Blog Post 3
Markie Nelson
4/10/2022
Professor Jenkins
American Government & Politics
Blog Post 3
Again, the homeless community faces many troublesome experiences in their lives. In my opinion, this is the worst problem that impacts this community. Homeless people must scavenge and beg for food in order to survive, and since these people in this community do not make an income, they cannot provide for themselves or their families. Without food or water humans cannot survive, these are the absolute necessities for survival. These limitations are known as food and water insecurities. With food insecurities come problems outside of that, such as “agriculture requires large quantities of water for irrigation and of good quality for various production processes” (un.org). Written on un.org, “In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirmed the right of everyone to adequate food. However, access to adequate food in the rural areas of many developing countries depends heavily on access to natural resources, including water, that are necessary to produce food” (un.org). Organizations can put out as many rights or support as they want, but they are sometimes just words and false hope. One person cannot make that much change without the support of larger organizations, but not all promises can be fulfilled. Sadly, with issues like these, there will not be a fix overnight, and there is not an efficient and fluid way to ensure that all people in the world are provided the necessary resources to survive. So, that is how this problem is so detrimental to the homeless community. As defined by un.org, food security is “existing when all people at all times have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet dietary needs for a productive and healthy life” (un.org). So, obviously, the homeless community does not meet this status of food security for themselves and their families.
A major problem strung within food and resource limitations is water pollution. From oneattatime.org they wrote, “Over 700 million people live without access to clean drinking water. … Children are especially vulnerable, as their weakened immune systems cannot withstand intense dehydration from diarrheal diseases” (oneattatime.org). This problem is straightforward in its impacts on this community, and not everyone can understand the pain and suffering the homeless community must endure every day without food and water. Sadly, it will take a while to completely remove food and water limitations for everyone in the world.
This problem affects this community in numerous ways, and sadly children and unhealthy individuals get hit the most. Homeless children already must go through everyday struggling not living in a home, but not having the proper resources necessary for survival are detrimental to them. As stated in the ncbi.nlm.nih.gov article, “Stereotypes about the homeless often mask the degree to which they differ from one another in income, shelter usage, social networks, and health status, all factors might affect their ability to achieve food security” (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Homeless families struggle a lot because there are more people to provide for than just a single person. There are many solutions that anyone around the world can do, and it will take one step at a time, but everyone’s small help towards this problem could one day maybe diminish this poverty issue.
A solution to the water pollution crisis is, “No more digging wells if there is a water source, no constructing sand filters, and no more purification chemicals” (oneattatime.org). Another solution to these food and water limitations is an increase in shelters for the homeless. Shelters provide a place for people to stay and mainly get necessities, such as meals, water, clothing, toiletries, etc. This is really the only chance these people get to some help in their lives. Food banks are another opportunity for homeless people to get food. Along with these shelters and food drives, donations are another key factor in helping because these organizations could not function as well, or at all, without donations and volunteers.
Sources:
https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/food_security.shtml
https://www.rmhumanservices.org/single-post/hunger-homelessness-7-ways-you-can-help