Introduction
Homelessness is the state of not having a suitable shelter to reside. Homeless people can live in the streets or live in makeshift dwellings. People staying in refugee camps often move from one temporary camp to another, and they form part of the homeless people in the country.
Cases have occurred where some homeless people stay in their cars or caravan parks at night. It is worth noting that low-income earners cannot afford high house rents. Thus, they are more likely to become homeless than high-income earners.
Interestingly, the homelessness problem was evident in Phoenix when campsites were built in 1982. Some people opted to abandon their residential places to come and live in the camps instead of living inadequately. People have different views regarding the help rendered to the homeless people, and indeed, there are those who feel that Arizona State should pay no attention to the homeless people.
Problem
Homelessness is a problem that affects people of all ages in Phoenix. Males, females, and children can become victims of homelessness; however, the greatest sufferers are women and children. Cases have happened where women and small girls are raped in the streets, and sadly, they have no place to seek refuge. Unwanted pregnancies are common in the streets, where young girls have to become mothers at a tender age.
Children are prone to developing health conditions while sleeping in the cold. They will cry all night because of starvation and sickness, and their mothers have to keep awake for the entire night trying to soothe them. Some children die in the cold, and the mothers dispose of them in the garbage pits because they have no other choice.
In Phoenix, incidences of children living with family friends or relatives are common. These children live in conditions similar to those living in the streets because the relatives mistreat them. Some relatives deny the children a chance to school even though public education is free. Essentially, education is luxurious for homeless children who have to do menial jobs to earn a living.
A critical analysis of the homeless situation in Phoenix indicates that there are inadequate affordable houses for low-income earners. They have to live in the streets and do anything to survive. Crime rates in the streets are high, where; children are recruited to become criminals at tender ages.
Moreover, drug use and substance abuse are very common among homeless people. With life stresses, physical, and mental torture, most homeless people opt to seek refuge in drugs. They consume illicit substances to feel high and forget about life stresses in the streets. Some police officers who ought to protect the citizens mishandle the helpless people.
It is very sad to note that some disabled people in Arizona State are homeless. Some people are overwhelmed with life stresses to the extent of deciding to abandon their disabled relatives in the streets. Some disabled people have spent more than three years in the streets, and they survive at the mercies of the good Samaritans. The mentioned problems are just but a few of the difficulties that homeless people in Phoenix encounter in their daily lives.
Proposed Solution
The aforementioned problems that homeless people encounter are horrible. The state should help the homeless people to prevent poor health conditions, to reduce criminal activities, to reduce drug use and substance abuse, and to prevent social immoralities. Helping the homeless would play a significant role in avoiding the illegal use of public spaces, and it would enable the state to cut on social costs.
The entire exercise would enable homeless children to access education, and it would enable disabled individuals to find help. Arizona State ought to address the homeless issue to reduce the escalating number of homeless people in the Phoenix area.
The first approach to address the problem is creating urban campsites to capture the homeless people living in the streets. The second approach is to find out the main causes of homelessness and determining the neediness level of the affected people. The third approach would be the establishment of projects to construct affordable houses for homeless people since poverty and lack of affordable housing is the core cause of homelessness (Brinegar 501).
Essentially, the most important measure is developing permanent measures to address the issue. Construction of affordable houses, the establishment of community-based profit-making projects, and provisions of employment opportunities are the three approaches that would address the homelessness issues adequately. The specifics of the proposed solutions are as outlined below.
- Establishing the core cause of homelessness and treating homeless people differently depending on their needs.
- Construction of various campsites to abode emergency homelessness cases and affordable houses to offer permanent housing for the homeless.
- A permanent solution to the inadequacy issues by the provision of employment opportunities and the establishment of community-based profit-making projects.
Justification
Different treatments
The Arizona State has been working with nonprofit agencies, well-wishers, and religious organizations to offer support to the homeless people in the country. The state offers emergency shelters, food, transitional housing, and permanent housing after that. However, the state should start treating homeless people differently because handling them equally is an improper approach.
Essentially, some homeless people needier than others are, and the entire group needs to be treated differently to relieve the state from some unnecessary expenses.
Homeless individuals should give decisive reasons as to why they are homeless. If war, calamities, misunderstandings, or any other solvable factor lead to their homelessness, the state should take the initiative to address the issue and let the people go back to their homes. Permanent housing should be available to desperate people without a native home.
Campsites and permanent houses
It is necessary for the homeless to prove that they are in desperate need of the houses before qualifying for permanent housing because some people might pretend to be homeless to benefit from the program. The campsites will abode emergency homelessness cases to cut on any unnecessary construction costs.
People who qualify to obtain affordable permanent houses should work hard to ensure that they pay affordable rents to the state. The revenue obtained from the rental houses would help the state in constructing additional houses for other homeless people.
Employment opportunities
The approach of offering employment opportunities to the homeless is a permanent solution to address the underlying issue. This is because some homeless people are very talented, and if given an employment opportunity, they can be able to sustain themselves and be of great help to the state. It would be helpful to rehabilitate drug addicts and train talented people (Stevens et al. 33).
Moreover, the establishment of community-based profit-making projects is the best approach to ensure that every person is involved in productive activity. The mentioned approaches will transform the entire community into an economically stable area that will not require state aid after some time. Therefore, the procedural approaches will attain a permanent solution to the homelessness issue.
Opposing Views
Some people will argue that the entire process is practically inapplicable. However, the process is applicable as long as the people involved carry on their actions responsibly. Transparency and accountability should be the key factor while dealing with homeless people. If Arizona State establishes an approach to coordinate all the resources donated by humanity organizations and the private sectors, it would be very easy to develop the entire project.
Qualified people who will account for every penny that is spent should manage every proposed project. It is noteworthy that well-wishers will be ready to provide technical and financial assistance as long as the entire process is done in a professional and transparent manner.
Conclusion
From the discussions, it is worth noting that everything is possible. The homelessness problem in the Phoenix area is solvable if people joined hands to address the issue. Humanitarian organizations, private companies, and well-wishers across the globe would want to offer a helping hand in addressing the homelessness issue. However, people who are employed to manage the donated funds should be ready to display their selfless qualities.
They should be ready to work with Arizona State to facilitate the plan to attain a solution to homelessness. They should show their commitment to finding employment opportunities for the homeless, and most importantly, they should be ready to account for all their actions.
Indeed, the state cannot resolve the homelessness issue alone; the citizens, well-wishers, and the developers of the programs must work together and take responsibility for their actions to address the complex homelessness problem.
Works Cited
Brinegar, Sarah. “Response to Homelessness in Tempe, Arizona: Public Opinion and Government Policy.” Urban Geography 21.6 (2009): 497-513. Print.
Stevens, Sally, Julie R. Erickson, Jarrie C. Tent and Jenny Chong. “A Therapeutic Community Model for Treatment of Homeless Alcohol and Drug Users in Arizona.” Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 10.4 (2008): 21-33. Print.