Before my visit to Capitol Hill, I had a narrower view of homelessness in NYC. I occasionally see homeless people on the sidewalk and on the train, and I thought that instead of asking people for money, their time would be better spent doing some kind of job. I knew that rent in NYC was very high and a lot of people were struggling financially, but I’ve never personally known anyone who became homeless. No matter how hard it was to live, the people I knew tried very hard to keep their lifestyles. I didn’t have a favorable view on homelessness because I thought that it stemmed more from personal responsibility than anything else.
While I met some of the residents at Capitol Hall, I learned about the various factors that contribute to homelessness. It was less about personal responsibility and more about unfair circumstances. For example, people lose their homes to construction projects. Some people cannot hold down a house or job because of mental illnesses. Some people have disabilities. It is the government’s job to help these people, but it is not doing enough. Homelessness in NYC is a complicated problem and the mayor is trying to alleviate the problem by advocating affordable housing, but more needs to be done. It will not be surprising if more of NYC’s population becomes homeless. The economy is bad, but rents are increasing. The city does not have enough funds to give the homeless new homes. To keep NYC as vibrant as it is, the federal government should extend their help and more developers should join to build affordable homes. It will take a longer time than New Yorkers would like for the rate of homelessness to subside.
Rosa Kyung
