The Homeless and Professional Panhandlers

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“What if you woke up today with what you thanked God for yesterday?” I saw this sign hanging on a wall at a friends house, and it shocked me when I read it. I would have absolutely nothing. I have so much to be thankful for, but I never thought about any of it. I would not have any of my possessions, that at this point in time seemed like necessities, or any of my friends and family. I am not saying you have to become religious to be thankful for something, but there are people that do not have any of these things that we find necessary for basic survival. After a long day at school or work some people do not have the privilege of laying in a nice comfy bed, and have the privilege of having food at their disposal whenever they desire. These less fortunate people make up the homeless population in not only the US, but the world. Homelessness is a problem, because society stereotypes and discriminates against them, it has been on the rise without any effort to stop it, and it is dangerous to peoples health.
Stereotyping is something that everyone subconsciously does, and sadly, something that people are very good at. The common view on someone that is homeless is that they are dirty and disease ridden, but they are still human beings that are not as lucky as the rest of us. It is not just one mistake or bad choice that causes someone to end up on the street, it is a series of mistakes, and a little bad luck, that turns these peoples lives from bad to worse (Thibodeau). More often then not most of the things that put people on the street our things that can normally be dealt with alone, but when faced with these challenges it is easy to find a bank account drain quicker than it can be replenished. Most people can afford to make mor...

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...rsion=1.0>.
Kann, Ashley. "Unequal Funding Crippling Mass. Homeless Shelters." GoLocalWorcester. N.p., 2 June 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. .
Kozol Jonathan.”Untouchables,” Book, Patterns for Purpose, Ed. Clouse, Barbra, McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, June 12, 2008. Print.
Malagna, Steven. "The Professional Panhandling Plague." The City Journal. The City Journal, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. .
McKinney-Vento Act (Washington DC: National Coalition for the Homeless, 2006).
O’Flaherty, Brendan. Making Room: The Economics of Homelessness. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996..
Thibodeau, Tom. Personal interview. 10 Oct. 2013.

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