Conditions Of The Homeless Essay, Research Paper

Have you ever realized how lucky you really are when you are driving under a bridge

or in poor part of town and you see a homeless person begging for work or food, or do

you just drive by and act as though you never saw the horrible site and go on about your

buisness? Just like in the book “Les Miserables” Fantine becomes homeless to take care

of her daughter, who she gae to the Thenardiers, for what she thought was a better life.

Everywhere you go, everwhere you look, there is always someone less fortunate than you,

some places more than others. Homeless people come from all walks of life. Anyone can

become homeless, you could be born to a rich or just well-off family and end up under a

bridge across town. Have you ever wondered, what are some situations homeless people

find themselves in every day liek Fantine did?

Homeless people aren’t as fortunate as people with roofs over their heads. THey have

to search up and down to find a place to sleep where they won’t be awaken by a police

officer who doesn’t like where they are. But regardless of who these people are, they are

still people, “who come from all walks of life, all races, and religions” (Marx 4).

Although many were born into homelessness or were brought down to it by their parents,

many have lost their jobs during economic changes of the 1980’s and weren’t able to find

other work, either because they were to old to be hired or didnt’ have the correct skills

(Marx 4). All over the world people because of the way they look and mainly becuse

they arent’ to the level of society the average person is on. But not only adults are

homeless, teenagers and children are living on the streets as well. Many are “runaways

and throwaways” (Hyde 52) Just because you dont’ see the swaarms and swarms of

children living on the street, it doesn’t mean they arent’ there. Seven hundred fifty

thousand to one million three hundred thousand boys and girls are homeless because

they are runaways from either broken, abusive, or dysfunctional families. But many also

come from being thrown out of their homes, some for reasons and some for no reasons at

all. (Hyde 52). But either way its no excuse to throw your child out on the street. But all

teenagers, children and adults all need places to live (”Homeless in America” 146).

Thousands of Americans stay in shelters each week (”Homelessness”). Shelters such as

church basements, old hotels or even buildings built for shelters usually always stay full

(Marx 4). Every day people are turned away adn even some have given up on finding a

bed to sleep in (marx 4).

So jsut like Fantine had to “sell herself” just to make it along, people on the streets

are doing this everyday just to get a warn meal to eat (Hugo 97). Next time you are

driving out of town don’t look out your window and think poor soul, do something the

best way you can, even if it is just giving a bottle of water.