How Can We Help The Homeless And Should We?: Searching For A Solution :: essays research papers

How Can We Help the Homeless and Should We? Searching for a SolutionJust a few months ago I was with my friends mike and Kim and we had beenwalking around having a great time in the city. We then exited a store and Kimsaid something under her breath like, "Oh, no," when I looked in the homogeneousdirection to find a middle aged man with a drunken stare to him. She knew thisman as "the town drunk" and he had been homeless person for years. He asked us for thetime and we replied, but he didnt sightly stop with that and followed us acrossthe street talking up a storm. He was notice his whole life story in thefifteen minutes we stood there he talked about how he grew up living poor withhis family and how he cherished to be educated and go through college to get a goodjob so he could live well. simply he said his parents just didnt have the moneyand it was impossible. I felt threatened as did Mike and Kim from the drunkengestures of this man and thought to myself, i f this man wanted to make somethingof his life, I intend if he really wanted to, he would try harder and somehow dowh at he wanted. We tried to leave as soon as possible.     But then I began reading these canvass about the homeless and it startedto change my mind. The essay "Virginias Trap" by Peter Marin especiallyeffected me because of the way it portrays the young cleaning woman that has nothinggoing for her and almost everything against her. I though about this and decidedI had misunderstood the whole plight of this population and thought there mustbe a better way to help these unfortunate people. How should we help thehomeless and should we try even though they may not help themselves? I figurethat is the most important question that needs to be answered if anything is tobe done.     Of the essays I analyzed Awalts "Brother Dont Spare a Dime" was theone essay that went against the idea of helping the homeless because the authorthinks its their own fault for being the way they are. The other two essays areeasier on the homeless and want to tally a helping hand. In "Address UnknownHomeless in Contemporary America" James Wright thinks that helping the homelessby giving them much benefits that they will be more prosperous. Peter Marin hasthe same idea in "Virginias Trap" where the young woman is in need of just a