Homelessness Research Paper

“Homeless people are lazy because there is always a way to get out of poverty” This is a misconception that I grew up with. I grew up in a strong Mexican culture household. My family believes that people who want to succeed will have the willingness to put in the work. My mother recognizes that there are many opportunities for people to take advantage of. She is a kind-hearted woman who would with no doubt offer a lending hand, but she also has some biases. I had a talk with my mother about homeless people one afternoon. I informed her on many situations that could lead to homelessness. Foster children with no resources, born into homelessness, illnesses etc. I had taken a HDFS class in which we discussed many situations people may be in that led them to homelessness. She understood that it’s not a lack of trying, but based on their own situation.

I was given a route in Irving to pass out meals and interact with children in low-income apartments. Every child had a unique story to tell. One morning, a little girl with no shoes came running in the rain for a meal. My first thought was, why don’t the parents care for their children? I told the child to put some shoes on next time to prevent her from getting sick or hurt. This child looks up at me and says, “I don’t have any shoes”. My heart sank to the ground. I had this misconception that everyone has things that I take for granted like shoes. “Poverty exists, but far away from where I live” This is another misconception that I used to have. I used to think that people in the poverty line where in a faraway neighborhood or even city. This summer I discovered that poverty is everywhere even in our neighborhoods. This summer I served in neighborhoods close to where I live and many others. I used to think that to help people I would have to travel to different countries over the world, but there is always help needed in our