Homlessness
Jesus said, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). What could be more burdensome and heavy-laden than to be homeless in as rich a society as the United States? As we look into the issue of homelessness, we believe that there are three social factors that contribute to this predicament: economics, racism, and reasons stemming from abuse. Homelessness is not in all cases a voluntary choice made by social retreatist who, according to Merton's strain theory, "drop out" from the pursuit of culturally accepted goals. The 3 reasons listed above are examples of involuntary homelessness, the end result of other problems. Recent figures show that over 700,000 people a night are homeless, 40% are women with their children (International Justice Party). These figures are staggering when we compare the relative wealth of our "Industrialized Society" and how still so many go without basic needs every night. As we take a Christian perspective approach in examining this topic we see the words of Jesus in Matthew 21:31-40, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clot
hed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." To fix something you first have to understand what causes the problem, let us take a look at the three factors causing homelessness in depth. Homelessness has proven to be a major problem in our society. Most homeless people do not want to be homeless and, in fact, hold down jobs or attempt to work during the time they are homeless. We know that the problem of homelessness is not a choice made by the many individuals who end up in that predicament. Let us be the good Samaritans, it is spiritually rewarding because we are empowering the less fortunate and helping to relieve suffering during times of crisis Economics plays into the problem of homelessness through the lack of affordable housing available for single income families. The theorist would surmise that the wealthy landlords are controlling the pricing of their housing, therefore keeping the availability limited to the wealthier individuals. This keeps the lower income families with limited opportunities and options. The issue of economics contributing to homelessness is self-perpetuating in that an individual without money does not have the means to purchase nice clothes, afford transportation, obtain a mailing address, or even have a place to bathe. All of these limit the chances of the individual in obtaining gainful employment and hence their plight remains the same, homeless with no income. Among this segment of society we often find low self-esteem and low confidence levels. Racism, as viewed by the social-conflict theory in today's society, shows upper
Some topics in this essay:
African Americans,
Jesus Matthew,
,
Center Christamore,
Industrialized Society,
Justice Party,
women children,
domestic violence,
christian perspective,
contributing homelessness,
housing available,
homelessness voluntary,
homeless homelessness,
income families,
people homeless,
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Approximate Word count = 1090
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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