Going on these vacations I was exposed to things I was not exposed to at home. One of major importance was homelessness. The area that I grew up in did not discuss the issue much. It is not that homelessness did not exist where I live, it is just that they are hidden better.

I cannot remember the exact town where I first seen a homeless person, but I can remember the way I felt. An old man was lying on the cement with a sign asking for money. He looked like he could have been my Grandfather, most likely he was someone else's Grandfather.

People were just stepping over him. They were stepping over him while he was dressed in rags, and caked in dirt. It was a very surreal experience for me as a child who attended church every Sunday. It was drilled into me to help others in need. Jesus did it without question. I did not understand anything other than the fact that this man was homeless, hungry, and no one was helping. People were just going about their every day activities, they could care less if this man ever rose up from the streets. They had learned to harden themselves and not to care.

Four years of education in the social work field has taught me the issue is not so simple. There are reasons people are homeless. Once a person becomes homeless they do not have access to a shower. When you go in for a job interview the first qualification is ensuring you are not excreting a foul body odor. A person without a shower automatically is unqualified for a job interview of any kind. No job means no money. It is a perpetual cycle.

People that are homeless lack the ability to obtain needed documentation for employment. I worked in a homeless shelter for a spell. My job was to connect homeless people with drivers license, birth certificate, social security card ect. Unfortunately, to get a drivers license you must have a valid home address, and bills to prove you live there, something a homeless person obviously lacks. You must also have a birth certificate or other identification to receive your State ID. Most people who are homeless don't carry around a birth certificate, they don't carry around much. A birth certificate is expensive, and to get a birth certificate you must have valid photo identification. To get your valid photo identification you must have a valid birth certificate. I think you see where I am going.

The majority of homeless have severe mental health problems. Most people like to believe those who are homeless have just made poor choices. I think this belief helps us to dehumanize the homeless, makes us feel less responsible for them. If a homeless person can be categorized as lazy, or completely in charge of their situation we feel better stepping over them as they are passed out on the sidewalk. If being homeless were a result of making poor choices most of us would be homeless.

Because of severe mental health problems, lack of medical care, and mental health care, many abuse drugs. Self medication by using street drugs makes a person feel better mentally and physically when they have a disorder. This adds on to the basic issue of homelessness, creating yet another problem that must be concluded before the person can lead a successful life.

Lack of family support was another major issue. Many of the homeless people I met did not have a stable family system, or support system. Most of us take our parents, aunts, uncles, even friends for granted. When we have a strong support system that makes all the difference, they are our safety nets when times get tough.

Veterans compromise a large portion of the homeless. Although only 8 percent of the American population can claim veteran status, 1 in 5 homeless are veterans. Our veterans deserve better.

To this day I have a hard time passing up the homeless, especially the elderly. I have a firm belief that we must take care of the elderly in our communities. Our elders do not get the respect and care they should.

When I am walking around the city on a full stomach and an elderly person asks me for money for a cup of joe, I cannot turn them down if I have the spare change. I don't question them about what they plan to do with the money. If I donate money, I do it with the notion that it is the right thing to do, not that I can control what they do with it. My five dollars isn't going to greatly impact their life, but it may impact their day.

The homeless shelter I worked at was fantastic. They had a washer and dryer that could be used for low cost. They had showers that were first come first serve, and were pretty much always filled. People were turned away at times because there was not enough time in the day for everyone who wanted a shower to get one. They offered services to connect people to employment, birth certificate, drivers license etcetera. They offered lockers for the homeless to store their personal items. The fee for lockers was rather high, but lockers were a luxury. They didn't have to lug heavy bags around on the street while they were trying to find a place to sleep. Low cost food was readily available; I should probably add the food at the time was not the most nutritious. It wasn't bad tasting though. The shelter allowed clients to use the address as a living address. This way they could obtain a drivers license and birth certificate. Most importantly clients were given an ear to listen to. Those of us who have stable lives and friends take for granted the common sense advice and the support we can get.

The homeless that I met at the shelter were by no means stupid. They were disenfranchised. My favorite story from that time period was of a homeless man that would often stop in to chat with me at my cubicle while I worked. He may be the smartest person I have ever met. He asked me to navigate a website. When I began to get suspicious, he laughed and told me, he was going to have me hack into a corporate website. I found out later he was more than capable of it. He rewired one of the pay phones so that he could talk all day on it. Needless to say, he was great.

I worked retail at JCPenney for five years. I had customers throw items at me, threaten my life, scream and pound their fists all in the name of a coupon that I did not create. Working at the homeless shelter I can count on one hand the amount of times I was treated with disrespect. The people I encountered were full of hope. The just needed the skills, education, and connections to tap into that hope and make a future.

Giving money and donations to the homeless is a short term solution. We need to provide better and more services to stream them back into society. Enable them to lead productive lives. We need to volunteer our time at homeless shelters in our area. If there is not a shelter in our area we need to work to make one. There are solutions to homelessness, we just need to work together to put them in motion.

For more information visit the National Coalition for the Homeless.
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