Stereotypes of Homeless People

Some of these negative impressions are so ingrained into our society that even some people who are trying to help may believe some of them. Many of these incorrect representations make people who would otherwise want to help unwilling to help people they've come to believe do not deserve it. Here are just a few of those myths, misconceptions, stereotypes and assumptions.

Sterneotype: They Are All Criminals

Most homeless people are not criminals and many of those who are technically criminals have only committed what are called status crimes. Status crimes include getting arrested for loitering, sleeping in public, or trespassing. Those are called status crimes because they are things impossible to avoid doing if one does not have a home.

This stereotype is one of the most harmful because it creates an unreasonable fear of homeless people because those who spread it can't or don't distinguish between people who got a ticket for sleeping on a bench and violent criminals. It makes many who would probably help people afraid to do so. It prevents people from getting hired or from renting a place to live. This misconception also makes it difficult for charitable organizations to open or expand facilities that provide services for the needy due to objections from nearby residents who fear for their safety.

Stereotype: They Are All Drug Addicts and Winos

Many are neither drug addicts nor alcoholics. While close to half of adult homeless people in the United States currently struggle with addictions or have struggled with addictions in the past many of them do not have and have not had a drug or alcohol problem.

This is a harmful stereotype because it closes many doors for people without homes. Employers and landlords that believe this are unlikely to hire or rent to them. Even some homeless shelters are hampered by this misconception. Some of them require substance abuse counseling for all who use their services, even those without addictions, taking up valuable time that people could use to seek employment or to work odd jobs.

Stereotype: They Are All Too Lazy to Work

I can't count the number of times I've encountered this statement. It pops up almost every time I have a conversation about charity work and people start to go on about the topic of "the undeserving poor" or people they think don't deserve help. The major reason people claim poor people don't deserve to be helped is that they are too lazy to help themselves.

While almost half of all adult homeless people in America are unemployed it doesn't indicate laziness. Many of them lost their jobs through no fault of their own - through corporate downsizing or due to injury, illness, old age or disability.

Those well enough and young enough to work have many high barriers to gaining employment. They may be putting in dozens of applications a day but never get a bite due to the prejudice created by the strong and commonly held negative beliefs about homeless people.

Those with jobs are often underemployed or don't earn enough to afford rent or to qualify to rent. Another issue is that even if a person works full time, he or she may earn enough to afford an apartment but find themselves unable to rent one because of the income requirements many complexes have. Many rental properties require renters to make three times as much as the rent costs. Getting a co-signer can help but the co-signer usually has to have a good credit rating and an income, that if combined with the renter's, equals at least five times the price of the rent.

How is the life there?

``I stay near a homeless shelter, and I often play chess some of them. The biggest problem a lot of them have on a daily bases is not the people that they come in contact on the street it's the staff that treats them less than human, and that is a shame``. Gabriel burnett

QUESTIONS:
· Do you think that all the stereotypes of homeless are real?
· What can you do to help those people in order to make them get out of their condition?














Resources:
 http://kylyssa.hubpages.com/hub/homelessness-myths-misconceptions
 http://www.preblestreet.org/news/Myths-about-the-homeless/232/