Criminalize Homelessness

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“Estimates of the numbers of homeless people living in the US vary widely, but one count taken during one night in January 2015 found 564,708 people without a home nationwide, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness”(Williams,2016). President Obama has been able to decrease the homeless population but now he and others are trying to help the bigger problem which is helping homeless kids and families. Over the next 10 years president Obama is planning to spend 11 million dollars to help end family homelessness. Some aspects of homelessness should not be criminalized for the benefits of the homeless. Although some may argue that some aspects of homelessness should be criminalized for the benefits of the community. Some aspects …show more content…
In the text it shows that by the homeless sleeping on sidewalks they are ruining the city and making tourists no longer want to come to that area because they see homeless people sleeping on sidewalks. “City lawmakers and officials who manage BIDs defend the arrangements, arguing the ordinances target discourteous or even dangerous conduct that prevents everyone from enjoying shared space”(Palazzolo and Lazo,2016). When there is homeless people sleeping on the sidewalk they are ruining the image of the town for tourists and making them not want to come back because of all the homeless people they saw lying on the sidewalks which is not good for that town because they will be getting bad reviews making people not want to go to that place anymore. According to the text, the police are trying to get the homeless out of the public eye so that they don't lose tourists and money because they think that is helping people and the town but it is hurting the homeless. “The homeless and their advocates say the policies amount to an effort to push the poor out of the sight of customers and tourists”(Palazzolo and Lazo,2016). This shows that by criminalizing the homeless they think they are helping them and the community but really they are hurting the homeless. The homeless have nowhere to go and when they get criminalized from the only place they have left to stay which is a sidewalk …show more content…
Though some people may argue that the homeless should be criminalized to help them and the community they are only thinking about themselves, tourists, and money they are not thinking about the homeless and how they feel about it. Homelessness should not be criminalized because the poor need help and services to get them back on their feet and get a house, the homeless are already helpless enough so why criminalize them because they are not going to do anything. Think of it this way, when you wake up in the morning you are able to eat a nice breakfast and wear new clean clothes and go to a job and get money or go to school and be able to learn while there are people out there who have to sleep on sidewalks and park benches instead of on a bed. They can't wake up to being able to get a bowl of cereal or a plate of pancakes they have to wait hours,days,weeks even to get a little amount of food because they can not afford to buy anything. The life we have, we take for granted and we should not because we do not know what is in our future, we don't have to wonder when our next meal might be because we can afford those kinds of things while others can not. Homelessness is a serious issue and we need to do something about it to help them because we do not know what it would be like to be in their position. Over the years homelessness has grown and there are people out
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