Homelessness Is Not A "Personal Problem"
- InkSociety
- Jul 17, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 18, 2020
By Chanah Park
Cypress High School
Homelessness is not a choice, it is the lesser evil.
Many people look at the homeless with disdain. Those that can see the dilapidated tents color the sidewalks in front of their apartments think of how the homeless contribute to the unbeautifying of their beloved city. Some even say that they should’ve worked harder or that if they really wanted to not be homeless, they would. But these people fail to realize that homelessness is not a choice, and if it was, it was the lesser evil.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development established four different categories to define homelessness: those without primary residence for 90 days, those that will lose their primary residence, unaccompanied youth and families with children, and families/ individuals that are fleeing a dangerous situation (paraphrased from the US HUD).
For those that do pay special attention to the colorful tents consuming Los Angeles, they might have noticed that the number of these dots have been increasing exponentially which prompts the question: Why might this be so? To begin investigating, we have to start by asking, “What causes homelessness in the first place?” The most well-known causes are substance abuse, poverty, and issues with mental health, but why do these factors contribute to potential homelessness?
The lack of public intervention is the problem. With the creation of rehabilitation centers to treat addiction, welfare centers to help those impoverished, and hospitals to treat mental illness, the number of homeless as well as the unemployment rate would decrease dramatically. Ignoring the “Anything Helps” sign while walking to work is just a small example of how society as a whole has ignored this escalating situation.
Rising junior at Cypress High School, Eunice Kim, is aware of this worsening situation: “Obviously, it’s gotten out of hand. You see that the homeless population in Los Angeles has grown 13% in the past year. I think the root of the problem is the scarcity of housing.” Similarly, rising junior at Troy High School, Victoria Choi, says “I think it’s very severe, and it’s probably getting worse.”
Acknowledging this as something that needs immediate attention and drastic reform will not only better the economy by putting more people to work, but it will more importantly better the lives of the hundreds of thousands displaced Americans. I say that instead of looking the other way and choosing to ignore what surely is an “everyone problem,” we should all work together to find a solution to this worsening problem.
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