Persuasive Essay

This Nation Needs Help!

4.6% of America’s population is currently out of the job! Today, many charities are helping out the homeless; there are still to many problems with the population of people on the edge poverty for their efforts to be enough. This nation needs everyone’s help. What are Americans doing to help? Some are doing nothing, but others are standing on both of their feet every day to help out in soup kitchens. When others stay in the comfort of their homes cooking dinner for the family and waiting till their spouse comes home.

The poverty rate of our country is growing at an alarming rate and is becoming overwhelming. 41% are single males who are put out of the job, 41% are families, 13% are single females who may have toddlers, and 5% are unaccompanied minors in 1996 by the 1996 National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients and now those numbers have doubled in size. All of the percentage rates will to continue to grow if nothing is done by the government and the everyday people of the country. Since the homeless population accounts for 50% of African Americans, 30% white, 12% Hispanic, 2 % Native American, and 1% Asian, and all types of ethnicities living in the streets and count on homeless shelters in order to survive each day.

Charities and homeless shelters like Daystar, Catholic Charities, and St. Vincent DePaul are doing their best to help out the poor every day, it is still not enough. They provide shelter and food for people who cannot get food stamps or social security because they do not fit the precise profile the government sets aside for the people who are unemployed and need assistance in order to go on living semi comfortably. Places like America’s Second Harvest, which is dedicated to ending hunger and starvation see hundreds of people every day, yet the numbers of people keep growing with each passing year. Making it noted that if you don’t have a college education, finding work is very hard and many people are ending up on the streets because of it.

But not all of the homeless are “lazy” and do nothing at all. Sometimes they are unfortunate and the economy makes it hard to live with a job that cannot support them at the cost of living continually rising. The people who walk pass the poor without even a word of kindness keep their money and other resources to themselves when they could be improving the growing poverty rate just by giving a donation to local charities that help the poor. Others say that the homeless do not work or pay taxes, so why should those who hold a job help out some one who is idle. The homeless are people to and need help like anyone else in this country. “Treat others like you would like to be treated,” teachers say to us in grade school and now how are you treating the people around you?

Charities are giving to the poor while many of the wealthy still think nothing is wrong and try to ignore the on-going crisis. They continue their lavish and comfortable lives with little or no consideration of others’ suffering. While others go hungry and rely on charities in order survive every day. I mean think of how good it feels to show others that you care by standing behind the counter ladling the daily ration to a person that has nothing but the clothes on their back and asks how you are and letting you know that you are giving back to the populace instead of only thinking of yourself. Put yourself in another’s shoes that might not fit right because they were given to you by a generous lady who saw that you had no shoes of your own on your feet and your stomach is rumbling because you have not made it to the soup kitchen which is still two blocks away.

Rebecca Holman
Persuasive Essay
Advanced Composition
2 October 2007