Homelessness is rapidly changing- into a group rather heartbreaking. The elderly has to deal with day-to-day struggles like dementia, immobility, and overall health and strength. Try dealing with these challenges with no home to come back to. No expert at your feet with at home support. No family to continually make sure you are okay. The homeless in America are growing. Not only with population, but with age. In 2014, over 306,000 people were living on the streets. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 31 percent of the homeless are elderly. How have these rates skyrocketed? The causes of homelessness among elderly resulted from declining of housing that is affordabl

Incest is usually referred to as sexual contact among family members. If you want me to use an appropriate, more sophisticated definition then it can be described as “sexual behaviour between family members: siblings, parents, close relatives that is not age appropriate, not transitory and not motivated by developmentally mutually appropriate curiosity. It is not limited to sexual intercourse, but the abuse can take place in different forms like: sexually suggestive language, prolonged kissing or oral sex. Studies have shown that one in four girls and one in ten boys experience sexual abuse among incest. People have recalled episodes of sexual abuse during therapy sessions. Incest particular

Imagine waking up in the morning in a soft bed, your body rested, and your stomach devoid of the pangs of insatiable hunger. Imagine brushing your teeth and walking to your pantry, opening the doors slowly so as to avoid the onslaught of food containers that you have so meticulously packed to the point of overflow. You are faced with the dilemma of what to eat for breakfast: cereal, toast, pancakes, waffles, a bagel, fruits, or another of the many items you have stored in your kitchen? After all, you have so many options; how could you possibly choose? But what is there to imagine? This is the life of many Americans, who experience the luxuries which are discussed in the previous paragraph o

G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed” (1909). We as a nation are already aware that domestic violence is a dangerously growing problem. In fact, according to the CDC, an average of twenty people per minute in the US, or ten million per year, are physically abused by an intimate partner (Walters & Jenkins, 2012). Instead of focusing on how prevalent such violence is in our society, we should pay attention to how many offenders are actually caught by law enforcement. The victims need to know that their abusers, like dragons in a fairytale, can be defeated. A majo

Today, 30 million people live as slaves. More than 24 million people are subject to sexual exploitation across the globe. A large percentage of the abused are children. According to UNICEF every two minutes a child is being prepared for sexual exploitation. 1.2 million children alone are being trafficked every year. This number excluded the millions already being held captive by trafficking. UNICEF also reports that approximately 30 million children have lost their childhood through sexual exploitation over the past 30 years. (Chawla, 2016) America holds the title of “second highest destination in the world for trafficked women” (Wiehl, 2010). Between 14,500 and 17,500 victims are trafficked

“Cudas Unhooked” is a program that has been implemented in the local high school of my own home town. I am a proud alumnus of this school, and I am delighted to be a part of a community that has a program such as this one to reach out to at-risk and homeless teens struggling to get by. As most people know, high school is already a difficult period of life, so it is a very good thing to attempt to offer any assistance and support that we can as a community in order to make the lives of some of these young students easier. Since the establishment in 2009, the program has supported over 180 students through mentor pairings, personal development assistance, and provision of shelter. The program

Though the specifics vary from community to community, most cities across the country face what is known as the “summer surge”, where the number of homeless significantly increases for the summer months. There are several reasons for this sudden rise. During the school year, many homeless families are able to stay with family or friends so the children can complete the school year. Once school is over the living situation becomes less tolerable with the children home all day and many families must find new arrangements but often find themselves without options, causing an increase in families trying to find shelters for housing. Additionally, many people are unable to afford child care in th

According to the National Coalition for Homelessness, of the 564,708 people who are homeless in the United States, 47.6%, or 269,991, are disabled and unable to work (2018). This population has been growing significantly over the last decade, as in 2008, the percentage was only 42.8% (Diament, 2009). These people are arguably in need of more help than an abled person who does not have housing. They have fewer job prospects, are extremely vulnerable, and require access to health care. It is very difficult to work while being disabled, whether for physical or mental reasons. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only one in five disabled people are in the labor force (Belser, 2010). Thi

Homelessness is a prevalent issue in American society, and as much as some government officials attempt to divert attention from it by forcing the homeless into hiding, covering up this problem will not solve it. Compassion will play a major role in resolving this issue, as many people refuse to acknowledge that homeless individuals are simply human beings who are less fortunate than the majority of Americans. However, compassion alone will not fix the issue of homelessness, as it is a broad issue that requires a comprehensive solution that counteracts the main factors exacerbating the problem of homelessness: poverty, substance abuse, lack of affordable healthcare, and mental illness. This

What is the impact of cyberbullying on the youth? Cyberbullying can be described as a use of internet or any other means of electronic communication to harass a person by sending intimidating messages or pictures. Cyberbullying and harassment have various causes that can lead to catastrophic results. Cyberbullying happens for the same reasons as that of any other type of bullying, but it has more harmful effects as it is done anonymously. Insecurity and lack of confidence can be considered as one of the causes of cyberbullying. Basically, there are two types of people who are indulged in this activity

Food insecurity is a massive problem that affects so many people in the United States, and charities play an important role in trying to eliminate that issue. Whether you are looking for a place to volunteer or donate, here are five non-profits, in no particular order, dedicated to solving hunger. 1. AARP Foundations Every day in the United States more than 10 million adults over the age 50 are at risk of hunger, and as a result of food insecurities, 60 percent of elderly people can become depressed. The American Associations of Retired Persons (AARP) and their non-profit organization, the AARP Foundation, team up with state officials, community partners and volunteers to help seniors establ

Imagine a small child. Born far from affluency but manages to barely float above poverty level. The child has several siblings. The child hopes to engage in normal activities with fellow students. Everything seems fairly normal, but truly, this child is far more likely to become homeless because he suffers from a mental illness. People with poor mental health are more susceptible to the three main factors that can lead to homelessness: poverty, disaffiliation, and personal vulnerability. Because they often lack the capacity to sustain employment, they have little income. Delusional thinking may lead them to withdraw from friends, family and other people. This loss of support leaves them fewe

As I casually scrolled through the online news earlier, I became extremely disheartened when I came across a headline reading, “Santa Clarita Enacts New Restrictions on Homeless People: No Sitting on Sidewalks or Sleeping in Libraries.” This article, coming from the Los Angeles Times newspaper, explained that the City Council passed several new laws recently concerning the homeless population of the city, including those about where they are legally allowed to sit or lay in public areas. This story broke my heart, because the political officials enacting these new laws seem to have no sympathy for those that the new rules are going to be negatively impacting. These new laws are going to do n

Many of us use phrases such as “haven’t eaten in days” or “starving to death” to express a feeling of extreme hunger that is easily satisfied by a short walk to the refrigerator, a drive to the local fast food establishment, or heating something in the microwave. We use those phrases, but how often to we consider, truly, what that kind of hunger actually means? For those who are homeless, “starving to death” and “haven’t eaten for days” are not merely expressions but are often part of the daily context of their existence. For these individuals, feeding an empty stomach is not as simple as a walk to the refrigerator. Many of us will never know what it feels like to try to sleep with a starvin

When investigating homelessness, a lot of media attention is focused on the working-age population in America. The retired and elderly population are not represented in most of the data on poverty. While the proportion of this group who are living on the streets was once small, it is now growing at an extremely fast pace. They are a very vulnerable and weak population, and need all of the help and support we can give. In 2014, there were 306,000 homeless people over the age of 50 in the US. According to the Department of Urban Housing and Development, this was a 20% increase from the numbers reported in 2007 (Nagourney, 2016). This makes sense, considering the nation’s general population as

Plato once said, “Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything. It is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate, and eternal form.” Music is more than just notes strung together to make a melody. Music can heal. It is often a means of personal expression when words alone fail to communicate what one feels. Yet, even more than that, music is capable of developing the mind in ways few other methods of learning can. According to PBS, research has found that learning music facilitates learning other s

During the week of June 3rd, 2018, the world lost fashion designer Kate Spade and travel chef documentarian Anthony Bourdain through suicide. The unexpected loss of these two influential people stunned the world since no visual signs of suicide was present. Kate Spade built her international fashion empire to be valued for $2.4 billion and Anthony Bourdain used international cuisines to connect with people from around the globe to learn about the issues occurring in each country. Despite their significant success and fortune, they must have experienced some sort of emptiness that they decided to end it all. In the United States, the growing rate of suicide has increased by 25% in the past 2

I am sure that many people have heard of the recent deadly eruption of Mount Fuego, a volcano which resides in the southern region of Guatemala in early June of this year. The latest death tolls are currently ringing in at 114 victims, with hundreds of others injured and/or still missing, and with over 1.7 million people being affected by the current harsh conditions spread throughout the country. When I first heard the news of this terrible natural disaster, I was shocked. Myself, along with a few of my friends and some other members of my church have been planning on going on a mission trip to Guatemala in just a little over a month. Because of these plans, hearing this devastating story m

In 2017, approximately 550,000 peoples experienced homeless on any given night, representing a rate of 17 people per 10,000 in the general population battling with homelessness. With an issue as massive as homelessness, it is easy to feel as though the problem will never be resolved. At times, people wonder how exactly their seemingly small contributions can help, but any type of support, big or small, is helpful. Listed below are five everyday ways you can help homelessness. Educate Yourself Homeless is a complex issue, and while some people want to write it off as individuals being lazy, this is not the case. So many factors contributes to homelessness such as job loss, chronic illness, de