However, in almost all American societies, the homeless are treated as less than people, with some communities trying to refuse the right of the homeless to sleep, to go to the bathroom or even to receive food or adequate health care. The United States have gone through a process of dehumanization of the homeless—treating the homeless as less human than “normal” society. This section describes what dehumanization is, how the homeless are dehumanized, some articles...

“Loss of human characteristics; brutalization by either mental or physical means; stripping one of self-esteem.” —(Online Medical Dictionary) Dehumanization is: Taking away the rights of some that most have This is to offer rights to most citizens, but to deny those same rights to other citizens. This is to create a hierarchy of humanity, where some are considered “human” or “normal” while others are considered “sub-normal.” Denying human dignity in life or death This is...

Almost every person who is homeless goes through a process of dehumanization. Here are some of the ways homeless people are dehumanized in many cities in the U.S. Segregated The homeless become homeless because they are separated from their family and friends, not allowed space in their social network to live. For some, this is because they are doing or have done things that were unacceptable for their community, for others it is because they...

Ron Ferber was attacked. That is how he felt, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was a homeless man who dealt with mental health issues and mostly kept to himself. He dumpster dived for a living, recycling cans and bottles and eating what decent food he could find. He was also a collector of various items that he found. He had one tub full of jewelry he found in dumpsters,...

The morning didn’t start out well for Mary. Just the night before, she had broken up with her boyfriend, a homeless man named Greg. She had gotten up early to pick up her possessions from his tent, hoping that he would be asleep. He woke up, of course. So they started in arguing. Again. Finally, too angry to continue, he stepped out of the tent to smoke and to cool down. She started grabbing her...

Just the Facts: Statistics About Homelessness and Related Subjects The number of people in the U.S. who were in poverty in 2005: 38,231,521 The percentage of those people who were children: 36% The estimated number of people in the U.S. who are homeless for any period of time in a given year: 3.5 million The number of people who were homeless in a night in October 1996: 444,000 The number of people who were homeless...

Myths and Facts about Homelessness: A statistical analysis Although a large percent of the U.S. population are homeless every year (about 1 percent of the general population), the pocket of people who become homeless are almost all in the lower or working classes. Thus the majority of the people in the U.S.—those who are middle or upper class—have almost no contact with the homeless. One of the main ways in which the homeless remain dehumanized...

Being homeless means being part of an alternative society. There are many aspects of homelessness in our society, including: Homeless families. There are families on the street, sometimes with just a mom, sometimes just a dad, sometimes with both parents. Usually these are families who have fallen on hard times, having lost a job or their housing. Families don’t usually stay on the street very long and can get off of the street with some help...

What is Rehumanization? It is to be involved in bringing a marginalized group into the sphere of “normal” in society. In every society we have groups that we consider “different but acceptable”. This is the process that for the African Americans the Civil Rights movement did much to progress. Other groups over the last 30 years have also been allowed to make the trek from “less than human” to “different but normal” as well. It...

How do we end the cycle of dehumanization for the homeless? How can we get our communities to see that the homeless should have the right to sleep, eat and receive benefits, just like everyone else? The answer to so many community issues, is, once again found within ourselves. Below are some actions that can be taken in order to help us treat the homeless as human and so be able to give them a...

Wikipedia article on Dehumanization: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehumanization Description of Dehumanization: http://www.deathreference.com/Da-Em/Dehumanization.html The psychologist who created the Stanford Prison Experiment talks about how we can do evil things to each other: http://lucifereffect.com/dehumanization.htm Video of Police cutting up tents of homeless: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrPdZmPB36U&feature=related Homeless Evicted from Tent City in Sacramento: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3583155434947566213&ei=-Di2SN7IKaSyqAOJn4C-DA&q=homeless&vt=lf Hate crimes against the homeless—press conference: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-234498057173364594&ei=SkW2SPOTAo3CqAO_gdHKDA&q=homeless

If you are homeless and you live in an urban area in the United States, you are a criminal. It doesn’t matter whether you have ever stolen anything, whether you have hurt or threatened anyone, whether you have vandalized anything or not, you are a criminal. Because simply living in any city without a roof over your head makes you a criminal. By living, you are against the law. The reason for this is a...