (Chappell, 2013, p. #). More than a third of these people were not found in shelters, abandoned buildings, cars, or under bridges. Although, there has been a small decline in homelessness, it’s still necessary to drastically change these statistics by solving the causes of homelessness. Sleeping in vacant buildings and under bridges is unacceptable. These statistics are very alarming and a solution needs to be found.

    Read More

  • The Homelessness Problem Of Homelessness

    2180 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...is to understand the factors that lead people into homelessness, that keep them homeless, and how they can recover from homelessness. Advocates for the homeless have proposed policies range from taking preventative measures, such as making housing and health care affordable, to policies that deal with individuals that are already homeless, such as rapid rehousing and redefining what it means to be homeless. Although many of the experts disagree on how the homeless epidemic should be handled, many acknowledge that the federal government plays an inexpendable role in helping the homeless. Homelessness is, obviously, a complex issue, but like all difficult issues it must be undertaken. It has become clear that homelessness is not something that will eradicate itself given time, homelessness will continue to grow and evolve unless an outside force stops it in its tracks.

    Read More

  • The Homeless in Canada

    2623 Words  | 6 Pages

    “Homeless is more than being without a home. It is tied into education needs, food, security; health issues both mental and physical, employment issues, etc. Don’t forget the whole picture.” (“Boxed In” 2005 pg. 108)

    Read More

  • Homeless In Homeless

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the number of homeless people in America continues to rise, homelessness has become a central issue in the County of Orange. A homeless person can be defined as an individual who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence and has a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised, publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations. (“U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development”) Whether homelessness is a result of individual choices, drug abuse, poor work ethic or the expensive cost of living, one thing is for sure, statistics show that the homeless population in Orange County has increased 54% over the past four years. As Orange County has 5 of the

    Read More

  • Strategies to Deal with Homelessness in Tempe, AZ

    542 Words  | 2 Pages

    Currently, there are very scores of homeless individuals in Tempe; the authorities of the city have put in place a number of strategies to help address the problem of homelessness among the residents. Although several proposals have been instituted to address the problem, this paper only looks at three of them: the National Coalition for the Homeless (2006), Lois M Collins, Desert News, and Fehr-Snyder, The Arizona Republic. The paper seeks to explain why the National Coalition for the Homeless is the best among the three strategies.

    Read More

  • Cause And Effect Of Homelessness Research Paper

    1327 Words  | 3 Pages

    Homelessness is a crucial factor as to why Americans don’t achieve the ideal “American Dream”. Homelessness is a social issue that affects a widespread group of people, ranging from single individuals to families each year. Many of those who are currently homeless, don’t choose to be homeless, but are forced into living on the streets for reasons such as a financial crisis, divorce, unemployment, mental illness, drug or alcohol abuse, or even a natural disaster that triggers the rising problem of how these individuals will survive. Annually, 3.5 Americans experience an episode of homelessness. That is 75,000 people experiencing homeless each night that others of more comfortable means will never have to experience. (Thompson). Homelessness

    Read More

More about Our Tired Our Poor, Our Children Analysis

Open Document