To solve a problem, you must identify the problem and the cause of the problem. The problem at hand is homelessness and the cause is lack of empathy by the people and the government. People often turn a blind eye when they encounter homeless people hiding from the cold in the train stations or sleeping on the streets through the night with nothing but a blanket or two. Maybe if they’re feeling generous and have a couple extra dollars to spare or some leftover food, they would give it to the less fortunate, but other than that, the people of New York, as well as the legislators in our city and state government, treat the homeless with indifference. Often times, when people see a homeless individual, they turn away or pretend that the homeless individual isn’t there, because it is easier and more convenient to pretend that they don’t exist than it is to help the person out with food or money.

This mentality translates into a trend of negligence and unsympathetic policies in the government as evident in the 1.9 billion dollars allotted for affordable housing funds that are held by government and legislative officials due to inaction, according to the Coalition for the Homeless. It is also evident at the very beginning of “modern homelessness” when the government shut down many mental hospitals and failed to provide help and care for the newly-rehabilitated, leading them to end up in single-living units, which is also eventually discouraged by the government, again displacing mentally-ill individuals onto the street. The income disparity and increasing rents also contributed to the complicated mess of those trying to save him .

Now that we’ve identified the problems, the next step forward would be to assess all the interests that are at play in the situation, as well as come up and evaluate which solutions would best work to solve the problem. The Coalition for the Homeless, has already purposed a package of solutions for the city and state government, so it is up to the government and what course of action they can and should take. Hopefully, the government official don’t turn an blind eye and be more sympathetic about homeless people before it gets hard.