Nguyen 1

Alex Nguyen
Ali M. Meghdadi
English 39C/ Section 33321
February 13, 2015
I am Invisible
Betterment is the action that one learns from either their experiences or other experiences.
Using the knowledge a new action is implemented in a way that is better than past experiences.
Betterment occurs throughout the world. One example would be the urbanization of Los
Angeles, which resulted from the Industrial Revolution. The transition of Los Angeles from a
place of agriculture into industrial factories expanded towns and cities in order to accommodate
the influx of migrants from rural areas. The population increase led to a string of consequent
events. Competition for limited resources caused an increase in unemployment. The unemployed
fell into poverty and could no longer afford the rising cost of living, resulting in a high rate of
homelessness. With not enough programs and support, it is nearly impossible to recover from
homelessness. A recession can and has happened in Los Angeles causing many Americans to lose
their jobs and become homeless and for future unemployed. It is necessary that there are
programs and support systems to fight against these problems and make living situations better
for the homeless. It is difficult to gather support because of misconceived ideas about
homelessness. By implementing programs and using social media to increase awareness, these
misconceived ideas will gradually change through interaction and understanding.

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Los Angeles is now the most urbanized city in

America

and has the highest unemployment rate and living

cost.

It became known as the City in Decline

because job availability has declined since the
1990s (Black). There are many other causes
of homelessness but the major problem that
causes homelessness is the loss of a job. Los
Angeles added a million residents between 1980 and 2010;
during that same time, the city lost 165,000

however,

Figure 1: This is a pie chart that depicts

possible triggers for homelessness.

jobs (Black). These people lost their jobs and most became homeless. They stay homeless
because people treat them as invisible and do not give them any time to hear them out or help
them.
Homelessness is not going to get better due to people who fear homeless people because
of beliefs that they are panhandlers, drug addicts, mentally disabled or violent. People associate
the idea of homelessness with the characteristics of laziness and hostility. Majority of Americans
would think it is their fault for being poor and because they are not resilient enough to get out of
their own situation. Just because people work hard, overcome struggles, and succeed in
surpassing the poverty line does not mean that those who are homeless did not work hard. It does
not mean that they are lazy and did not overcome struggles. According to Paul Toro, a
psychology professor at Wayne State University, Toro found that compared to other countries,
people who live in countries like the United States that have more capitalistic economies are
more likely to believe personal failings are the primary cause of homelessness and feel less
compassion for homeless people (Figueroa). That is true. It is these capitalistic and self-

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succeeding ideals that prevent others from understanding or talking to homeless people.
Homeless people go unseen every day, as passersby ignore their existence on sidewalks, in
parks, in subway stations (Figueroa). It is because people ignore the homeless that it is still a
problem. David Sleepy, author of No One Sees Me, asked a homeless, Whats the worst part
about being homeless? The homeless replied, No one sees me. There are people in society
who do not realize that these poor people are the same as everyone else in the world but born in
different environment or because of tragic events have happened, not because they have failed. If
the community is more aware of the cause for their lack of a job, education, or home, people
might be more compassionate and thus, willing to lend a hand, hear them out instead of having
these preconceived notions about homelessness. Increase in awareness and interaction with the
homeless will change the peoples perspective of homelessness.
By increasing awareness of homeless living environment and how it affects them, the
community can start to have a good understanding of homeless people are more vulnerable to
diseases and drugs because of the lack of nutrients and sanitation that comes from living on the
streets which cause a greater strain on emergency services. Although it takes resources to help
homeless people, if homeless people are not helped, it costs more pretending they are invisible
than helping them find a place to live. According to Bryce Covert, an economic policy editor,
The costs of putting the homeless in jail for violating ordinances or putting them
in the hospital for emergency care are three times as expensive as helping
homeless people find a place to live. One Florida County spent more than $5
million over a decade jailing just 37 homeless people; on the other hand, one
apartment complex for the homeless in North Carolina saved $1.8 million in its
first year.

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The money that is being use to jail homeless people and emergency care can be use instead to
find housing for homeless people. That is a 3.2 million dollar minimum of saving. My solution is
not taking money from the jailing of homeless people. My mitigation is to prevent homeless
people from going to jail and prevent homeless people from relying on drugs. If homeless people
are sheltered, they would not have to deal with the unsanitary streets and violence. They would
not need the emergency care if they are in safe houses. Many homeless sleep on the street in
fear of being attacked, abused, and robbed (What). Many of these homeless have been
subjected to police harassment such as being unfairly searched and arrested.
The cold, hunger, fear, and lack of personal hygiene damages their mental and physical
health. According to psychiatrists from the Royal College of Psychiatrist Everything is
connected; stress, grief, employment and so on all affect physical and mental illness. Most
homeless do not shower or wash their clothes because they do have access to showers or washing
machines. This adds on to the mental strain they have. The idea that dozens of people not
showering for days, weeks, months, maybe years is astonishing and unsanitary. They are more
prone to diseases and infection because of the constant bacteria around them. This is why the
transition from unsanitary streets to sanitary rooms reduces infections and diseases and thus
lowering the amount of homeless people going to the hospital. Tax money is now being used in a
different cheaper and more efficient method. The extra tax money from the expenses of jailing
and emergency care for homeless can be put into better uses such as housing the homeless.
Living on the street in the cold, with lack of nutrient, and constant fear would cause a
person to be mentally unstable. According to Charles W. Schmidt, an award-winning science
writer who published work for Discover Magazine, Science, and Nature Medicine, stated that
environmental threats to mental health include these traditional parametersalong with

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pharmaceutical and illicit drugs, injuries, and nutritional deficienciesbut also consist of
psychosocial conditions that relate to the individuals perceptions of the social and physical
world (Schmidt). To make the problem more bearable, the first step is for the homeless and
everyone to interact and understand. It is easier to help someone when there is an understanding
behind their reasoning. It will take time because people do not just talk to one another but
through repeating encounters, one will eventually talk to the other. By implementing community
gardens, everyone can be a part of the community garden and participate. Send letters to
everyone in the area that a community garden is being developed and how it brings benefits to
everyone.
A community garden brings awareness to those in the community about homelessness by
making them involved. Dan Pallotta, board of the developmentally disabled, said that these
people want laughter and compassion and they want love (Pallotta). One way we can provide
those aspects for the homeless is by providing them a sense of duty and companionship. A
community garden is a great way where everyone and anyone can help out without being judged.
The community garden brings people together regardless of race, age, or social class. All we
need is to provide seeds which are cheap and affordable and some tools. It could be old tools or
the tools can be made. These items can be donated or bought through fundraising and donations.
The last thing the community garden needs is a land that everyone can use. It could be a
backyard. It could be part of a park. As long as there are grass and soil, it can be converted to a
garden.
A community garden is a good idea because it provides nutritious benefits,
psychological, social, and behavioral benefits. The homeless people can start growing their own
food and provide themselves as well as others nutritious nourishment. This solves the lack of

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nutrients for homeless people and increase the idea of
fruits and vegetables in a persons diet.
The sharing of food between
homeless people and community
members

will create a sense of bond and

through

bonding, a sense of understanding

starts to

form. According to community

gardeners,
increases a sense of

Exposure to green space reduces stress and

wellness and belonging in a community (Benefit).

Figure 4: Having a community garden has many

benefits. Easier access to fruits and vegetables, physical
activity, volunteer, self-esteem and pride, social
interaction, and community safety comes with having a
community garden.

Over time, a sense of bond and

understanding will occur

regardless of effort. Then homeless people will have a sense of belonging. This is a form of love
that can keep the homeless people from relying on drugs and crimes. The homeless will feel
confident about themselves because they are doing something that can help them and help others
at the same time. The feeling of helping others brings positive attitude towards their life
especially when others are involved. Slowly as more people get involved, the community will
understand that homeless people are just average people like everyone else.
The community garden not only helps out the homeless but everyone in the community.
Community gardening is recognized by many police departments as an effective community
crime prevention strategy (Benefits). It increases neighboring civic pride and it reduces crime
rates. Community garden provides opportunities to meet neighbors and results in more people
outside. The many people outside on the streets act as eyes keeping the community aware and
safe.

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Take one community in North Philadelphia that was once full of vacant, rundown
buildings and plagued with crime, drugs, trash and derelict people as much as
derelict infrastructure. A group of women decided to build the Las Parcelas
Community Garden and Kitchen. Not only did it improve crime rates, it caused
a ripple effect and people started taking care of their own properties, looking out
for one another and completely transformed their neighborhood. (Sarich)
It is the little things that need to be done to initiate a bigger change. It was not until the
community garden was implemented in Philadelphia that they started to care about how their
houses, front yard, and streets appeared. By changing the environment, childrens development
will be affected differently.

Figure 2: On the left is a before picture of Manton Street Park & Community Park. On the
right is the redevelopment of the park. It is an example of community engagement and
opportunity to get involved.
More specifically, the children living with parents who are homeless are affected by the
poor environment they are in. They are twice as likely as other children to leave school without
any general certification of secondary education (Peer). This is a problem because education is

Nguyen 8
one of the solutions to end poverty. With less people becoming educated, they will not be able to
get higher wages to meet living expenses resulting in more people under the poverty line and
eventually becoming homeless. According to The U.S. Department of Education, the number of
homeless students in the United States is on the rise and has been for decades. Their survey
found that during the 2012-2013 school year, there were 1.3 million homeless students in the
U.S (Peer). Education is what we need in this constantly developing world due to the constant
evolution of technology. Education helps develop our reasoning and helps people understand
what is right and wrong and the consequences that comes from their actions. With kids not being
able to focus in school, they are less likely to develop the necessary skills to be successful in
their life. Improving the environment by incorporating a community garden will not only affect
the parents but also their kids as well. In an NEA policy briefs, it states that, parent-familycommunity partnerships foster higher educational aspirations and more motivated students
(Roeckel). The parents involvement in the community will be a positive role model for their
kids. The kids will be involved in the community as well and learn responsibility and duty that
will eventually lead them to great success.

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Community gardening is a healthy,
inexpensive activity for youth that can
bring them closer to nature, and allow them
to

interact with each other in a socially

meaningful and physically productive way
(Benefit). This will promote children to spend more
time outside instead of inside. It
allows them to get physical exercise

Figure 3: The graph depicts the many benefits that arises

from Community Gardens.

and because of the physical

exercises, the likeliness of getting obesity is reduced. These positive environments that the kids
are participating in promote a sense of duty and responsibility that will help them become
successful. Their sense of duty will promote going to school and not ditching. Their
responsibility will promote doing homework and learning in classrooms. Figure 3 shows that
there is an increase in attendance, improvement in test scores, and support with the present of a
gardening program. This will result in more kids going through with their education. A
community garden will be the better choice than raising minimum wage in hopes of increasing
wages for workers to get out of poverty.
Raising the minimum wage will not solve poverty or help homeless. Labor economists
have repeatedly studied the effects of minimum wage increases. They find no correlation
between higher minimum wages and lower poverty. Raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour as
the President suggests simply would not reduce poverty (Nielsen). The increase in minimum
wage might sound helpful for those who get the raise but as you make more money, you lose
federal benefits. That means we lose food stamps, housing, Medicaid, and the Earned Income

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Tax Credit. As workers income rise they qualify for less and less aid- effectively an additional
tax on their income. As more workers gain higher wages, their increase in wage comes at the
expense of losing employment opportunities. A higher minimum wage would cause businesses
to lay off every worker who does not add at least $9 an hour in value to their enterprise. It is the
young and low skilled workers, who are affected since they possess less job qualification and
experience. Those employees who receive a minimum wage increase may be better off, but
those who lose their job because they're now more expensive to employ are most certainly worse
off. The result of increasing minimum rage reduces young peoples opportunity to gain work
experience that helps them develop basic skills in order to earn higher levels of income. The
higher the minimum wage, the more qualification the employer will expect. That will prevent
anyone, especially homeless people getting jobs because people judge off appearance without
understanding.
It is easier to make assumptions about a person then getting to know them. It is important
that we change these preconceived notions of homelessness. In order to change the assumption
made, an increase in awareness is necessary. Having a community garden is a stepping stone in
awareness and understanding. A community garden not only improves the lives of homeless
people but also the lives of the community. By having a community garden homeless people will
participate in more community assignments and will create social bonds that will help them in
their life. Community unity and peoples willingness to be involved will affect other
communities, promoting an endless domino effect of understanding and unity.

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