By Josue Rodriguez Rivera
I chose the lack of help there is for the homeless in Puerto Rico. In P.R. there is a big number of homeless people in the streets. This are people who ended up there for different reasons all depending of the individual and even though a big part or most of them are deep in the world of drug addiction some have just had very difficult lives. No matter the reason they all need to be helped and treated as human beings.
The numbers have gone up in the last couple of years, thanks to the rise in unemployment. The numbers are staggering, especially in the metropolitan area. A place called Hospicio de Jesus in San Juan is visited by 1,500 indigents in a year. There are approximately 1,650 homeless people in the island, not including the metropolitan area. But other parts of the island don’t fall behind. There are a lot of agencies and nonprofit foundations listed on the internet that offer help for this part of our population, but the reality on the streets is different. I’ve worked in Vega Baja, Manati and San Juan giving food clothes and other items for the homeless. My experience has been, that in these places there are a lack of supplies and they are doing miracles with the little donations they get from a few volunteers. Also the facilities for this places more often than not are in very mediocre shape. Most work 1 to 3 days a week and for some of the homeless those are the only moments when they get a decent meal or can even have a real conversation with somebody.
There is a lack of empathy from the government and most people toward this community. People think they are criminals and bad people who made bad choices, when the vast majority of them are just people who need a little more help than others. They are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers craving for a little sympathy and encouragement. I am generalizing because I know there are those who don’t want to be helped and just want to continue their life style, but I have worked and helped a little more than a hundred homeless people and they all have treated me with nothing but respect and gratitude. A problem all homeless people find is also the lack of job opportunities. We have rehab, and places that help them get back on their feet, but once they are ready to go and confront the world, the world knocks them back to where they started. Their on the bottom of the food chain when it comes to employment. Government together with private organizations and entities, should work programs where they can give real work opportunities as well as completing an education and get a school diploma to better their chances when looking for a job.
People, including those who have the power and influence to help just need to put themselves in the shoes of the indigent population and realize that there is a lot more we can be doing to help them. From orienting others so the taboos and fear of them can be put aside. And those who are helping and in positions of power need to be more flexible and understand that this people have lived through experiences that physically and psychologically affect them. This alters the way they see the world and how they react to it. Also we can’t mistake helping them with making it comfortable to stay where they are, it is treating them as what they are…human beings.
http://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/nota/aumentanlosdeambulantesenpuertorico-936298
www.lexjuris.com/lexlex/ley1998/LEX98250.htm