Homelessness In Different Environments
On any given night, there is an estimated 554,000 homeless spread across the United States in 2017. Homeless people struggle throughout their daily lives; with the constant danger of the streets as a never-ending concern and the uncertainty of when your next meal will be, as well as any number of things to worry about that you wouldn’t even think of otherwise. Not only are the homeless subject to the worry of the streets, in many cases they face extreme danger when it comes to the environment and their non-artificial surroundings.
Obviously, the homeless are not able to enjoy the benefits of a warm heater and a house to return to every day to escape the cold of the night. Instead, they are forced to use whatever they scavenge for on the streets to keep warm and to return to their camp, if they are a part of one, and maybe, if they’re lucky, gather around a fire lit inside of a trash can for any warmth they can find.
This may seem to not be a truly terrible issue in Los Angeles, yet our homeless population around the area of Los Angeles (about 55,000 COUNTED homeless people, many prefer to not be counted thus this information does not represent the total number of homeless) face many of the same issues that others around the country do. For example; last week, homeless people, spread across California from San Francisco to Los Angeles, were exposed to the harsh weather conditions that we faced, those being thunderstorms and violent winds across the state. Prolonged exposure to cold temperatures can result in trench foot, hypothermia, and frostbite. In extreme cases, it may even result in death.
An example of an extreme case would be the recent polar vortex that shocked the United States, specifically the East Coast. Cities such as Chicago plummeted to temperatures of -42 degrees when taking wind chill into consideration. Chicago is yet another major U.S city, boasting almost 80,384 homeless. This sudden cold weather creates many difficulties for the homeless across the U.S, specifically in these extreme cases like Chicago. As of five days ago, the total death toll from the polar vortex had risen to at least 21 deaths, including a 69-year-old Illinois man found frozen to death.
Local governments must realize these extreme dangers that are put into the spotlight with these violently cold conditions and do absolutely anything necessary to protect their homeless population. Although various places throughout the U.S attempted this with “warming centers”, it was simply not enough considering the mass amount of people impacted by these extreme temperatures, and it’s the government’s duty to take care of its own people. With this in mind, it is ridiculous to think that all local governments wouldn’t ensure the safety of their population, homeless or not. This is yet another internal improvement that the U.S must strive to solve, and one that should have been taken care of before the pre-meditated polar vortex.
Nytalia Buchanan • Jun 7, 2019 at 10:49 am
It is really devastating seeing all these homeless people going through horrible weather conditions. It makes me want to start an organization to help homeless people get of the streets. It makes me realize how blesses I am to even be living. I am going to start helping homeless people because they don’t deserve to live like that.
cristobal jasso • Mar 4, 2019 at 11:32 am
I think that it is extremely important to notify students about homeless people and how they live. They don’t have very great lives and don’t complain about it. Students should realize how great their lives are, compared to homeless people, and should be grateful. I also learned a lot from this article. I didn’t know that 21 homeless people had died in Chicago because of the polar vortex. This article was very interesting and makes me want to learn more about homeless people.
Laritsa Rodriguez • Mar 4, 2019 at 9:25 am
This article is very thought out and show how the homeless have to go through extreme weather conditions and the government does not realize that people are dying.
Sean Emezi • Mar 4, 2019 at 8:30 am
It’s pretty sad to see and hear about all the deaths involving homeless people in these extreme conditions. It really shows you to be thankful for what you have. People don’t even know if they’re going to eat, or if they’re gonna wake up the next day. There’s a feeling of togetherness and sorrow for them. Anything whether tiny or large will help.
Alyssa • Mar 4, 2019 at 8:22 am
I think that it is extremely important to notify students about homeless people and how they live. They don’t have very great lives and don’t complain about it. Students should realize how great their lives are, compared to homeless people, and should be grateful. I also learned a lot from this article. I didn’t know that 21 homeless people had died in Chicago because of the polar vortex. This article was very interesting and makes me want to learn more about homeless people.
Jacob Zheng • Mar 4, 2019 at 8:20 am
This is a great article!, In my opinion, this article brings up an interesting point on how the homeless are not burdened just by financial issues and social status, but how the cruel elements of mother nature also affect their already troubled lives, and can cause possibly fatal outcomes.