Street Sense: Newspaper by and about the homeless

Look at this news story and tell me what you think about this interesting project:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec04/streetnews_12-15.html

I heard about this newspaper that is published in Washington D.C. through a story on National Public Radio. Its pretty cool; the homeless people who sell the papers make at least a 75% profit, and the stories are written by the homeless (as well as other volunteers) about life on the streets. If you want to visit the website for the paper, here it is:

http://www.streetsense.org/index.jsp

Poll: Reaction to Homeless

I posted this poll, and unfortunately I cannot find a poll code that will work, so please jst post anonymously under comments. 

What is your initial reaction when you encounter a homeless person?

“They are too lazy to get a job”

“They will spend the money they are panhandling on drugs or alcohol”

“I wish there were some way to help them”

“I wonder how they ended up this way?”

View Results

Homelessness as a social problem

I have posted a link in the blogroll to the site I have been working on for class, or you can just go to this URL:

http://student.mcdaniel.edu/~societyincrisis/projects/rbrownlee/project_rbrownlee.htm

Of course, it is still under construction, but I would like to hear feedback on my analysis. It only scratches the surface of the different problems related to homelessness and how they affect society.

What might be some more positive ways to promote giving to charities while educating the public about the breadth and diversity of homelessness?

It has come to my attention that some organizations in America are funding ad campaigns like the one shown above encouraging people to donate to charities rather than panhandlers, for fear that the individuals may use the money to support abusive habits. Such campaigns are a double-edged sword. Although it is true that there is a huge deficit in funding for homeless shelters and other programs, ad campaigns like these encourage homeless stereotyping among an already undereducated public. In short, the images only promote the beliefs that all homeless people are sub-human revelers in substance.

Questions for the Homeless

I am aware that some people who are homeless do access the net and post on blogs, and welcome comments from anyone who actually has had some experience with the subject. Also, some questions I would like to pose:

1) What do you think is the reason you are homeless/ Why would you classify yourself as “homeless?”

2) How would you like to see the image of homelessness change?

3) What is one thing you think that everyone misunderstands about being homeless?

(just a note, the header image is from humanityforhomeless.blogspot.com/)