Homeless not helpless

Related Causes:Homelessness, Poverty
Field reporter: Hanna Karimipour

Just because you don’t see homelessness in a community doesn’t mean it’s not there. Homelessness is a national issue, affecting all fifty states. In the Big Bend Region of North Florida and around the country, both shelters and groups are working hard to assist these people who have nowhere else to go.

In a recent interview with the Big Bend Homeless Coalition, Janis Thibodeau, organizer of the Big Bend Homeless Coalition’s Speaker’s Bureau which takes people who are or have experienced homelessness around the Tallahassee region to speak about their experiences, revealed to DoSomething.org some of the hardships that these homeless people bear through.

“We have people who sleep on mats at the shelter and walk miles just to find a place to work for the day. There is no guarantee that they will find work, and usually the work is hard, physical labor,” stated Thibodeau when addressing some of the common misconceptions.

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, 3.5 million people in the United Stated experience homelessness in any given year. The top five cause of homelessness are

•loss of job
•lack of affordable housing
•lack of affordable health care
•natural disasters
•domestic violence
With the sloping economy, this has not been helped at all, with a 3% increase in homelessness across the nation.

“Just getting a job is really difficult. Sometimes the best we can help them is with resource guide, housing, and food,” Thibodeau said in response to being asked about how homeless people get back on their feet. “One of the most important things that you can do is when you see someone who is homeless is just say hello to them. Know that it could be you.”

What can you do?
1/3 of homeless people are under the age of 18, so donate to help us make a difference. Majority of shelters are a temporary fix for a night of a week, we need to help one another to get employment and permanent,shelter and in this country we can for God has blessed us in a mighty way.