Understanding Homelessness

An old man was curled up, sleeping on a grate on the side walk. Hisclothes were layered and dirty. His face looked weathered and was covered with dirt. He used a piece of cardboard for a blanket. Lying beside him was a plastic grocery bag which contained his belongings. I will never forget this sight. This was the first homeless person I had ever seen. I felt scared and helpless at the same time. I had never been in his world and he was probably dreaming about being in mine. I left Washington D.C. a few days later to return home to a warm house and a loving family. Meanwhile, he was probably searching for a way to find what I have.

America is filled with many people and many stereotypes. Homelessness is treated like a disease. Most people think it is something that is self-inflicted or that it can be passed from one person to another. These are things that we learn from watching television and being uneducated about what homelessness really is.

When a person pictures a homeless person more than likely they picture a middle aged man, sitting on a dark sidewalk, drinking from a whiskey bottle that is wrapped in a brown paper sac. In the following pages you will find out homeless people are regular people. They are from all walks of life. They are men, women, and children. They are tall, short, rich, poor, white, African American, and Native American. Everyoneis susceptible to becoming a victim to this tragic way of life.

As immigrants came to America the first thing they read was the following passage, which is engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty that is located on Ellis Island in New York. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. ...

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...her they live in a house or on the streets, everyone is part of the community.

Works Cited

A Temporary Emergency Shelter for the Homeless. Ours to Serve. House of Hospitality, Inc. (Pamphlet)

Adelmann, Carol. "Couple leads effort to construct shelter." The Pioneer. 22 Dec. 1985, Page l.

Ahrens/Rauchberg. Bedtime Stories. The National Coalition for the Homeless: Washington D.C. (Pamphlet)

Bilezikia, Gary' "The Statue of Liberty," Online, 2.13.97, Available: http://sunp.nyit.edu/Visions/Liberty.html#anchor468 1 60

Homeless America: Goin~ Without in a Land of Plenty. (Pamphlet)

"Jessica" alias. Personal interview. 21 Jan. 1997. employee at the House of Hospitality

Meyerding, AnnPe Louise. "Hospitality House serves those in need." The Pioneer. 4 Dec. 1988, Page 1.

Test on Homelessness Semi Advanced. The Veterans Administration. (Pamphlet)