What Makes a Home

If I can make it there
I’ll make it
Anywhere
It’s up to you
New York, New York. — Frank Sinatra

What if you don’t make it? Every day thousands of New Yorkers wake up, and instead of turning off their alarm clock and brushing their teeth, they have to figure out where their first meal is coming from. According to the Center Square publication of New York, in 2020, approximately 47.3 people out of 10,000 were homeless in New York City. In a place that is as densely populated as New York, this ratio can lead to mass homelessness and people trying to survive underneath the poverty line. What makes this issue different for New York is the fact that there is such a sprawling infrastructure. While it would be impossible to calculate exactly how many homeless people go to certain areas in the city, a vast majority of them choose to live in the subway systems. As someone who has lived in New York City and has taken public transportation my whole life, I can confirm that these issues go far beyond the statistics. With poverty on the rise and people struggling to make ends meat, politicians and social activists have been trying to find ways to combat this growing issue.

The problem is finding a solution is not so simple. Since the early 18th century, the City of New York has put infrastructure in place to help the growing population of homeless people. For years, places like the salvation army and the soup kitchens around the city have provided food to those who can not afford a meal every day. While that is a good Band-Aid solution to the problem, there is not enough food in these kitchens to sustain such a population. Many have suggested long-term solutions such as Increasing the minimum wage and decreasing taxes for the poor so that the rate of homelessness itself decreases. The issue with this is that it will defiantly alter the makeup of the economy here in the city.

There has been an ever-growing debate over how best to deal with this problem, and while I am not sure of the answer, I do know that the mere fact that this debate even exists is a testament to our society. This issue is based on the quality of people’s lives. Theoretically, there should not be a debate over homelessness because we should all be doing everything we can to combat the situation. I believe that once we can find our own humanity, we will be able to find a solution. The question now becomes, when and how will we be able to find that humanity and think beyond ourselves.

New York homeless population numbered 92,091 last year, study finds | New York | thecentersquare.com