Homelessness and Spare Change

Over one-hundred million people in the world today are homeless and out of that more than two million of them are from the United States. We the people are unaware of the things that are happening behind our backs. For instance, while you’re complaining about your pillow being too hard someone across town is looking for a pillow to sleep on although their chances of finding one are slim. Homelessness is a type of suffrage that has been around since the dawn of time. How does one live without a pillow you ask? There are many different ways to become homeless. Ninety-five percent of people without homes are victims of poverty, condition of being poor. Most people lose their money from addictions to substances like tobacco, marijuana, alcohol, and/or many others, some gamble it all away trying to do a get rich quick scheme or will get laid off by their jobs. They will dig themselves into such a deep hole that the light from above is barely visible. Some are lucky enough to make it out of the hole. As if the gods decided that they at disserve a chance. These chances might be a job offer with a good annual salary, a permanent home practically given to them, or many other different possibilities that have and will happen throughout history. Religious people will pray night and day searching for hope while struggling through life and its common challenges. God is a resource used by most homeless people. When people become desperate to find hope, even the non-religious ones, they go to a higher power and beg for it. Shelter homes are often used by homeless people. The wait in line is long and sometimes you have to show up hours before they start opening the doors just to get in because there are not enough beds for everybody. Plus the security cannot be trusted either, people will often be pickpocketed or raped while sleeping. Some don’t resort to these conditions; instead they sleep on the sidewalk or find vacant houses and make camp there for the night. These circumstances are not right; people should not have to live with them no matter how they got there. They need help and there are many ways for a common citizen to do so. In some parts of the world, like the United Kingdom, there are clothing stores called Shelter that give sixteen percent of proceeds to local homeless shelters. Spare change can also be shared with a beggar on the side of the road. No matter how annoying they are, you should give grace because it is always a good thing to help out of the kindness of your heart. Although, sometimes a beggar isn’t who he claims to be, one confessed and told the press that he made six figures a year which is plenty of money to afford a home. That is one misconception about the homeless that is hard to see. Also, not all homeless people have shaggy beards and stinky feet, some find a way to take care of hygiene because they are too scared of being labeled and judged as the failure they have become. How would you think of a coworker if you knew they didn’t have a permanent roof over their heads as they slept at night? Most managers would fire them because they didn’t want “trash” in their staff. Now that you’re aware of the horror filled life that is forced upon hundreds of thousands of people each day, I hope you give the beggars spare change next time you see one or volunteer at the nearest shelter home or soup kitchen. Doing so will not only make someone else’s day better but will also make your pillow feel softer than it actually is.