Counting the homeless to help end their plight

This article, which was published on The New York Times last February, describes what has been going on with the homeless people in New Haven and discusses related social issues happening around this area, such as: counting practice, rapid increase in the number of homeless people and even the problematic economy situation at that time.

There are many real – life examples introduced in the first part of the article: Mr. Joe, the man collecting cans on the Chapel Street, Victor… They are all homeless, but encounter very different experiences. Some actually desire to be categorized as being homeless, like Victor, who “has been sleeping outside for 14 years”. He finds his life more comfortable when he can live in underpasses and avoid being spotted by the government. Some others strongly refuse to be claimed as homeless, and do not want to be taken to shelters, such as Mr. Joe. He believes he can manage to stay warm and survive. Similar circumstances create a lot of difficulties for people from Health Center to conduct accurate surveys, as well as offer helps for the homeless in New Haven.

On the other hand, the second part of this article presents a variety of social problems occurring throughout recent years in this region. The total number of homeless people in New Haven now reaches 778 individuals, while the local charities are running out of place and resources to help. Although school gyms, churches, shelters are always full and volunteers are kept busy all the time, the demand for homeless services is still too high to be completely satisfied. Moreover, the downturn in the country’s economy has rapidly raised all of the living costs; results in more people cannot afford basically necessities and become homeless every day. Social evils hence increase, as the homeless have to find their ways to live.

In conclusion, homelessness in New Haven relates to many serious issues. Unless the government immediately starts to take actions, the consequences may be unpredictable.

I find this article very informative, as it looks at homelessness in a specific area from the aspects of the government and charity organizations, not the homeless people. I believe the writer is implying an undeniable truth: public help for homeless people is limited. Hence what the government needs to do is sufficiently solve the economic problems of the country, giving their citizens a chance to afford the life they are supposed to have. Otherwise, the number of the homeless shall definitely increase, and may lead to serious consequences like massive increase in crime rate and negative attitudes towards the government.