A homeless epidemic has struck the western world. It seems impossible that in our flourishing economy, people are unable to meet the basic need of shelter but more and more people are forced onto the streets every day. You might think that Canada, named the best country in the world to live in by the UN, would be immune to this problem, but Canada has received the harshest rebuke of all time from the UN in regards to our homeless problem. As the rich become richer the poor are losing what little they once had and housing has become a luxury that many in our society can no longer afford. In this changing world any one of us could find ourselves facing the horrors of the street.
We once pictured the homeless as old alcoholics, too lazy to work however there has been a shift in the street�s demographics. There has been an alarming rise in the number of women and young people on the streets. Much of this population is able-bodied and ready to work but the homeless are now often not those who won't work but are those who can't. Due to a drop in the number of available low-skill jobs, those without the proper training have been left scrambling for work. It can take years to find a job sufficient to make ends meet and until then there are bills to be paid. Without a proper source of income they are forced out of their homes as what little they earn goes towards the bare necessities of life, such as food. Forty-five percent of the homeless are employed but minimum wage isn't what it used to be. As the income gap widens the rich are buying more goods and as more is bought prices rise. However those who aren't buying the products suffer from this inflation as what they survive on becomes more expensive but minimum wage remains the same. Companies save costs by giving as little as legally possible to their employees and with inflation, this isn�t adequate to cover the cost of living. There's too little affordable housing and what's available often doesn't have the necessities for living such as cooking facilities and washrooms. While this may only be happening to the lowest of incomes the income gap is ever widening and no one is safe.
Addictions are the chains that keep many homeless on the streets. Life on the streets can send even the strongest souls into depression. Living below the skyscrapers of the business people who come out at lunch, the other life seems as hard to reach as the tip of the skyscrapers. Watching as they come out, wearing their expensive suits, going to eat at restaurants the homeless could never dream of going to, they watch with outstretched cups. You�d think they would have pity and share what they have so much of, but the homeless pleas are just ignored. Trying to ease the pain many turn to alcohol and drugs. However, as the pain is relieved a new torture develops, addiction. Thirty-four percent of the homeless are substance abusers. Earning next to nothing all available resources go towards fueling their addiction. Yet there is never enough as the drugs constantly demand a stronger high, and that high comes with a higher price tag. With no available treatment, there appears to be no way out. The drugs that once cured their pain have become their disease.
Desperate for a fix the homeless will do anything for the money. Their image now so defaced by their life on the streets makes them appear to be unintelligent, and unfit to work for any potential employers. When careers don�t appear to be a feasible option they must resort to stealing, prostitution and drug dealing, endangering themselves with jailtime, STD�s, and death. The cycle only continues. Prostitution can result in unwanted children with futures as dark as their mothers�. The children born into life on the streets have little hope to rise to better lives and can look forward to following in their parent�s footsteps unless they are helped. Being arrested gives the homeless a criminal record on top of losing part of your life. The criminal record makes future employment becomes even more difficult to ever find employment. So the cycle continues, with the dream of gaining back their past life growing ever farther and farther away.
The homeless are those who have slipped through the cracks. First, all they own is lost, then all of their dreams are destroyed and before they know it they lose their souls and become slaves to the cravings. Left behind by everything they once knew the homeless have nothing to hold on to that could bring them back to the world they once knew. Yet still they fight for a place in the regular society but they are fighting for a place that isn�t there.
