Homelessness Reflection Essay

I have always wondered why people end up on the streets homeless. In Africa where I spent much of my formative years, people used to rely so much on each other to the extent of taking care of a relative or relatives who may be needy. But that has changed over the years due to the high number of needy relatives, especially orphans of the HIV/Aids scourge. The dreaded epidemic ravaged most 3rd world countries leaving a trail of homeless children who later grew into homeless men and women. Having had the advantage of growing up in a 3rd world country, I witnessed poverty and homelessness first hand. I had to deal with the anguish of losing a lot of close family members who succumbed to HIV/Aids. Their deaths churned out quite a number of orphans who needed to be taken care of. But because of limited resources, my parents and I could not take care of every one of the children left behind. Neither were the social service nor non-governmental organizations. They were also overwhelmed. The orphaned children started fending for themselves, doing odd jobs and selling some of their parents’ properties in order to make ends meet. But the resources dried up leaving them …show more content…
This was something I never expected in a developed country like America. I witnessed people panhandling on the streets, some huddled in wet blankets from the previous night’s down pour, while some who seemed deranged from drugs managed their own business unperturbed. Ever since that first day I arrived in the United states until today, I have seen many new faces at metro stations, neighborhood parks, street corners and at feeding points. For the many years I commute to my work place in D.C., almost every day I have seen a large number of people either huddled in building corners, sleeping on park benches or roaming the streets aimlessly. Some even sleep on trains and