Free Essays on Homelessness

When many people think of homelessness they think that the homeless are a group of crazy bums, drunks and people that are too lazy to work, as did one of our presidents Ronald Reagan. Yet if we think about it, not all homeless people fall into these categories. There are many reasons people become homeless. People become homeless due to job loss, generally without hope for future employment, inability to recover from low paying jobs, natural disasters and/or illness. Other reasons people become homeless are of mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction. Even though one-third of the homeless population is mentally ill, and this is a great number, it doesn’t mean that all homeless are mentally ill. â€Å"Did you know that† here are a few facts about homelessness: 1. The typical homeless person in America is a child. 2. Children and families make up the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. 3. There are 6,000 families living in the New York City shelter system. Ten times that number are one step away from homelessness. 4. Over half of all homeless children have never lived in their own home. Over forty percent have been homeless more than once. 5. Over one-third of homeless families have an open case for child abuse or neglect; one out of five have lost at least one child to foster care. 6. Nearly half of homeless children either have witnessed or have been subjected to violence in their home. 7. The typical homeless family is a single, 20-year-old mother with two children under the age of six. Now think about the facts and put yourself in this situation, the typical homeless family consists of an unmarried 20-year-old mother with one or two children under the age of 6, probably fathered by different men. It is found common that this young mother never completed high school and never worked to support her family. There is a one in five chance that she was in foster care as a child; if so, she ... Free Essays on Homelessness Free Essays on Homelessness When many people think of homelessness they think that the homeless are a group of crazy bums, drunks and people that are too lazy to work, as did one of our presidents Ronald Reagan. Yet if we think about it, not all homeless people fall into these categories. There are many reasons people become homeless. People become homeless due to job loss, generally without hope for future employment, inability to recover from low paying jobs, natural disasters and/or illness. Other reasons people become homeless are of mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction. Even though one-third of the homeless population is mentally ill, and this is a great number, it doesn’t mean that all homeless are mentally ill. â€Å"Did you know that† here are a few facts about homelessness: 1. The typical homeless person in America is a child. 2. Children and families make up the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. 3. There are 6,000 families living in the New York City shelter system. Ten times that number are one step away from homelessness. 4. Over half of all homeless children have never lived in their own home. Over forty percent have been homeless more than once. 5. Over one-third of homeless families have an open case for child abuse or neglect; one out of five have lost at least one child to foster care. 6. Nearly half of homeless children either have witnessed or have been subjected to violence in their home. 7. The typical homeless family is a single, 20-year-old mother with two children under the age of six. Now think about the facts and put yourself in this situation, the typical homeless family consists of an unmarried 20-year-old mother with one or two children under the age of 6, probably fathered by different men. It is found common that this young mother never completed high school and never worked to support her family. There is a one in five chance that she was in foster care as a child; if so, she ... Free Essays on Homelessness â€Å"Over the past year, over two million men, women, and children were homeless† in America. (NLCHP) Homeless people face an intense struggle just to stay alive despite the fact that society turns its head from the problem. The government makes laws that discriminate against homeless people, which make it, illegal for them to survive. The mistreatment of homeless people is an issue that is often ignored in our community (Homelessness in America). When you see a homeless person on the streets how do you react? Do you turn your head and ignore them? Do you become angry that they are living on the streets? Do you feel frightened and avoid the situation all together? Or do you see these people as human beings and treat them in that way? Homeless people are â€Å"subjected to alienation and discrimination by mainstream society†. (NLCHP) Most alienation and discrimination comes from the lack of education about homeless people. There are numerous untrue myths about homeless people. Many people believe that homeless people â€Å"commit more violent crimes than housed people.† (NLCHP) The reality is that homeless people actually commit less violent crimes than people with homes do. Brestow Hardin, of Home less in America, studied arrest records and discovered that even though homeless people were more likely to commit non-violent and non-destructive crimes, they were less likely to commit violent crimes against people. (Homelessness in America) The crimes that these people are committing are necessary to keep them alive. These crimes include sleeping, eating, and panhandling. Making it illegal to perform necessary daily activities in public when homeless people have no where else to go makes it impossible for homeless people to avoid violating the law. (NLCHP) Another myth about homeless people is that they do not work and that they get their money from public assistance programs. A study done in Chicago discovered that â€Å"39% of homeless peopl... Free Essays on Homelessness The need for emergency shelters has shown a dramatic incline in the past years. The demand for emergency shelters has rose 500% since 1988 (â€Å"Not Gone, but Forgotten?† 1). Many of people every night are stranded outside with not even a blanket for the night because all the shelters are full and sometimes the shelters will not except certain people. In some places, the waiting list to get board on a full time shelter will range from 18 to 20 months for families. The need for emergency shelters has been high do to the amount of the loss in volunteer work as well. The shelter availability in larger cities for shelter has become unreal. In Minnesota’s the nightly shelter population quadrupled between 1985 and 1997 (â€Å"Not Gone, but Forgotten?† 1). San Francisco’s Coalition for the homeless estimates that 16,000 people are there each night without a shelter, twice as many as 10 years ago (â€Å"Not Gone, but Forgotten?† 1). The homeless population continues to grow rapidly and the shelters are not growing fast enough to help keep them off the streets. Because of the extreme growth of the homeless it may be hard to provide shelter in larger cities. Housing expenses have rose so high in the 1990’s that it is hard for an average person to make house payments now. About half of the nation’s poorest households spend 70% or more of their monthly income on housing (Wright 2). In the median state a minimum-wage worker would need to work 87 hours a week to afford a two bedroom apartment at 30% of his or her income (â€Å"Why are People Homeless?† 2). In the last 10 years housing prices have almost doubled in there value in most smaller homes. Many people can not aford their homes anymore due to the increase in housing expenses. The employment field is becoming very competitive and it is becoming difficult for the homeless to find jobs. A survey in California determined that 56% of businesses require a home addres s and telephone number befo...

10 Fast Facts about Sin City

10 Fast Facts about Sin City Las Vegas is the largest city in the  state of Nevada. It is the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. It is also the 28th most populous city in the U.S. with a city population of 567,641 (as of 2009). Las Vegas is known around the world for its resorts, gambling, shopping and dining and it calls itself the Entertainment Capital of the World.   It should be noted that in popular terms, the name Las Vegas is mostly used to describe the resort areas on the 4 miles (6.5 km) Las Vegas Strip on Las Vegas Boulevard. However, the Strip is mainly in the unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester. Nevertheless, the city is most well-known for the Strip and downtown. Facts About The Las Vegas Strip Las Vegas was originally established as an outpost to western trails and in the early 1900s, it became a popular railroad town. At that time, it was a staging post for mining in the surrounding area. Las Vegas was established in 1905 and it officially became a city in 1911. The city declined in growth shortly after its founding, but in the mid-1900s it continued to grow. In addition, the completion of the Hoover Dam, about 30 miles (48 km) away, in 1935 again caused Las Vegas to grow.Most of the early major development of Las Vegas occurred in the 1940s after gambling was legalized in 1931. Its legalization led to the development of large casino-hotels, the earliest of which were managed by the mob and were associated with organized crime.By the late 1960s, businessman Howard Hughes had purchased many of Las Vegas casino-hotels and organized crime was run out of the city. Tourism from around the U.S. grew considerably during this time but nearby military personnel were known to frequ ent the area which caused a building boom in the city. Most recently, the popular Las Vegas Strip has undergone a process of redevelopment that began with the opening of The Mirage hotel in 1989. This resulted in the construction of other large hotels on the southern part of Las Vegas Boulevard, aka the Strip, and initially, tourists were driven away from the original downtown area. Today, however, a variety of new projects, events and the construction of housing has caused tourism to increase downtown.The main sectors of the economy of Las Vegas are within tourism, gaming, and conventions. These have also caused the related service sectors of the economy to grow. Las Vegas is home to two of the worlds largest Fortune 500 companies, MGM Mirage and Harrahs Entertainment. It also has several companies involved in the manufacturing of slot machines. Away from downtown and the Strip, residential growth in Las Vegas is rapidly occurring, so construction is also a major sector of the economy.Las Vegas is located in Clark County in southern Nev ada. Geographically, it sits in a basin within the Mojave Desert and as such the area surrounding Las Vegas is dominated by desert vegetation and it is surrounded by dry mountain ranges. The average elevation of Las Vegas is 2,030 feet (620 m). The climate of Las Vegas is an arid desert with hot, mostly dry summers and mild winters. It has an average of 300 sunny days per year and averages about 4.2 inches of rainfall per year. Because it is in a desert basin, however, flash flooding is a concern when precipitation occurs. Snow is rare, but not impossible. The July average high temperature for Las Vegas is 104.1 °F (40 °C), while the January average high is 57.1 °F (14 °C).Las Vegas is considered one of the fastest growing areas in the U.S. and recently it has become a popular destination for retirees and families. Most of the new residents of Las Vegas originate from California.Unlike many major cities in the U.S., Las Vegas does not have any major-league professional sports team. This is mainly because of concerns over sports betting and competition for the citys other attractions.The Clark County School District, the area in which Las Vegas lies, is the fifth most populous school district in the U.S. In terms of higher education, the city is near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, about 3 miles (5 km) from the city limits, as well as several community colleges and private universities.