It is Time to Demand Action About Homelessness

As rates of homelessness continue to grow, the threat of unstable housing lingers over the heads of countless American middle-class families. The national attitude towards homelessness fails to reflect this reality as we see an influx of dehumanization towards those experiencing insecure housing, with the common quick conclusion that illegal substances put them in that position.

In October 2018, SF Gate asked about the cause of homelessness, five out of twelve of the recorded responses stemmed from unprecedented medical emergencies that caused financial ruin or debilitated them from their work, thus restricting them from a steady income and steady housing.

What we also fail to recognize is that simply giving people housing will not suffice. Just as there are a myriad of reasons as to why they are on the streets, there needs to be multiple options as to how we help get them off. We must begin to construct a system in which helps the homeless reintegrate into society based on their individual needs, rather than pushing thirty strangers into less-than-adequate shelters and calling it a solution.

Do not wait until a medical emergency leaves you without stable housing to push this agenda.