Essay #2 (Rough Draft)

A friend asked me a question as I gave a homeless gentleman holding a sign $5.00. The sign read, “I won’t lie, I need a beer,” my friend asked me how could I give anybody money who clearly intended to use it to support their alcohol habits. He added to this by saying, “instead of begging for money on a corner, they should be out somewhere trying to get a job & a stable place to stay.” My response to my friends comment was, “what if the homeless individual had a disability, or some other handicap that prevented them from being productive members of society?” When I asked this, I could see my friend’s entire demeanor change. He went from an individual with an obvious problem against homeless people. To an individual that looked as though he wanted to donate everything he processed to help every homeless person he could. This conversation made me come to the conclusion that, “
According to statistics gathered by the Western Regional Advocacy Project the federal government in 1978 appropriated $83 billion dollars in the fiscal budget for maintaining affordable housing for the homeless population. As of 2005 the federal government only appropriated a total of $29 billion dollars, which is 65% less than 18 years prior. Another staggering fact is that as of 2005 the federal government spent $122 billion dollars on subsidies for the middle-class & affluent homeownership programs, in comparison to 1978 when the federal government only devoted $38 billion dollars, which is approximately $84 billion dollars more. To add insult to injury in 2004 61% of the subsidies that were allotted went to households that earned over $57,787.00, while only 20% went to households that earned less than $18,465.00. With a property threshold for households of 4, with 2 minor children was $19,157.00. I’m using these staggering statistics to help better understand that since 1978 the federal government has cut resources that could potentially provide housing for thousands of homeless individuals across the country.
Since the 1970’s the federal government has deemed thousands of governmental housing developments closed. But in actuality there are a lot of these developments that are still in livable condition. The idea that there is housing available that is/was funded by the federal government, & on a corner at the end of the same block there is a homeless man holding a sign such as the homeless man I encountered earlier in the introduction. What does this say about our human rights? If my annual income or my social status justified the amount of rights I have as a American citizen, or better yet as a human being, then what is the point in having the U.S Constitution, or any of the numerous Amendments that has been established to prevent injustices such as this…

Essay #1

The recent debate on the severity of the social epidemic of homelessness & the need for social reform has been the topic of discussion. In this day & age its hard for a person to walk in areas such as downtown, public parks, even drive in our vehicles without noticing their presence. Holding signs, cups or sometimes even holding a bottle of alcohol. Who’s to blame? Sure it would be easy to blame the individual asking you for change with the pride less, sometimes empty & pathetic look on his face. But what does this suggest about us as a society? Lets take a look at us for a minute. Maybe hearing both sides of the table will help us come to a conclusion that will help us rectify the increasing number of individuals that are forced to live their lives on the streets. I believe hearing both sides will help us stop pointing the finger at everyone else & start to prevent some of the issues that ultimately result in homelessness as an unpleasant reality.
The Department of Housing & Urban Development showed that between the year of 2005 & 2006 the number of homeless people in America’s streets declined from 175,900 to around 155,600. Thus making a decrease of the overall estimated homeless a staggering 11.2%. Advocates suggest that this figure is a positive representation of the positive steps towards rectifying the issue. However critics dispute this figure by arguing that out of the total number of homeless Americans, more than half are homeless due to circumstances that can be prevented.
Chronically homeless people are defined as the most troubled of the homeless population, suffering from mental or addiction troubles & living on the street for at least a solid year. Though a chronically homeless person may be homeless due to the lack of financial resources, the percentage of chronically homeless Americans that suffer from mental illnesses are staggering. Critics argue that by far this segment of the homeless population remains to be the most muffled. Advocates insists that if we were to focus on this particular segment, we must 1st focus on the cases of those individuals that are forced to live with the mental illness commonly know as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Stating that we have a moral obligation to assist the Americans that have served in the U.S armed forces, & they should be considered 1st. Predominately consisted of veterans; this disorder is usually associated with the psychological effects of hand-to-hand combat. The thought of possibly killing causes certain individuals to suffer from acute systems of anxiety, in some known cases hallucinations. And for this disorder in particular scientists have yet to develop a cure. But PTSD is not the only mental illness that causes these individuals to be mentally unstable.
Another contributor to homelessness in the U.S is property zoning & rent control. Over 3 million Americans are now considered to be homeless. "Mix sixty years of local zoning regulations with one part rent control; add a generous dash of wholesome mental hospital deinstitutionalization, & a severe breakdown in family structures, especially among the poor-- & you have a dandy social tragedy," Tom Main writes. "Reforming [cities] housing policies with an eye to increasing the availability of low-income housing, "Bernard Seigan adds," zoning appears to lower the price of housing for the rich & raise the housing prices for the poor. Policies like zoning & rent control are prime targets for reform the consequences of these regulations & laws don’t actually show their results for years. Local zoning boards set minimum lot size requirements for residential developments, & permanent more than 1 family to purchase a home under "single family" restrictions." Advocates express that without systems such as rent control & property zoning helps regulate the economy. If these systems weren’t in place than property values would be non reflective of the current market state. Critics suggest that rent control prohibits allocating apartments through the price system, which is also becoming a factor in hotels. Also, it has become evident that communities have prohibited the construction of cheap housing to eliminate the existence of the lower class. Just because there isn’t housing for the poor doesn’t eliminate their presence. The government since the 1960’s has constructed thousands of housing developments that is now abandoned but decent enough to live in. In argument advocates suggest that, "deregulation accomplishes an end that conservatives think liberals think conservatives ignore, through means that conservatives think liberals ignore. Americans demand for nice neighborhoods has been the cause for the overall misfortunate homeless."
In light of this evidence, the value of humanity has now grown to overshadow the value of the pursuit of individual happiness. The epidemic of homelessness will continue to reflect this fact until we as "the people" can sit down & accomplish more than point fingers at each side. In sue of the many circumstances that may cause &/or contribute to the fact that over 1% of the total American population are currently homeless. Its more intense when you think of the idea that we live in the riches country in the world… If we can constitute laws & guidelines that govern how we interact in society in general. Then how is it far fetched to conceive that the liberty & justice that we all take advantage of everyday may be beneficial to the current situation we as a whole are? The facts are the facts, neither I nor anyone else can save everybody, but if we put in place programs that institute reform for those individuals that may still have hope then how many will be left? Furthermore, homelessness is more than just a U.S epidemic. The world around us is much more in need of an answer. Continents such as Africa, Mexico & many other country’s south of Mexico are devastated by the affects of homelessness. But in correlation to this fact we must 1st take care of home to be the model for the rest world around us.

Inspirational

The man in this particular photo implifies pride. The empty background makes his image personified. It seems as though the man in this photo stands alone. The look in this man's eyes is a feeling of determinaton. The uniform the man is wearing seems as though he is in some form of authoritative position. His expression is an expression of personal anguish, yet it exemplies resilience. His body is positioned like he may be looking into the horizon. I could guess that he has a family & that he takes much honor in protecting them. From the look of the backgroud I could also assume that the picture was taken somewhere high, possibly in the moutains. From the look of the sky in the background I could assume that it is either early morning, or a very rainy (gloomy) day.

Essay 1 (Rough Draft)

Thesis Statement: The social epidemic of homelessness & the need for reform.

Today in the U.S there exist growing number of homeless individuals that are forced to live on the streets due to circumstances that can in some cases be rectified. The Department of Housing and Urban Development showed that between 2005 & 2006, the number of homeless people in America's streets declined from 175,900 to 155,600. Figures now estimate that the overall rise has dropped to 11.2%. Out this number more than half of the total percentage of the U.S homeless population were homeless due to economic situations that can be prevented.
Chronically homeless people are defined as the most troubled of the homeless population, suffering from mental or addiction troubles and living on the street for at least a solid year. Though a chronically homeless person may be homeless due to the lack of financial resources. The percentage of chronically homeless individuals that suffer from mental illnesses & drug addictions are staggering. This segment of the homeless population is by far the most muffled. The individuals that suffer mental illnesses are in most cases illnesses such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder commonly known as PTSD. Predominately consisted of veterans, The after effects of serving in the U.S armed forces causes this disorder. After hand to hand combat, the psychological impact of killing, or possibly killing causes certain individuals to suffer from acute symptoms of anxiety, in some known cases hallucinations. For this mental condition unfortunately scientist have yet to develop a cure. But PTSD is not the only mental illness that causes these individuals not to be mentally stable.



Target Audience: My target audience will be the new generation of adults (21-35). The reason I choose these ages of for my target audience is because we are the future. Obviously the Baby Boomer age hasn’t done much to solve this issue, so it is on us to make positive steps toward reform.







Citations:
Kevin Fagan, Chronicle Staff Writer "Homeless numbers down in U.S.; S.F. called 'model' for outreach" Thursday, November 8, 2007
Accessed via
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/08/BARGT85O9.DTL&type=politics - 64k –
July 9, 2008

Kyosuke Yoshida "Homeless in the United States" June, 2, 1995
Accessed viadwardmac.pitzer.edu/faculty/jkaret/cbny96/ap8kyopap.html - 7k –
July 9,2008

4 Articles (Revised/Template)

A person may think that the issue of land scarcity & its affect on homelessness would be non-related. However after research I have discovered that there relationship is more correlated than even I imagined. After reading 4 articles about homelessness & the scarcity of land this is what I learned.
The first article titled, "TN: Land Scarcity Causing Housing Problems for Tsunami Victims" written by S S Singhan, talked about the land scarcity issues that are taking place in Indonesia due to the 2005 Tsunami. Victims of Tami Nadu, including Nagadattinam, Cuddalore, Kanyakumari & Tuticorin Districts were hit the hardest of the Tsunami victims. Various non-governmental organizations have offered to assist, in the rebuilding of the districts, but land scarcity has become a major issue. Even though the NGO’s have offered to build up to 800 homes, the government has only enough land to occupy 225 homes, in addition to this the Coastal Regulation Act bans construction of any sort 500 ft. from the sea coast. The purchase of private property owned by wealthy land owners is being delayed because the government can’t seize it legally, & the price the government wants to pay is not in accordance with the price the land owners want to sell it for.
In many of the damaged districts all across Indonesia the victims of the Tsunami are being placed in temporary shelters that are not intended to be permanent housing solutions for the survivors, it could take years to negotiate terms & land. The second article entitled, "The Faces of Hawaii’s Homeless" written by Sen. Will Espero, discusses the homeless issue in Hawaii. Veterans make up a staggering 26% of Hawaii’s homeless population. Due to post war mental illnesses, which is the most common illness that contributes & prevents these veterans from establishing a sense of social stability. However another one of the most difficult to find housing is the addicts & those who suffer from non combat mental illnesses, who make up a total of 63% of the total homeless population in Hawaii. "Personal responsibility" programs give temporary housing, but require sobriety without providing the adequate help to prevent these individuals from relapsing. Another element of the homelessness in Hawaii is the ex prisoners. Who require the resources to help them become productive members of society. However majority of the re-offenders commit crimes due to the need of the most basic necessities: food, clothes, housing, $. The remaining population of homeless individuals consists of women, some of whom for their survival stay in abusive relationships to keep a place to lay their heads. 37% of the total women that are homeless are homeless due to lose of their homes in divorces; those who are fleeing sexual violence constitutes 10%; and those that leave their parents house 21.5%.
The third article titled, "Homelessness, the poor, & local poverty regulation" written by James Rogers, was about how property zoning & rent control is a major contributor to homelessness. Local property zoning regulations is the serious contributor to the social problem to homelessness. Figures actually say that 3 million Americans are considered homeless.
The study of zoning laws & rent control indicates the importance to the theory of homelessness. "Mix sixty years of local zoning regulation with one part rent control; add a generous dash of wholesale mental hospital deinstitutionalization, and a severe breakdown in family structures, especially among the poor -- and you have a dandy social tragedy" Tom Main writes, "reforming [cities'] housing policies with an eye to increasing the availability of low-income housing." Benard Seigan said, " zoning appears to lower the price of housing for the rich & raise the housing prices for the poor." Policies like zoning and rent control are prime targets for reform, on top of this notion, the consequences of these regulations & laws don’t actually show their results till years later.
Local zoning boards set minimum lot size requirements for residential developments, & pervent more than 1 family to purchase a home under "single family" restrictions. Rent control also prohibits allocating apartments through the price system, which is now becoming a factor in hotels as well.
The last article titled, "Myanmar's Rohingyas, No place like home" written by The Economist print edition is about the Myanmar’s Rohingyas (Muslim) citizens & how they are waiting to regain their lands which are currently being seized by the Junta. This particular Muslim culture called the Rohingyas has always suffered abuse due to the diversity in cultural differences between them & the Burmese. At this time the Junta are refusing to grant the Rohingyas citizenship, leaving nearly 800,000 Rohingyas stateless. The military regime routinely presses them into slave labor, severely restricts their rights to travel and marry, and denies them access to both medical care and education. In Sittwe, the capital; of Rakhine (formerly Arakan), Rohingyas lead severely poor lives.
Many are mixed with the million of illegal Burmese migrants now residing in Thailand. And the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has documented 12,000 in Malaysia, but says that there possibly may be twice that amount. The largest number has fled to Bangladesh. But the Bangladeshis have not welcomed them peacefully, claiming overpopulation and land scarcity as the reason that have forcibly banished about 250,000 between 1991-1992, & almost as many since that time.
Since 1992 Bangladesh has refused to grant the Rohingyas refugee status. Only two official UNHCR camps now remain near Chittagong. Today somewhere around 8,000 refugees live in an unofficial camp called Tal. Another 200,000 have settled in the surrounding area, on a 30-metre-wide stretch of mud along the banks of the Naf River. However, most feel as though life is better there then the daily suffering they endure in Myanmar by the Junta.




Citations
S S Singhan in Madurai, "TN: Land Scarcity Causing Housing Problems for Tsunami Victims" November 7 2005Accessed via
www.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/07tsunami.htmOn June 29, 2008
Sen. Will Espero, "The Faces Of Hawaii’s Homeless" February 13, 2008
Accessed via
www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?2d957daf-39df-4a6c-a539-d2bcf72c77c8On June 29, 2008
James Rogers, "Homelessness, the poor, & local poverty regulation" Accessed via
www.reformed.org/webfiles/antithesis/v1n3/ant_v1n3_homeless.html
On June 29, 2008
The Economist print edition, "Myanmar's Rohingyas, No place like home" November 29, 2007
Accessed via
www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10214763
On July 1, 2008

3 Articles (Revised)

The first article I choose was written by S S Singhan, the article is about the land scarcity issues that are taking place in Indonesia due to the 2005 Tsunami. Victims of Tami Nadu, including Nagadattinam, Cuddalore, Kanyakumari & Tuticorin Districts were hit the hardest of the Tsunami victims. Various non-governmental organizations have offered to assist, in the rebuilding of the districts, but land scarcity has become a major issue. A lot of the land that is preferred is being denied due to the local fisherman contesting the elimination of their prime fishing areas. Even though the NGO’s have offered to build up to 800 homes, the government has only enough land to occupy 225 homes, in addition to this the Coastal Regulation Act bans construction of any sort 500 ft. from the sea coast. The purchase of private property owned by wealthy land owners is being delayed because the government can’t seize it legally, & the price the government wants to pay is not in accordance with the price the land owners want to sell it for. Along with the land issues it is becoming difficult to fund the building of necessary infrastructures like streets, water connections, schools, & etc. unfortunately the NGO’s are only prepared to pay for replacement homes only, leaving the government to pay for everything else.
In many of the damaged districts all across Indonesia the victims of the Tsunami are being placed in temporary shelters that are not intended to be permanent housing solutions for the survivors, it could take years to negotiate terms & land. The Nagapatattinam district is currently trying to build a school for the children of the district to replace the school that was destroyed in the Tsunami. However, officials say most of the victims have now recovered from their depression. Even though psychiatric visits have largely decreased, the physically affected victims now also require physiotherapy.
My second article was written by Sen. Will Espero discusses the homeless issue in Hawaii. Veterans make up a staggering 26% of Hawaii’s homeless population. Due to post war mental illnesses, which is the most common illness that contributes & prevents these veterans from establishing a sense of social stability. However one of the most difficult to find housing is the addicts & those who suffer from non combat mental illnesses, who make up a total of 63% of the total homeless population. "Personal responsibility" programs give temporary housing, but require sobriety without providing the adequate help to prevent these individuals from relapsing. Currently nationwide for every 100 American’s who seek affordable housing, there are only 37.84 units available for them. Another cause of the homeless in Hawaii is the ex prisoners. Who require the resources to help them become productive members of society. However majority of the re-offenders commit crimes due to the need of the most basic necessities: food, clothes, housing, $. On top of this fact, because of their records many programs meant to help them rehabilitate are restricted due to the nature of their crimes. Halfway houses are unfair & unrealistic, they expect these individuals to change spontaneously, which is most often impossible. The remaining population of homeless individuals consists of women, some of whom for their survival stay in abusive relationships to keep a place to lay their heads. 37% of the total women that are homeless are homeless due to lose of their homes in divorces; those who are fleeing sexual violence constitutes 10%; and those that leave their parents house 21.5%. Nationwide there is only 15 emergency advice agencies that exist, & women’s boarding houses &/or overnight accommodation facilities are rare.The third article I choose is written by James Rogers, it is about how property zoning & rent control is a major contributor to homelessness. The conservative analysis is only focusing on former homeless individuals, not the future aspect of homelessness. Local property zoning regulations is the serious contributor to the social problem to homelessness. Figures actually say that 3 million Americans are considered homeless.
Why is there less housing to help redirect the growing number of homeless Americans, which perhaps may be the cause in a increase in violence, & the crime in the U.S. The study of zoning laws & rent control indicates the importance to the theory of homelessness. "Mix sixty years of local zoning regulation with one part rent control; add a generous dash of wholesale mental hospital deinstitutionalization, and a severe breakdown in family structures, especially among the poor -- and you have a dandy social tragedy" Tom Main writes, "reforming [cities'] housing policies with an eye to increasing the availability of low-income housing." Benard Seigan said, " zoning appears to lower the price of housing for the rich & raise the housing prices for the poor. Policies like zoning and rent control are prime targets for reform the consequences of these regulations & laws don’t actually show their results for years. Local zoning boards set minimum lot size requirements for residential developments, & permanent more than 1 family to purchase a home under "single family" restrictions. Rent control prohibits allocating apartments through the price system. We also see this becoming a factor in hotels.
Communities have prohibited the construction of cheap housing to eliminate the existence of the lower class. Because there isn’t housing for the poor doesn’t eliminate their presence. However the government since the 1960’s has constructed thousands of housing that is now abandoned but decent to live in. However, "deregulation accomplishes an end that liberals think conservatives ignore, through means that conservatives think liberals ignore. In conclusion Americans demand for nice neighborhoods has been the cause for the overall misfortunate homeless.

Citations
S S Singhan in Madurai, "TN: Land Scarcity Causing Housing Problems for Tsunami Victims" November 7 2005Accessed via
www.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/07tsunami.htmOn June 29, 2008
Sen. Will Espero, "The Faces Of Hawaii’s Homeless" February 13, 2008
Accessed via
www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?2d957daf-39df-4a6c-a539-d2bcf72c77c8On June 29, 2008
James Rogers, "Homelessness, the poor, & local poverty regulation" Accessed via
www.reformed.org/webfiles/antithesis/v1n3/ant_v1n3_homeless.html
On June 29, 2008