Every student should help the homeless
To the editor of CMLife,
This year alone, there were more than 500,000 homeless people in the United States according to a study done by Reuters. Could you imagine spending every night outside on the streets trying to find somewhere safe and dry to sleep?
Many things contribute to homelessness such as poverty, lack of affordable housing, job loss, mental illness, addiction, and even being a veteran. Volunteering for Cardboard city at CMU gave insight to what it would be like to sleep outside in the cold and I couldn’t imagine sleeping outside in the winter because I had no choice.
If every student at CMU did one thing to help the homeless this year it could drastically improve the lives of the people without homes this winter.
Volunteering and working to help the homeless is something that everyone should do at least once. Not only are you helping out others who really need it, you also learn to be thankful that you’re not spending every night alone on a cold park bench.
Being aware of how large a problem homelessness actually is makes you realize that there aren’t very many places that offer help for the homeless. I recently was hired at The Listening Ear downtown Mount Pleasant; they provide affordable housing and care for mainly the elderly who have disabilities. According to the Economist, affordable housing is the first step towards ending homelessness.
They are a nonprofit organization who is focused on the care of those who need it most. Ian Merrifield claims that counseling for addiction and mental illness and providing care for the homeless is needed to end homelessness. Choosing to volunteer or work at places like this are what will start the fight towards the end of homelessness at least here in Mount Pleasant.
Sincerely,
Alexis Reinhardt
