The Homeless Are Humans, Too
By Hailey Astorga
Imagine being stranded with nothing but a blanket and a casual set of clothes, watching everyone’s lives go by while you rot on the side of the road. You’re dehydrated, malnourished, helpless, and there’s nobody to comfort you or keep you safe; you’re on your own. Wouldn’t you feel embarrassed and ashamed when people look at you, judging the condition that you’re in and the place you ended up in? Everyone sees you, yet very few stop to help. Still, you keep begging and begging because it's the only way to survive.
Being homeless is so dehumanizing, depressing, and demoralizing. You’re on display for the whole world to see, or so it seems.
According to the 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment, more than half of all people experiencing homelessness in the United States resided in four states: California, New York, Florida, and Washington. About 30% of America is homeless, meaning that there are about 653,104 unhoused people in this country as of today, according to multiple reports. Albuquerque is no exception. KRQE reported that about half of the state of New Mexico’s homeless population lives in this city; a report last January stated that statewide homelessness spiked more than 48% when compared to 2022; and information from City of Albuquerque’s Policy Research estimates there are 5,615 households here that experience homelessness annually. “Each person bring a story - a behavioral health challenge, a lifechanging crisis, or economic hardship,” the city’s site states.
In a 2023 opinion piece from The Albuquerque Journal titled “Why the city is allowing homeless camping in public,” when individuals experiencing homelessness were asked what they would want to have the most, they all said the same thing: four walls, a bed, heat, and a toilet. Unfortunately, though, many people who don’t have these necessities are punished for simply trying to survive. Some states have ticketed homeless people for camping in public areas. It is undeniably unconstitutional to remove the homeless from public spaces when they have no other place to go.
What does it take to end homelessness in the United States? The nonprofit The Giving Compass claims $20 billion dollars would be more than enough to not only house these vulnerable people, but to give them a new start to a better opportunity in life. Is that a huge number? Yes. Is it impossible? No. In comparison, the U.S government spent way over $700 billion dollars on the military in 2019 alone with even more expenses flowing in.
I can’t even begin to imagine how horrific it would be to spend the rest of my life on the side of a road. The judgment on people’s faces, below freezing temperatures in winter, scorching to the touch temperatures in summer, the sound of coyotes watching me from a distance, would actually haunt me. I wouldn’t want to have to live off of other people’s trash. When you’re homeless, you’re treated as less of a person.
Just because somebody is homeless does not mean they aren’t human or that they don’t have feelings and compassion and fears. I understand that most of us are struggling on our own and that we can’t afford to help when we’re barely surviving ourselves, but that just shows how bad our system really is. The people ahead of our country need to solve the problem of homelessness. They shouldn’t just hope the homeless will disappear to be less of a burden. What should be done is helping the homeless because that is what’s humane and appropriate for the situation. People should be able to live through life, not solely survive.
