Homelessness

Homelessness has and most likely will always be a justice issue if the proper action is not taken. One major reason why I feel like homelessness is a justice issue is because it isn’t fair and this reason alone goes against the definition of justice. Another component of justice that homelessness defiles is equality. Being homeless is a sign that everyone in the U.S. is not on the same level. Whether it be socioeconomic status, job opportunity, health care opportunity or anything else, the truth of the matter is that all Americans do not have the same right or opportunity. For instance, there are some unfortunate occurrences where people are born into families of low socioeconomic status. Because they are born into poor living conditions, it is likely that they will grow up that way and continue to carry on that tradition.

On the other hand, there are cases where people are homeless because of something that they might have brought upon their self. For example, someone could continuously come to work late, fail to complete assigned projects in it’s entirety, lie on their timesheet and eventually get fired. This is an instance where the person brought the situation upon their self and now they have to figure out how to make ends meet before they get evicted from their home. Now, they’re depressed because they lost their job, they’re living on the street, and they possibly turn to drugs to fill the void they created. Whatever the case may be, homelessness is an unfortunate and tragic situation to be in no matter what you did or might not have done to get to that point.

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 564,708 people experience homelessness on any given night in the United States. There needs to be a remedy for the issue of homelessness because the U.S. is well developed and wealthy enough to support people who identify themselves as homeless. In order for justice to be served in this case, everyone who is concerned about this issue needs to be prepared to work diligently. One way to seek justice and get homeless people off the street is to start locally. Volunteering at a local housing organization or even participating in a fundraising drive are ways to start in your community. Donating money, canned foods, clothes or anything that might benefit those in need is also a great way to reduce the amount of homeless people on the street. Another way of seeking justice is to take a more direct approach by making your voice known to officials by signing up for the Advocacy Updates through the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

In conclusion, although there is a wide variety of people that are homeless out in the streets today, great work has been done to reduce the amount of people sleeping on the street. For example, in 2009, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the Obama Administrative Care committed to ending veteran homelessness by 2015. Ever since that point, there has been a 35 percent decrease in the number homeless veterans. There is a lot more work that needs to be done to help people get back on their feet and get them out of the streets but overall, progress is being made and that’s all that matters.