The Problem Of Homelessness In Modern America

Superior Essays
In modern America, there are many issues facing the country like ISIS and the possible threat of North Korea. No issue hits as hard, however, as the problem of homelessness. Meanwhile, all the way back in the thirteenth century, the evolution of agriculture has spawned a new class of medieval peasants, known as serfs; farmers bound to the land of their lords. Many people think that thanks to the multitude of programs to help them, that homeless live somewhat ok lives, the only difference being that they live without a permanent address. However, in comparison to the medieval serf, their lives are filled with unnecessary hardship, unseen by the serfs of the middle ages, thanks to their advantages in the regards of their personal safety, diet, …show more content…
Food. Put simply; food is needed for all people to live and function. Sadly, this is not a luxury that all individuals have, the results of being food insecure. In modern America, the number of families being food insecure has risen dramatically since 2008 and a significant portion of these food insecure families and people are homeless, as it is directly connected to poverty ("National Coalition for the Homeless"). These problems in getting food stamps mean that there are many people without any food. In comparison, in the middle ages, though their diet was somewhat poor, they still always had food. They would grow their own food three days out of the week, and this was how they lived, depending on the lord's policy on hunting. ("The Middle Ages | Feudalism"). They depended on feasts and what they grew, but since they were in such communities, they could get help if their rations began to run low. They had a diet of vegetables, bread, and ale ("Dietary Requirements of a Medieval Peasant"). Meanwhile, as a homeless person today, your primary source of food comes from food stamps, vouchers and soup kitchens, and other programs like that. But, a significant amount of the food insecure homeless does not get food stamps, either because they are embarrassed or they do not know they are even eligible ("Hunger in America: 2016 United States Hunger and Poverty Facts"). Thus, the serfs may have been malnourished, but even bad food is better than no food at all, a problem too many homeless are facing

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