Group Three Links - Homelessness and Poverty

    The next group of our English discussions is group three in which they discuss homelessness and poverty. My original thought process behind the topic wasn't anything that honestly hasn't been stated before. I grew up in Los Angeles so I was able to see horrible situations of homelessness such as the infamous skid row that has accumulated a name for itself due to its extreme homeless climate that is a small society. Due to the constant exposure, I have noticed my desensitization to homeless culture as now not much crosses my brain or exerts the usual emotion it would such as sadness and hopelessness. That does not mean my emotions and thought processes towards homelessness are gone, but rather they have changed. I now see homelessness and am disappointed. Disappointed that after seeing so many people on the streets and hearing about how much people are trying to make a change or should make a change when there has been an indent into the problem as close to none. Most of the problems at hand for homeless people could be dealt with by politicians making moral decisions instead of ones out of greed. 

    For our Tuesday watch of the week, we watched a Netflix film titled "Lead Me Home" which follows multiple participants on how they survived on the streets, how they became homeless, what kind of help they need, and helps give further insight into how homelessness affects people. I really enjoyed the film as the participants gave examples and anecdotes that are truly shocking and nerve-wracking that lead you to want nothing but the best for them. In the readings assigned, I really liked the Garden Project article which discusses the "Systems of Poverty: Understanding Structural Causes of Homelessness" by Morgan Bishop as it gets to the point of solutions for the complex nature of homelessness as it is clear that people in high government positions won't do as much as a community can. A few examples of solutions for homelessness that the article gives are fulfilling basic human needs, building community care, and expanding not only affordable housing but social programs too. All of this is valid in the reasoning of solutions, but my problem with the solutions is that there is never anyone willing to participate or fund such matters. It's understandable it is time-consuming on not number one on most people's to-do lists, but it can't start changing without the first form of help coming from communities.  

    My final thoughts on homelessness and poverty are that it is something that needs to be done but in very specific and meticulous ways. I don't think my original thoughts on homelessness have changed as there is still nothing I can immediately do to support the issue at hand but I still hope that they are healthy and know that they are loved as much as possible. I know of the typical "hopes and prayers" statement when political situations are too much to discuss, but when things are truly out of your hands there's not much else to do. I hope that the issue of homelessness decreases past the term significantly and that poverty has reached an all-time low, but that takes time and with time change always comes.