The Experience of Homelessness in Economic Terms - Essay Example

Homelessness Food, Cloth and Shelter has been agreed to as the basic needs of human being. Thus an increase in the number of people with no home to live in must be seen as a serious social issue with reference to a civilized society. Homelessness is emerging to be alarming issue in Colorado. It has been observed that many people are living in street especially in 16th mall street. Their livelihood, shelter and food are street centered which pose serious challenges for them in terms of hygiene, health, physical and mental comfort. In terms of the society I live in, homelessness is turning to be an issue with serious social, economical and philosophical implications. The experience of homelessness in economic terms is the state of a person not being able to afford the basic amenities of shelter and food. This state of deprivation is very much observable in the people who live and survive in 16th mall street. However, most researchers and scientists agree that homeless people are the ones who have no income to pay for housing, and feed. (National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009). A recent statistics from USA today suggests that there 1.6 million homeless people staying in temporary or traditional shelters. This is a steady increase of nine percent room the data of 2007. However, data from different sources vary quantitatively as it is difficult to have exact estimation of homelessness. Another data from National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty suggests that in the year 2007, there were approximately 3.5 million people who experience homelessness. In the year, 2005 the estimation was 744,313 (National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009). This suggests the seriousness of the issue as the number of homeless is alarmingly increasing. There are several reasons which are attributed to the state of homelessness. Economic problems, lack of education, violence, and many other reasons interact with each other to cause this problem. It must be noted that out 3.5 million people who had no homes in 2007, 1.35 million were children. This becomes almost 1/3rd of the total population with no homes. This observation must be taken into serious consideration as wellbeing of children is the wellbeing of tomorrow’s nation. The direct and indirect implications of homelessness on children will reflect on the social security of the state. Primarily, the hygiene and health elements associated with the state of homelessness will adversely affect the physiological buildup of children. Adding to that, the psychological implications that the experience of homelessness causes to the children are to be considered seriously. “A vast majority (78%) of homeless children suffered from depression, behavioral problems, or severe academic delay”. This psychological state will affect their future and their character formation. People who are homeless and have depression probably feel miserable and not enjoying life as others do. (Janet Toye,2008 ) As a civilized society, it is important that this issue is looked into seriously and solutions are sought. A reverse mapping may be needed to solve the issue of homelessness. The issues like reduction in public assistance, increase in housing expenses, foreclosure, poverty, unemployment which leads to homelessness must be solved so that the issue is solved in the root. There is no meaning in trying to tackle homelessness specifically as it is a derivative of an issue or combination of issues. Measures to reduce poverty, to have increased budget allocation for housing assistance and to make available more employment opportunities, will take care of the issue along with taking care of overall societal wellbeing. At the same time the welfare of the homeless must be taken care of. The case of children who are homeless must be specifically handled and measures must be taken so that they have access to shelter, food, clothes and education. Family in United Kingdom The hospitality and warmth of my host family in the United Kingdom influenced me a lot. I was out in England for a month’s course in English. I was staying with a local family in the neighborhood of the college. The head of the family was working for a car company and the only other member in the family, his wife was working in a hospital. The house was two storied. I was given a small room in the second floor. Though small, it was a very comfortable room with a television in it. It was a residential area with lot of houses. A very interesting feature of the area was that it had a number of parks and open area close to the house. This made it very pleasant and green. On the first day in the college, when the advisor took me around the college and explained me about the college and the host house, I was worried and tensed. It was for the first time that I had stayed away from my parents. Moreover, having belonged to a society where children always depended on parents, staying away from them for the first time was a hard thing to do. Adding to that, learning English was not easy as I was not a native speaker. With all these worries, I was initially not comfortable at the host house. I was so much used to the comforts of my own home that I found it difficult to cope with the new situation. However, my host family made sure to make me feel at home. I could gradually feel the warmth with which they took care of me. They were very old but were still working. They gradually became very close to me. In my initial days in the United Kingdom, when I found it too difficult to adjust to the new place, climate and people it is them who helped me to adapt. The master of the family used to spend a lot of time with me explaining the history and culture of United Kingdom. This helped me a lot to understand the values those were associated with the country and its people. He explained me what to do and what not do being in UK. His wife was so helpful that she used to help me wash my clothes. She used to clean my room for me as well. The host family taught me to be responsible of myself. As I belonged to a different culture, where I used to depend on other people to get things done, for me to handle tasks of mine in UK involved a lot of change in the attitude. My host family guided me in every aspect. They explained to me various bus routes and milestones in the town. I was trained to pay my own bills. Gradually I got used to the town and started to explore it. I used to go out with my friends. An incident which always comes to my mind when I think of my host family is that of me going out with my friends for a movie in the night. While returning home after the movie, we got into an argument with a drunkard. He almost attacked us before he realized that we were a group of 40 people. I didn’t get a bus back home as it was late in the night. So I got a taxi back home which turned out to be very expensive. When I reached home it was very late. The next morning the old man asked me about the previous night. When I narrated the story, with a lot of compassion and love he advised me to be careful and to return back home before it’s too late. However, later as I started exploring the possibilities of enjoyment in the town, I ignored his advice and got into the habit of getting back home late. Interestingly, the old man stopped advising as well. The love and care they bestowed upon me made me realize later that I should not be doing that and I apologized. Being with this family in United Kingdom thus remains as unforgettable days in my life. The care and love that they bestowed upon me will always be remembered. Read More