What do you think when you see a homeless person?
This was the question we asked Latitude High School students, many of them freshmen from all different backgrounds. One of the reasons we asked this question was because homelessness is a major problem here in Oakland, as well as the U.S. as a whole, and we wanted to bring awareness to this issue. One of the most common answers was to help by giving money to homeless people. “I usually give ’em a dollar,” said Lorenzo, a 9th grader at Latitude.
Other people said that they feel bad whenever they see homeless people. “I feel really bad for them because they’re on the street,” shared Jerren, another freshman. “They have no food, no water, no shelter and all they have to rely on is tents.”
Roman, a sophomore at Latitude, took a more reflective view, stating “I think sadness and I feel a little bit of embarrassment because I know we shouldn’t have people on the streets.”
However, not everybody felt bad for homeless people. One student said, “I think that they’re broke and they need to get jobs and they need to get the f — — off the streets ’cause they make it dirtier.” Telly, a 9th grader had a similar view: “I think they choose to be homeless.”
There is no one answer to this question; many people support the homeless, while some don’t. There are only facts, and the fact is that there are people of all ages living on the streets with nothing: no food, reliable access to food, water, beds, or resources. So what do you think when you see a homeless person?
