Homeless cared for in body not in spirit
As numbers of homeless get offered help in the form of food, housing, and medicine there is no emotional or mental support given.
Not giving the homeless therapy or any assistance beyond substance and protection is a paradox. As numbers of homeless get offered help in the form of food, housing, and medicine there is no emotional or mental support given. To some agencies, the phrase “if you give a man a fish you will have fed him for a day, if you teach a man to fish you will have fed him for a lifetime,” applies to the homeless situation as well. “The most proximate cause of homelessness in America is poverty. Statistics show between twenty and thirty percent of homeless families surveyed in 1996 said they had gone without food for part of the previous month” (University of Richmond, 2003) If the reason for most of the homeless people is one of poverty, then to rise above that a person needs education, emotional support and therapy.
The other large consideration is that families that are lead to live off the streets are raising children in a harmful environment that does not lead to healthy lifestyles. “Families constitute about one third of all homeless and are the fastest-growing group of homeless.” (University of Richmond, 2003) In order to combat a cycle of violence and crime not to mention homelessness, rehabilitation and programs designed to encourage persons to get a hand up not a hand out.
The number of the homeless in America is fluid at best but a rough estimate given by Fox News is 2 to 3.5 million. (D'Angelo, 2003) With all social issues facing America, a program of education and rehabilitation will encourage the homeless to take charge of their own fate and to rejoin society.
Bibliography
D'Angelo, J. (2003). Advocates Slam 'Creative' Homeless Solutions. Fox News .
University of Richmond. (2003). Solutions for America . Retrieved June 17, 2008, from Preventing Homelessness in America: http://www.solutionsforamerica.org/thrivingneigh/homelessness.html
