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Abdulaziz Althanyan
Core-110
03-18-2019
Poverty in Wilkes Barre
Homelessness is a consequential issue that has been overlooked by many
people due to the large populations around the country. An issue that I have noticed in
the United States is the large population of homeless people and lack of resources
available for them. Coming to a first world country for the first time, I did not expect to
see such a large amount of people in poverty. In my country, the most recent update
reported that “Saudi Arabia has the lowest poverty rate in the Middle East and the 10th
lowest poverty rate in the world at 12.7%.” (Lee) There is a drastic difference in the
homeless populations in these two countries. As the poverty rates are rising so is the
population in the United States. Statistics from the National Law center on
Homelessness & Poverty recently have shown that “every year about 2.5 to 3.5 million
Americans are without a home that sleep in shelters, temporary housing and in public
areas that are not meant to be lived in.” (NLCHP) I would like to propose a solution that
could help reduce the amount of people in poverty on the streets in Wilkes Barre.
There are many different reasons for the rise in the homeless community. Some
of the reasons for the growth in the United States are drug or alcohol related, health
issues, money, loss of job and bad records, such as criminal, abuse, and drug related.
According to statistics compiled by the federal Department of Housing and Urban
Development, “The number of homeless people in Luzerne County has risen for the first
time since 2010.” (Halpin) The weather has also played a huge role in the increase of
homeless people in Wilkes Barre. Homeless are also increasing in size because of the
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cold temperatures in the city, many people even stop by the shelters just to get supplies
or clothing and accessories to keep themselves warm. During the winter time, the
temperatures in Wilkes tend to drop below zero degrees into the negatives which can
be a difficult time for the homeless people. According to statistics compiled by the
federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, “the number of homeless in
Luzerne County was 192 during a count in January.” (NLCHP) This included 97 people
in transitional housing, 83 in emergency shelters and 12 who were unsheltered.”
(Halpin) “Of them, 49 were severely mentally ill, 48 were addicts, 15 were veterans and
23 were victims of domestic violence, according to the data”. (Halpin) In this data, we
can see that homelessness is growing and it is becoming tough for the county to handle
such a large group of people when the spaces are very limited. One of the popular
shelters is Ruth’s Place Women’s Shelter which helps women in Wilkes Barre with basic
needs and looking for a place to sleep. “The shelter’s normal capacity is about 20
women, but the shelter pulls out cots to accommodate 25 when the mercury drops
below freezing”. (Halpin, James) A shelter of about 20-25 women is a very tight space
and can be overwhelming especially with many more waiting to be placed somewhere
when the temperatures are below freezing. It is very unsafe for them to be outside
during the winter season and they can end up in the hospitals if they spend even a
couple of hours in the cold.
I would like to create a program in each community where the populations of
homeless people are high. This program can help people get back on their feet by
helping them create resumes and applying for jobs that are available in the
communities. The first step will be to gather background information from the group and
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their qualifications. In order to create a profile for the displaced people, we will need to
know about their experiences and their educational backgrounds. The next step is to
help them create resumes and fill out job applications. In this program, I would like to
also have days where the groups can visit a library to work on computers so they can
access the internet to apply for jobs or get help creating their resumes. The older
generation sometimes struggle to use technology to apply for jobs so using these trips
to the library where the groups can work together on the computers can be beneficial for
them.
Many of these people have experience in the work field but are struggling to keep
a job due to different situations. In an article, it was stated that “the greatest challenge to
folks in the shelter is jobs, and the ability to get a job and to get transportation to the
job.” (Halpin) In this program, we can help them prepare for interviews by, cleaning
them up by offering free haircuts and manicure and pedicure services. We can also
have a service that allows them to rent clean business casual clothing so that they can
look well dressed for their interviews. It is hard for the homeless to afford these services
that may seem very simple but when you are living on the streets, these services do not
become a necessity. The next step will be to hold job fairs so they can get familiar with
jobs that are available in the area that they may be interested in. We can also try to
create a service that allows them to ride the public transportation services until they are
able to afford using it on their own to get to and from work. Many of the homeless
people give up on their jobs because they do not have transportation to get them to and
from work. Walking may not always be an option for them because of the harsh weather
conditions.
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Creating this program will not be easy and cannot be done by one person alone.
Therefore, it will require a team of people or volunteers that could help the community
come together. Everyone in Wilkes Barre is affected by the growth of homeless people
because they are growing in size and they can be seen around the town lounging
around looking for a place to stay for the night or for something to eat. Many of the
students come across the homeless people every day because they are seen around
the campus. “Usually at some point of every day, they are told to “move along,” to get
off of Public Square, which has become for many homeless people a sort of meeting
hall”. (O’Boyle) The square is an important part of the city where there are kids, families,
people walking their pets, students, restaurants, and places for the people in the city to
enjoy. With the homeless people gathering around the square, it can make it an
uncomfortable place to hang out.
By creating this program to help the homeless people find jobs, we can
decrease the size in the city. We can always create shelters but that does not help
decrease the size but helps increase it because many more people will come join. It is a
temporary fix that will not help solve the issue. Our problem here requires help from the
community. It is our job to contact the city council, and all of the shelters in Wilkes-Barre
to bring this program forward to help the displaced people in our community because no
one else will. If we show these statistics and facts to the city council, we can bring
change to our city. If enough people in the community come to help solve this program,
we can make a big change in our environment that can help us all for the better. Not
only will this help our city council, but everyone in our town who would like to see the
number of homeless people decrease.
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Works Cited
O’Boyle, Bill. “In Focus: A Homeless Couple Scrambles to Survive in WilkesBarre.” Times Leader, 23 July 2015
Halpin, James. “Shelters in Demand as More Go Homeless.” News - Citizens'
Voice, 1 Dec. 2014, m.citizensvoice.com/news/shelters-in-demand-as-morego-homeless-1.1795563. 16 March 2019
“Top 15 Facts about Poverty in Saudi Arabia.” The Borgen Project, 31 Oct.
2018, borgenproject.org/top-15-facts-about-poverty-in-saudi-arabia/. 18
March 2019
“Home.” National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, nlchp.org/. 18
March 2019
Essay Three: Proposal
Due Dates: 1st Draft: 3/22/19
2nd Draft: 3/27/19
Final Draft: 3/29/19
For this essay (3-4 pages), you will need to propose a solution to a problem. It is
important that this problem is something you feel invested in. Consider the following
guidelines in choosing your topic:
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an issue that you have noticed since arriving at King’s College
something that you really support
a problem that you notice in your community, state, country
an issue related to your major
To become more informed about this issue, you will want to do research on it. For
example, perhaps you want to propose that King’s add “intercession” classes, that is
intense classes that take place entirely between Fall and Spring or Spring and Summer
semesters. You would need to do research on other schools that have these, why they
have them and how they work; whether or not King’s has ever done them and what
changes would need to be made to accommodate them. You also might want to do some
general research on the pros and cons of squeezing 45 contact hours into 3 or 4 weeks.
Some of this research would be primary and some would be secondary.
The most important initial step is that you identify an actual problem in which you are
invested. It doesn’t have to be a universally agreed on problem, just a problem as you see
it. Remember, part of your paper will be arguing that this problem is indeed a problem.
Your essay should:
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present a problem clearly
propose a clear solution
argue for this solution by presenting good evidence why your solution will
work
anticipate readers’ objections to your solution
include at least three documented sources
Your essay will be graded according to the following criteria:
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How well it satisfies the above requirements
Clear, strong thesis
Well-organized paragraphs
Correct grammar and mechanics
Adherence to MLA style
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