ONE SECTION:/ Gonzalez

In Chicago there are more homeless people on the streets of downtown begging for some spare change, or even holding up cardboard signs that make the people feel sorry for them. Often you see people on the expressways. They hand them their spare change and the homeless person says “Thank you and God Bless You” others sometimes even tell the person their whole life story. They tell the person how they became homeless and how much they suffer on the cold streets of Chicago in the winter. And the hot summer days. The person than feels somewhat blessed to still have their job and a place to call home.

There are currently 21,078 of homeless people in Chicago alone. Since the economy has gone horribly down the drain so have unemployment rates. Shelters in Chicago are overcrowded with families that have their home due to lose of unemployment or they could no longer pay for their mortgage or rent. Some people have stood with family members or even friends at their homes but soon they eventually had to move on.

Dayna G is from the Chicago south side and said “When I’m driving back from ISU I see people on the expressway selling flowers or holding up cardboard signs asking for spare change. When they come to your car showing me their sign I simply pretend I do not see them or I check my texts on my phone. I want to give the person my spare change but I question myself if they are really homeless or if they are faking it so they can buy liquor.” The majority of people probably do think that because the person might smell of alcohol.

Julia is also from the south side and is currently enrolled at UIC she told her story about how homeless people automatically think that just because a person is downtown in brand name cloths that they do have spare change. “I hate it when a homeless person automatically thinks just because they see a young teenager like me walking downtown in brand name cloths that I have spare change when I do not have any change to give them. My friend and I were on our way to a job interview. I had dress up cloths on, and a homeless person asked me if I had spare change. I told him that I did not have any and I said sorry. He told me that I was a huge liar and that if I can afford to have brand name cloths that I can afford to give him some spare change. I told him that I’m on my way to a job interview so I can pay my way through college. He looked at me with a look that was like wow I totally just judge her.”

A former homeless person Emma tells us her side of the story. “It was a hard year for my family and I. My husband was laid off of work and since I was a stay at home mom it was hard to look for a job. The economy is bad so it was even harder since the unemployment has dropped. Since my husband and I were not working we lost our home because we couldn’t afford the mortgage payments. My husband and I would stand or sit on the streets of downtown asking people for spare change. Some people would and others would make smart remarks especially the big time stock brokers they would say ‘get a job’ or ‘yeah right you are not homeless your just lazy’. Finally my husband and I found jobs and we are currently living in an apartment with our children. Now as I walk downtown to work all of these rich stock brokers who didn’t give spare change to the homeless when they ask for it lost his job due to the bad economy we are in became homeless himself.”

People take things for granted and once it is gone they miss it more than ever. Everyone should appreciate that they still have a roof over their head, a hot meal everyday and the things that they have in life.