Homeless Voting Essay, Research Paper

Why the Homeless Must Vote

You held out your hand and said you needed helping. They gave you a pathetic look and

kept on stepping.

The acrid rain came down and it soaked up into your shoes. You thought you had

pneumonia, but it was the homeless blues.

You had not voted when you had a home. You had not voted when you had a job. You

did not vote when domestic violence was not a problem. You did not vote when the house

was not on fire. And surely you did not vote when you were out of your head on drugs

and alcohol. Would you be concerned, and would anything have been different if you had

been a registered voter, and had voted? When you heard someone say, “it can happen to

any one of use,” would you have thought that they could have been talking about your

future?

For a multitude of reasons, both legitimate and illegitimate, any one of us can again

become homeless. With that concern in mind, the issues and positions of the homeless

should be more immediate in the need for your attention. That concern should dictate that

you not take for granted the duties of a citizen, and not have to rely on the kindness of

strangers, nor be dependent on those who perhaps did vote.

To vote is to use the greatest weapon a citizen has at his disposal in a democracy. To vote

is to fight that corner of apathy in our communities, our institutions, in our homes and in

the homes that we once had.

To register to vote, and vote, by homeless people is a tool that was not always afforded

the indigent, and some of the harsh realities of needing certain kinds of assistance is

profoundly significant, in that you are in the eye of the storm at the moment, you can see

with clarity the needs. And in the aftermath of the storm you will have a perspective of the

legislation and the legislators who understand your plight now, and the same concerns of

those who may need services after you. The homeless need to align themselves with those

who have an interest in the homeless at heart, and vote accordingly. To not register to

vote, and to not vote does a great disservice to those who have died getting and defending

the right of homeless people to vote and truly take their rightful place in the affairs of

those who have homes.

Bibliography

nothing to cite ….personal essay