Reflection 2: Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?—Reflecting on Our Attitudes Toward Homelessness

In its 2024 annual report on homelessness, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) "documented the highest number of people being unhoused since reporting began in 2007. Approximately 770,000 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2024 – an 18% increase from 2023." This crisis is perhaps most evident in our nation's biggest (and wealthiest) cities, where homelessness has become pervasive. And while many Americans consider homelessness to be a national shame, an increasing number of us are becoming indifferent, even hostile, toward the homeless. In surveys, Americans routinely say they are concerned about people living on the streets, but in practice, suggestions of a homeless shelter in our neighborhoods are often met with NIMBYism. Meanwhile, many cities, at a loss to deal with the epidemic, have fashioned anti-homeless laws, designed to curb the presence or behavior of homeless people. What are your own views of the homeless? Do you engage the homeless? Do they scare you? Finally, how empathetic or indifferent do you find yourself being toward them?

Cite from at least two of the following:

• "r/homeless: What's It Like Being Hopeless?" (Reddit)
  
• "US Cities Can Now Punish Homelessness. Will It Help or Hurt a Crisis?" (BBC News)
• "Society is 'Pre-loaded' to Stigmatize Homelessness" (Vice)
  
• "Americans Want to Help the Homeless—As Long as They Don't Get Too Close. This Explains Why" (Washington Post)
• "Rethinking Your Encounters with Homeless People" (Psychology Today)

Required:

• MLA Style, including works cited
• ≈ 500 words (2 pages)
  

Due: Fri 4.18 (via Canvas)