Sociological Imagination And Homelessness Essay

The sociological imagination leads Ralph to homelessness in many ways. Sociological Imagination is how a person perceives the world, the political and social politics, the economics, or the geography. Those factors are going to partake in his journey of how he became homeless and what Ralph’s life is like now. Ralph used to live under Penn Station in a community that seemed like they were a family and would always look out for one another. They would talk and treat each other like one, but they still compare one person to the next (as families usually do). When a person lives in a homeless community, there is only so much to look out for without creating a social hierarchy. They talk about who has the nicest house and who has the nicest things or who has the better jobs. They place everyone on a scale. Living in a homeless community can lead to different psychological factors that could have affected Ralph in many

You need money to survive and there is a chance that Ralph did not have any. You need money to pay for the food you eat and the clothes you wear. You need money for your bills, including the ones for water to clean yourself. Not having money puts anyone in a hard spot because it is what you need for everything now. If Ralph did not have any money, that factors in to him not having a home because he can not afford one. Politics also comes into play when it comes to being homeless. The political kind has an impact because the people in government want to keep people like Ralph off the streets and put them into shelters, but those shelters can be overcrowded. That may be a reason why Ralph went to the community under Penn Station. When AMTRAK finally kicks out the community, that put Ralph in a tough situation, but he was placed into a Section 8 program that helped him get a better life. The people in politics helped him to get out of the bad situation he was in and into the better life he has