Persuasive Essay On Homelessness

Every day as I leave my home heading to school or work, I pass the same dirty and hopeless faces. The traffic of the interstate exit seems to provide a population of people who contribute to the welfare of these desperate individuals. In that short five miles of travel, I pass homeless sleeping on benches, wondering the streets, and standing with cardboard signs asking for help and then blessing me for my spare change. I define my community as the area in which I live and the neighboring streets, limiting the borders to just a 5 mile radius and the people of this community are those who live and work here like I do. Although the problem of homelessness exists in a much broader scale than just the few streets connected to my home, the daily reminder of seeing …show more content…
This community’s only shelter that provides care for the homeless is the Haven House. Located at 1727 Green Street in Jeffersonville, they can accommodate up to 60 men, women and children. Their mission is to give a hand up, not a hand out. The shelter is funded through donations from individuals and staffed by volunteers. The cities trustee’s offices pay the electric bill. The shelter also receives funding through federal grants, but unfortunately the state of Indiana does not budget money directly toward homelessness (Facing Homelessness). The shelter is set up so that each person pays $5.00 a day for food and shelter and if you cannot pay, then they ask that you volunteer in the community for a few hours. Most of the residents cannot pay, and choose to volunteer. Many of the homeless receive food stamps, but instead of using them to buy food, they sell them for money to be used on drugs. Because of this, the shelter rarely collects the money needed to purchase food (Facing Homelessness). This single shelter, with its few volunteers and limited funding cannot support all the needs of the homeless in this