"We have come dangerously close to accepting the homeless situation as a problem that we just can't solve."- Linda Lingle
Lazy, incompetent, criminals, and drug addicts.
Imagine living in a
world that labels you, looks down upon you, and expects you to fail.
Imagine a society that blames you for your hunger, your unemployment,
and for being a blight on humanity as if your situation is automatically
your fault because of your choices, no explanation required.
You might
not have access to your birth certificate, your social security card, or
a high paying job, or you might be a victim of domestic violence, but
in order to be a fully respected citizen, you must be able to provide a
roof over your head and meet certain standards set by social norms.
where
do we get these ideas of homelessness? Why, from a young age,do we
associate them with filth, stealing, drugs, laziness, and
so much more?
The media. The media, and how different forms of media specifically portray homelessness will be the focus of the blog post. The 5 of us wish to raise awareness of the lives of homeless people and how they came to be in these situations. while we are unable to cover all possible circumstances, we will attempt to lay a foundation to broaden the reader's thoughts and considerations when consuming media that pertains to someone who is homeless.
firstly, we will provide a foundation in terms of specific statistics of homelessness in the world, the United States, and the city of Memphis. After that, we will address three separate, but equally important, aspects of homelessness: homelessness due to natural disasters, family and individual homelessness. Finally, we will wrap the blog post together with how the media represents these people and their lives. 
On a broad scale, according to a survey conducted
by the United Nations, it is estimated that 100 million people from
around the world live in poverty. This number only takes into
consideration people who have chronic homeless, which is where they
regularly suffer from being vagrant and typically have a physical or
mental disability. More often than not, people will hide if they are
below the poverty line to maintain their dignity or even to protect
their families from having to deal with government intervention. These
people are known as the “hidden homeless” which are the people who live
in slums, squatters, and couch surfers. In the U.S., on a single night
in January 2014, 578,424 people had no home. In Memphis alone, there are
2000 people on any given day who are homeless. And it is not just the
people you think. Yes, there are mentally disturbed people who stand on
the side of the road and beg for money who don’t always need it. But,
homeless people are also your friends, your neighbors, and your
families.they could be anyone.
so how does someone become homeless? Is it due to pure laziness, or has something in their lives prevented them from progressing in the world?
In Houston, Texas there is a group to help those who are homeless and
to raise awareness about their lives. This group broke down an array of
possible causes of homelessness as seen in Houston in 2013.
"According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness,
families experiencing homelessness are generally similar to other,
housed families living in poverty. In fact, many poor families –
homeless or not – share similar characteristics: they are usually headed
by a single woman with limited education, are usually young, and
experience high rates of domestic violence and mental illness"(HomelessHouston.org)
We know that people experience many different struggles and that some of these can result in homelessness, but how many people are homeless per state? Movoto.com has published this interactive map that tells us how many people were homeless for every 100K and what the ranking of each state was from 2010-2015
If you follow the link, you will be able to see the progression and regression some states have made over the years.
Lets bring this home
according to Memphis Union Missions, Memphis, Tennessee has approximately 2,000 people who are homeless each night. this does not include the "hidden homeless" mentioned earlier. so lets do the math, in 2013, the population of Memphis was 653,450. If there are approximately 2,000 people homeless each night, that means that for every 327 people, one of them is homeless.
How many friends do you have on Facebook?
followers on instagram?
Bets are, you have a good number. Looking at that number statistically, one of those 327 people, if they were all to be from Memphis, could be homeless
Lets take a closer look at the homeless population in Memphis. We will specifically address 3 types of homelessness in Memphis, Natural disaster, Family and individual homelessness. 
In August 29th of 2005, Katrina hit and, according to Data Center Research, "the storm displaced more than a million people in the Gulf Coast region.
Many people returned home within days, but up to 600,000 households
were still displaced a month later. At their peak, hurricane evacuee
shelters housed 273,000 people and, later, FEMA trailers housed at least
114,000 households." Among many other states and cities, Memphis opened their doors to a multitude of people who were left stranded after this disaster.
Moving onto family homelessness, we have a great example in Memphis Tennessee. The Dorothy Day House of Hospitality. This house is for homeless families specifically. Families are often separated into men's homes, then women and children's homes. In Memphis, there is a lack of shelters for teenage boys. after a certain age, they are no longer permitted to stay at the woman and children's shelters, but they are not old enough to join the grown men. The family unit is already falling apart due to stress, so the Dorothy Day house provides a home for the family to recuperate and regain some normalcy for the family. Families facing homelessness often hide the fact that they are homeless.Why? you may ask. If you were a Single mother, with 3 kids and could not keep up with your bills, you could lose your home. You, and your three children, are now homeless. This is seen as neglecting your children and they can be taken away and placed in foster care. This house keeps families together. You can learn more about the house in this short video Dorothy Day video.
To look at how family homelessness is portrayed in the media, Will Smith and his son help viewers to capture an idea of how it could be. In this clip from "pursuit of happiness", Will smith's character is homeless and supporting his son while trying to work. Smith sleeps in the restroom out of desperation and need to provide a safe place for his son.
Family homelessness can also be encountered due to a mother or father removing the children from a household of domestic violence.
On the 7th of September of 2015, Humans of new York covered a story of a young man that was given up to a boys home as a child. This man represents individual homelessness. from the age of 4-17, he, and the other boys, were forced to have sexual acts with older men and would receive painful punishments if they did not do them or acted out of order in any way. At the age of 17, He escaped the boys home, climbed a mountain to hide, was hit by a blizzard, and lost his foot to frostbite. to read more of his story, go here.
Individual homelessness is everywhere and there are so many people affected. One group, in particular, is veterans.
The people who have fought for us, now live on the streets due to mental illness, physical disability, denied benefits and more.
Here is a story CNN covered to show how a veteran can become someone who is homeless through a series of unfortunate events. Due to injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, this veteran is unable to work.
I would like to draw attention to the fact that I am not ignoring the stolen valor that is often seen. It is easy to pick up a veterans hat or coat from a thrift store or homeless shelter and make up a story in order to receive notice from more people and ultimately more help. Desperation causes people to do things they may not normally.
The media has asked us to believe that each homeless individual is homeless due to their own laziness, drug or alcohol addiction, or criminal record. While this is true for some of the people who are homeless, is is unfair to generalize all of homelessness in this manner.
Ultimately, this blog post has been written to encourage everyone to think of people for who they are, Human. due to media and other influence, we often dehumanize and devalue those we believe to be less fortunate than ourselves.
Because they are not living the way we deem necessary, they hold less value than us.
Wrong.
People are people, no matter their way of living.
http://tennesseehomeless.org/news/
http://www.dorothydaymemphis.org/
"Facts for Features: Katrina Impact." The Data Center Facts for Features Katrina Impact Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
"Frequently Asked Questions." Memphis Union Mission. N.p., 22 July 2015. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.
Gilbert, Roy. Doing more for those made homeless by natural disasters. Disaster Management Facility, World Bank, 2001.
Groen, Jeffrey A., and Anne E. Polivka. "Hurricane Katrina Evacuees: Who They Are, Where They Are, and How They Are Faring." Hurricane Katrina Evacuees: Who They Are, Where They Are, and How They Are Faring (n.d.): n. pag. Mar. 2008. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
"Homeless 101." Coalition for the Homeless. N.p., 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
Luft, Rachel E. "Beyond disaster exceptionalism: Social movement developments in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina." American Quarterly 61.3 (2009): 499-527.
National Alliance to End Homelessness. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.
Ramin, Brodie, and Tomislav Svoboda. "Health of the homeless and climate change." Journal of Urban Health 86.4 (2009): 654-664.
Springer, Sabine. "Homelessness: a proposal for a global definition and classification." Habitat International 24.4 (2000): 475-484.
Toya, Hideki, and Mark Skidmore. "Economic development and the impacts of natural disasters." Economics Letters 94.1 (2007): 20-25.
