Homelessness by Anna Quindlen Article Analysis

Although we've all seen homeless people, many of us have not taken a step back from judgement to even think about the individual in front of us; nonetheless think about their family or goals. In the essay, homelessness by Anna Quindlen, the author argues the impact having a home makes on a person and what it's like to not have a place to call home. The author makes valid points in her argument on homelessness by showing how a home is more than just a house, how it can affect how someone is perceived and provides a personal view of homelessness.

Quindlen claims “Home is where the heart is” (Quindlen 1) which means your home is wherever you feel the deepest and long to be. This is valid because your home is where you and your family feel the most safe and secure. It is a personal place to make your own to decorate and to take pride in. Your home is the place you love and a major place for personal growth. A home is much more than a physical place.  Home is something we often take for granted since most people around us have this basic necessity. We can forget to value something so basic until you have it taken away. When you lose independence and responsibilities of owning a home, it can be hard to come back from it. Comfortability, privacy and security is ripped away from those without a home. They are left with nothing but judgement and hardship.

Where you live can make up how people perceive you. The author claims “You are where you live” (Quindlen 1). This implies that what you have can describe you more than your own self. This claim is valid as for first impressions from external views of others can affect the way someone is perceived. These perceptions of people can hastily create judgements, which adds to the stigma of homelessness there is today. We see examples of this in everyday life whether we are conscious of it or not. When you see someone with a lot of money who lives in a large house, they automatically earn respect, whilst someone who doesn't have much money or a home is looked down upon. We can also see that many people who don't have a home have a very hard time finding a job because of the stereotypes that society holds. Many times, to get a job you need the bare minimum of an address and a bank account. But without a job, you can't get money to have a bank account or even have an address to call “home”. And on the other side, realistically many employers do not want to hire someone who is homeless for reasons including assumptions of poor responsibility and assume they have criminal tendencies. This creates a lack of opportunity and can be hurtful in many ways to the individual.

We separate ourselves from the issue to not see how personal it can be. Homeless people are mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, whereas we often put them in a category, such as “the homeless, not Ann” (Quinden 2). This is a valid claim where we belittle people who have no homes by categorizing them as homeless people. The goal of this point is to put yourself in the individual’s shoes. Life is unexpected and sometimes people can be blindsighted. “Rainy day money” can all disappear and realistically you never know what is going to happen. One day, your brother or sister, parents or friends can end up in a tough financial situation. What we may not consider is that those in this position aren't able to run to their friends or family for financial help. People often have nowhere to go and are alone to figure out how to recover. 

Quindlen claims that People don't do anything to help the problem of homelessness. “just as we walk around it when it is lying on the sidewalk” (Quindlen 2). This implies that we ignore what isn't our problem and we don't do anything about it. This claim offers an interesting perception to the author's claim, but not the most valid. Whereas many people don’t make it a priority to help others and can definitely overlook individuals, there are many societal issues that aren't able to be fixed in the blink of an eye.  It has been normalized in society to walk past people who live on the street and mostly ignore them. Homelessness is a much larger issue that includes governmental factors that we all fight and struggle over. An example of this is Shelters can cause people to feel less of themselves because people are all categorized together from different backgrounds just because they have no money.

Suspend judgement and hold empathy for those who are desperate for help. Put yourself in one's shoes as you never know someone's situation and learn to respect all individuals and not categorize them. The author makes a valid argument on homelessness by stepping back from societal prejudice showing how much an impact a home has on the individual, how it can affect how someone is perceived.