How to Keep From Being Homeless

Homelessness is an age old social issue around the world. A chronic problem that has plagued the world that even Jesus has commented, "for the poor shall always be with you" (Matthew 26:11).

So how does a person NOT become down right broke and out of work? A person should unite, learn, do, and collaborate.

Human beings need one another. Some peope may be afraid of being in large crowds, they may be bashful when meeting new people, and they may even feel that other people don't like them--but despite any of these excuses, the fact remains that people need people and uniting is a natural aspect of the human race. Learning is another natural aspect.

Learn through reading and asking questions. Once a person learns how to read, he/she should read everything and anything when it comes to understanding how systems work, e.g., from political systems to plumbing systems. Once a person understands how things work, he/she can save him/herself a lot of money and a lot of unneccesary trouble. Also reading updates is a must since systems and rules are always changing. A person doesn't want to be politically incorrect, so ask questions and make sure to understand and plan before doing.

A person should do what he/she knows and learn how to make money with it. Often, people make money at several occupations, e.g., a teacher will teach, sell a product, tutor, write on hub pages, do carpenter work, or etc. Also, save part of your money not just for a rainy day, but for retirement. Live within your means, tear up credit cards, downsize, and inform others in the family about the intended goal and let others help fine tune it when necessary. Also, let go of faulty assumptions, e.g., "Since I have my degree, I won't need to do anything else but my profession."

Collaborating with others is the next step to staying in the loop for open work and staying off the streets. Band together, learn from others, invite people to help, and be friendly. Join groups such as political groups, social groups, and occupational groups. A person can make a difference just by being in a group because he/she has value to add and can make the group better. Learning how to talk with people instead of yelling and critisizing people or a group is a plus.

No matter the situation, a person can make a come back. No matter how badly people talk about him/her, no matter how bad a credit history is, no matter the mistakes a person has made in the past, he/she can turn from being down right broke to making a way. Put effort into it, talk to people, and make it happen. As people begin to rebuild jobs and find work in America, people are also rebuilding family ties.

When people unite, they come together to support one another for a certain cause. Uniting is more evident in organized groups like the MDS telethon, political parties, churches, schools, the Chamber of Commerce, and so on and so forth. When a person becomes part of a social, political, and/or occupational group, outside relationships are formed that may later prove to be good references in the future. Always be honest, gracious, and genuine.

Uniting with a more subtle group would be the family unit. When families unite with one another, that means they support one another through good fortune and hardships, through agreements and disagreements, through beliefs and unbeliefs, and through life and death. With the recession, more and more families have moved in with one another. Other family members are accommodating one another with food, child care, money, and cars. Those who are more forutnate to have cooperative family memebers are surviving better than those who do not have such strong family relationships.

Family relationship is one of the most important aspects to living; unfortunately, many issues can conquer and divide the family unit. A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, is a succinct example of a family struggling to exist through social conflict, new ideas, and moving beyond just surviving. Although, the play is written in 1959, the theme crosses all racial boundaries and shows how each family member can get caught up in his/her own wants without thinking about how those ideas affect the rest of the family unit. Grandma wants a house for everyone, mostly so that her young grandson can have a bedroom of his own instead of every night transformng the living room into a sleeping room when the couch is unfolded into a bed. Her teenage daughter is caught up in a dream world that her new boyfriend from Nigeria has delighted her in, her adult son wants to use his dad's ten thousand dollar life insurance money to open a liquor store so he can provide for his family better, and the daughter-in-law just wants everybody to be happy. Everybody wants something, but everybody will not get all that he/she wants, which is so true with familes today.

Today, family members want things. Each little idea can cause havoc to family relationships, though. Family members can choose to get mad or not get mad, they can choose to cooperate or not cooperate, they can choose to believe that they never get anything or to believe they are just feeling sorry for themselves, and they can choose to be fair or not fair to one another. Subtle issues like these make or break family relationships. Unforgiveness, controlling behaviors, uncooperation, and holding grudges account for broken family relatonships.

Dr. Phil has commented several times on his show, "you ran your relationship into the ditch, and now it's up to you to get it out." Pulling a relationship out of a ditch requires communicating honestly and listening to oneself and others, apologizing, and creating and carrying out a plan to live peacefully with one another. All in all, it is about cooperating with one another: growing up, becoming responsible human beings, and working towards a common goal. The Younger family, in the play by Lorraine Hansberry, will soon discover when they move into their new home located in a white neighborhood that they will need to forget about their differences and unite for their common cause of keeping each other safe and well. Isn't that what many people are doing today durng this recession, uniting with their family membes to keep everyone safe and well?

As people are regrouping and mending strained relationships, America is rebuilding jobs. Hope is around the corner, but in the meantime, "if you have a family member or family members struggling to survive due to unemployment, old age, health issues, and the like, become concerned about his/her well being and do more than enough to help him/her with the situation."