by Jason Nelson

Created on: June 22, 2010

We live in a day and age where work is harder to find than ever.  What then happens to those who cannot make the cut?  Those who are unfortunate, be them not fully educated, born poor, or born with some sort of small disability, do not have the ability to secure the job it takes to maintain a steady income.  These people lose their homes, and in so doing lose their chances of living a normal life.  Not only does this happen, but they are soon labeled as a homeless person and therefore shunned from the social community.  A job becomes an almost impossible miracle to look forward to, rather than a goal to achieve like for the rest of us.  These people are not necessarily bad.  People who drink and spend money on drugs litter the streets because they purposefully and knowingly give up their economic integrity for an unimportant want.  But then what about those who are simply unfortunate enough to be unable to maintain a stable income?  Is it fair they be put into the general stereotype?  To begin with, maybe the idea that all homeless people are foolish in their life habits is an outdated one, and represents unnecessary discrimination.   What is it to be homeless?  Perhaps that question must be answered first before the truth can be revealed about the homeless.

The stereotype of a homeless person lays out a picture of a poor man begging on the street to get money only for cigarettes, or for alcohol. Perhaps  this person has bad teeth, follows people around, and people fear him because they are not sure if he is mentally stable.  This stereotype has dominated people's minds for years, and when many people think "city" they think about the homeless people they will have to attempt to avoid when they visit it.  But to be homeless, does that instantly make a person deserving of that label?  To be homeless means nothing but someone has been unable to maintain a steady income enough to maintain a house, or wishes not to own a place of living.  That's it.  That's all it means.  However, what varies between person to person is the REASON for being homeless.  Yes, there are some people who make foolish choices, and cannot maintain an income because they have a drug habit, or drink religiously.  There are many people in existence like this, and they live on the streets like any other homeless person.  However, there are other people who have an

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