Throughout this course it became evident that homelessness in America has a history of being explained and analyzed in a variety of different ways. In regards to why there is homelessness in America, there has been a common image representing the stereotypes perpetuated through American society by Americans. A stereotype concerning the physical appearance of what a homeless individual should look like, followed by the explanation of qualities. Qualities that are often joined with words like lazy, alcoholic, or drug addict. A picture that never explains the reality beyond the individual showing how homelessness in America isn’t because all homeless people are lazy and can’t get a job. It is because of structural and systematic inequalities within different sectors of society that contribute to the homelessness in America. Things like a lack of affordable and sustainable housing and lack of government spending are in this conversation. Now taking this information and applying it to solving homelessness by coming up with solutions requires the call for immediate change in these structures. A time commitment and never ending battle, it can  consume individuals who dedicate their lives to this work.I believe besides this necessary change, there is a call to action for individuals who aren’t as active within the issues of homelessness being the general public. A call to action simply asking for individuals to shoot down and debunk common myths, generalizations, and stereotypes in public. The perception of homelessness in America has to change.

In light of this I took the opportunity of the Each One Teach One project to teach some of my closest friends on how they can attempt to see and understand the bigger picture. The objective of this project was to was to inform, support, debunk any ideologies that express ,or did not, the stigmas associated with homelessness. I hoped that my peers learn why those stereotypes do not embody the homeless community, and realize how homelessness is experienced by a variety of individuals with different and unique experiences. I am a firm believer in allyship and the ability for an individual who possesses a voice to speak on discrepancies or stereotypes when regarding individuals in oppressed positions. I expressed to my peers how it is vital when addressing homelessness, whether it be in a familial setting or the classroom, that it is important to intervene and perhaps educate on the image of what homelessness is and who it is as well.

To being the discussion I asked them to share an experience they’ve had with homelessness followed by three more questions generalized to be the following: what comes to mind when you think of homelessness in America, what are the causes, and how can we solve it. They answered understanding the concept of inequalities within systematic structure and related it to homelessness, such as affordable and sustainable housing, discriminatory employment practices, low amount of jobs, capitalism, medical expenses, and support system abandonment. I was surprised with their responses and elaborating on more issues such as policing in the past. I explained how the perceptions they had are the ones we need everyone to understand, leaving them with the call to action.