Homelessness is an epidemic that we, as citizens of this country, need to fight against. There are endless reasons as to why someone might be homeless. Many people are just one paycheck away from being homeless, and they do not even know it. It’s time that something is done about this. Maybe create living wages, create lower-income housing, or perhaps also create a service to help and relocate people to house. There are so many things that could be done to support that it angers me that nothing has been done or created a significant impact because the percent of homeless people is rising daily.

Many consider homelessness to be an “urban phenomenon,” but it is quickly becoming a rural issue as well. In rural areas, it is hard to keep track of the homeless and locate them because there are so many vast areas where they can camp. This is dangerous because if emergency weather occasions it makes it nearly impossible to spread information or even to create a census for evacuation. It also makes is hazardous because of the fact that in any case of medical emergency there is no way for ambulances to travel so far into the woods away from the main roads to get to them.

Living as a homeless individual is a dangerous path of life and especially in rural areas. Homeless people can die from extreme weather, sickness or disease, and even starvation. There is so much that can be done to help with the burden of not having a home, that it deeply saddens me that a program that has been made is adequately making an impact. We, as citizens, should all be thinking of ways to aid these individuals to make our society better as a whole.

 

Meehan, Mary. “In Rural Areas, Homeless People Are Harder To Find – And To Help.” NPR, NPR, 4 July 2019, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/07/04/736240349/in-rural-areas-homeless-people-are-harder-to-find-and-to-help.