8Alive city excursion- Homeless people
Isn’t it good being able to go home to a place where you feel comfortable? A place where you feel safe, and you have a roof over your head to protect you things such as rain and wind? Yes, this is your home! Probably most people you know all have homes. Most likely houses, or rooms in some kind of building. Well after a visit to the city earlier this week, I have learnt that not everyone has a home. This is pretty sad to hear, as homes and houses are like normal, everyday things in our lives.
There are people, even here in Australia, who are homeless. They haven’t got a place to stay and keep warm, and some are even left to roam the street in search of food and shelter! Some homeless people take drugs, have no money and wear the same old, ragged clothes everyday. They find it very hard to get hold of some food to satisfy their hunger and they often sleep by the street on people’s doorstep. When they beg for some money, they often get rejected.
When my class and I visited the city for part of the 8Alive program, we listened to a man talk about homeless people. Some people he had heard of became homeless through incidents such as loss of job. Others can become homeless through other incidents. He told us about a 14 year old girl who was being abused by her mother’s boy friend where she lived. She had left the house because it was un-safe, and she stayed with her friend for a while. She then decided that she needed to find a more permanent place to stay, so she left her friend’s house, and started living in an old ware house. She had walked across the floor above ground level, when it collapsed and she died. This is a true story, which is very sad.
Homeless people don’t seem to make friends, and can become very depressed. This can then lead them to taking drugs which can cause other problems. I fell really sorry for the people without homes, and I never really thought much about this topic until I found out much more about it recently.
All this is very sad, and I wondered what we can do to help these people. Then the man started to tell us about a cafe that was held near a church in the city. This cafe welcomed everyone, including the homeless. I felt very pleased to hear that people were helping them. The homeless can get free meals at this cafe and they get to meet other people. The man told us how it was interesting watching a buisness person talk to a homeless person.
A lot of people image homeless people as old men wearing mits and sleeping on a newspaper. However, only around 10% of the homeless are like this.
The cafe in the city serves free food to everyone, and I think it’s a great idea to help the homeless people. This shows that there is a way to help, even with the most difficult situations.
