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My last weekend was exactly like any other weekend I have lived for the past couple of years. Since I lost my job about two years ago, I got kicked out of my house because I was not able to pay the rent. Along with not having a home and having to live in a hobo jungle with other hobos, who were sometimes louses, and snarky, I was totally beat, I didn’t even have an ace. With no money, I was not able to buy myself food to eat, so I had to line up in soup kitchens. I would always be hungry throughout the day and every time I received a free meal, I would lose a little more respect for myself. There were days where I was very hungry, but I did not go into the soup kitchen because I did not want anyone that I knew to see me getting free meals.
... a dinner meal can become a luxury. Soup kitchens sometimes become overcrowded and unable to serve everyone in need. As a result, malnutrition is not uncommon among these underprivileged families.
The lunch bell rung at full volume as the main doors flung open. I predicted that a herd of people will rush in like the water from a spill gate. But instead every person was a line; in fact it was a neat single filed line. Another thing I was astonished to see was to the fact that every single person I served to was superbly well mannered. It was the magical word of thank-you which left great remarks in my life and made my volunteering experience an enjoyable one. After the shift, I have come to realize that everything my family and friends have said about impoverished people was nothing but just a stereotype. In addition, I have self-discovered that volunteering is what I want to do on my spare time. The joy from making new friends, appreciated and making a difference in society was too meaningful to put in words. From then on, volunteering had become one of my most highly valued priorities. Whenever I have time to spare, I will go
Have you ever protected someone that’s being bullied? Or give some change for a homeless man to buy food?
For multitudes of people “along with breadlines, soup kitchens became a daily part of the life of millions” (Start With Me 8). When people are used to this life style that is when it starts to get very sad, because people had become so accustom to living in poverty that it became normal. So many people went to soup kitchens that:
The hours I put in at the food pantry had a greater affect on me than the thrift shop. On October 16, 1999 another classmate and I were brought to the food pantry in the middle of a poor section of Lawrence. We were brought inside and I was instructed to serve salad, bread, and pickles. My heart really went out to the unfortunate people when they started coming up to me. I felt extremely bad for them. There were people of all ages. Parents with their children, wearing dirt stained clothing filled with holes that did not even fit them. A good amount of the people I had to deal with were Hispanic and very few of them were able to speak English. It was very difficult to communicate with them. The little faces of the innocent children made me really feel for them. I knew these children had insecure families and were looked at as though they were fortunate to be getting food. These young kids seemed to be very appreciative that they were able to get some food in their starving bellies.
Soup kitchens and bread lines could be found in any city and were often ran outside, in churches, cafeterias, and even service centers. Charitable organizations first established these soup kitchens and bread lines. Eventually the state and federal governments began to operate them. They were made in order to help feed the thousands of homeless people who had no money to afford their next
In our nature, we have the habit of throwing as much stuff possible even if it’s something that is still usable. A small imperfection makes them liable to throw it away, yet there are people out there who have nothing to eat and are constantly hunting for food, even if it isn’t a real hot meal. They just need something to fulfill their digestive need. Food should be viewed with much more value and respect rather than ignoring and throwing it as if it’s trash and not life essential. The statement we constantly hear but fail to acknowledge is that “some people have it much worse” and there are those who really do. People who don’t have a cent to their name are going through dumpsters and eating the food that you threw out. There’s a huge amount of homeless people in our nation yet our government still fails to take action. It is for this reason that I believe the community should recognize homelessness as a problem and petition government to take action against it.
As a ten year old, I often accompanied my mother to (name deleted), a local soup kitchen and children's center.
Have you ever had a time in your life where you felt like everything was just dumped on you? I did, and undoubtedly it happened just as I came to school at State University. That saying, “When it rains, it pours,” just seemed to fit me perfectly. Within a two week period one of my friends from high school committed suicide, my grandma went in the hospital, and my boyfriend broke up with me. Yet, from these experiences in my life, I grew, more than I have ever grown before. This is why I am writing about it. Although, everyone goes through hard times, there were not many people out there who related to me. That is why it was hard to get help when it was needed. Maybe someone can learn from my experience and be just as strong as I was.
I went to the grocery store and got cases of water, bags of bread, and stuff to make the sandwiches. I had finished preparing the bags and each had granola bars, fruit, ham and cheese sandwiches, water, toothpaste, and other hygiene products. My dad and I had arrived outside the homeless shelter and were ready to pass the bags out as we saw the swarm of people. Hundreds maybe even thousands of people gathered sitting in what little shade there was. I knew we had a homeless problem, but not to this extent and the bags I had made were going to make little to no difference on the vast amount of people that had been sitting outside. I was a little disappointed at first to be completely honest because I was not prepared for that many people. If I would have known there would have been so many people I would have made more bags. We drove around the block planning on what we were going to do and saw some tents set up. My dad and I were curious as to what they were, so we got out the car and saw that these people had been giving people food and I walked up to them and asked if there was any way I could help them. These people in the tents were actually an organization called Open Arms Outreach and a few girls scouts. They gladly let us help and we brought a few cases of water and the bags I had made and helped pass them out. The organization Open Arms Outreach
Homelessness is everywhere, it is not a new trend and is a growing problem. Many people ask themselves should I help the homeless or not; it is easier to just ignore the problem than to give a helping hand. Every person needs help at one point or another in their life and homeless people should be no different. Assisting the homeless with healthcare, housing, and childcare are ways people are able to and should help the homeless.
Growing up on the farm, is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. I grew up raising hogs and cattle. I love helping my dad take care of the animals. It was not until I was older that I realized how much growing up on a farm has impacted my life. Living on the farm has taught me the values of hard work, determination, dedication, and integrity.
J.K. Rowling once said “Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes depression. It meets a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts that is something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticized by fools,” and this really resonates with me as my family has always struggled with money. It was this state of poverty that has stayed with me my whole life and defined who I am today.
I did have some of my friends who stole other people's stuff because of hunger. Moreover, brigands use these people who are very hungry to kill others for money. Can you see how others’ life are in danger because of us? Can you imagine how your donation would help others?
At this moment in time there is a homeless person in a shelter shivering due to freezing temperatures, surrounded by diseases, and in an unsafe environment. The living conditions of the shelters are significant issue because they are intended to help the inhabitants strive, not worsen the scenario. In many cases the homeless will go to shelters seeking help, but will find the uncleanliness of the shelter, people that have had previous federal offenses surrounding them, and basic human needs withheld. It is necessary to improve the living conditions in order to bring more people out of homelessness and improve their quality of life. The current living conditions within homeless hotels-shelters impact the health, safety, and quality of life of