Being homeless has been depressing for the 1.56 million people in the United States of America, let alone the estimated 100 million in the whole entire world. Homelessness is a temporary condition that people fall into when they cannot afford to pay for a place to live, or when their current home is unsafe or unstable.  Could you imagine making a small-scale average of $10 to $50 a day? And that can differ from the areas you are at because people have strict feelings about the homeless. Homeless people have no ability to cook food because they have no access to a kitchen like we do. In fact, not being able to cook and preserve food could have a big impact on the nutritional value of the meals of the homeless. Malnutrition is a common problem among the homeless because the pre-packaged foods have high levels of sodium and low levels of calcium and fiber, they don’t have the nutrition that we receive on a daily basis. There has been an increase of homelessness in the past 5 years dramatically. The city of Los Angeles is much known for it. They are struggling on getting homes for the homeless. “The city and county have done such a terribly poor job of creating affordable housing, basically they’ve ignored the issue,” said Steve Clare of the LAPD.  Now, what can we do to help the homeless you may ask?

I could go on for ages on how we can support the homeless people as there is many ways. But the ones that I particularly think would help the most are,

1. Give Food – It’s as simple as taking a few extra sandwiches when you go out. When you pass someone who asks you for food because their hungry, offer him or her something to eat.
2. Give Money – This is a common item homeless people need for them to buy possessions to survive. You could also donate money to a homeless organization or shelter.
3. Give Clothing – Keep a eye out for clothing you don’t wear anymore, think before you throw it away. Someone in the world is in need .
4.  Create a shelter or bring them to one – Shelters are a place where homeless people can stay to give protection from exposure to the weather and other harmful things they have to deal with.
5. Respect – Respecting and being kind to the homeless is probably the easiest it can get. This is a rare experience for them and they appreciate it.

Here are some of the resources you can look at to encourage you.

http://www.wikihow.com/Help-the-Homeless

https://www.bowery.org/homelessness/tips-help-homeless/

Blaine High School also has a large population of homeless students, and knowing that they exist is a great step in the right direction – Editor’s Note