The homeless are a demographic of people who are often misrepresented. Negative stereotypes about homelessness often mask the truth of their situations. The course readings describe the realities of being poor. Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed is an ethnography based on her fieldwork.  Ehrenreich steps into the shoes of the poor as she works a variety of low-wage jobs. She observes and interacts with her co-workers as she struggles to make ends meet. Her revelations about her co-workers allows for the reader to get a glimpse of the challenges they face. Enrenreich is in a position of privilege and is a ‘guest’ in this world, her observations are told through her voice. We get first hand stories, in the people’s own voices in Kenan Heise’s The Book of the Poor.

Americans are told that persistence and hard work will allow you to reach ‘the American Dream.’ However, in reality (as seen in each of these readings) there are bigger issues at play. Working hard does not automatically guarantee that you will have a ‘successful’ life. On the Invisible People website,  many of the people sharing their stories mentioned that ‘it can happen to anyone.’ Once you are in the lower class, it becomes extremely difficult to get back on your feet. Hunger and homelessness is a micro result of a macro problem. Poverty occurs because of our society’s structural failures rather than an individual’s failures. After an exercise in class where we were prompted to create a budget, it was made clear that there a few options given to this demographic of people who are struggling. Sometimes are forced in to the common negative stereotypes that we see because they have no other options. Homeless is often dismissed by many, but the issues surrounding this phenomenon are far more complex.