camouflaged homelessness

Exploitation, alienation, poverty, disempowerment, fragmenting and debilitating labor, production for the profit of a few -- much less harsh homelessness, starvation, and degradation -- are not like gravity. They arise from institutional relations established by human beings. New institutions, also established by human beings, can generate other vastly superior outcomes. Defining and working to attain those new institutions ought to be our economic agenda.

- Michael Albert

 

It's not a rare sight to see a homeless person sleeping on the street in the city - but in my opinion it should be rare, especially in a properous nation such as North America. Learning about community health in nursing, it really opened my eyes to the situation. Most of these people did not choose to be in that situation. It's the system or unfortunate life circustances that lead them to that point in their life. Housing costs just seem to rise, and rise and its a wonder how any one can really afford to live somewhere, especially when one lacks an education that is a fortune to pay for in the first place. It's an ongoing cycle. It's a terrible system where teh rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It's nice to know that there are agency's that do advocate for these people who seem to have blended into the background and are no longer seen. None the less, these are bandage solutions. More permanent solutions need to be established. It's like that common saying goes - give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish, you feed him for life. There are advocates who are pushing for rehabilitation programs to integrate these humans back into society, such as work training programs. I hope that their efforts will cause a momentum towards a solution.

Done