According to the SF Chronicle, as of January 2015, San Francisco had 6,686 homeless people, over four times the size of Aragon’s student body.
“A vast majority of people ignore [the issue of homeless people]. They walk by and see it as someone else’s problem or something that they don’t have time to deal with,” psychology and economics teacher Carlo Corti says.
“[Upon seeing a homeless person], I usually walk by and don’t do anything about it,” says sophomore Daniel Jadallah. “I do feel bad, but I’m not the person that put them in that position. Something in their lives led [homeless people] there. I am not responsible for their mistakes. Why do I need to help?”
The National Coalition for the Homeless reported in 2009 that the main reasons for homelessness were the decrease in affordable housing and the increase in poverty. Substance abuse, while linked to homelessness, is more complicated, because one does not necessarily cause the other. However, many still believe that giving money to the homeless will fuel their addictions.
“One time I wanted to offer my orange juice to [a homeless person], but they wouldn’t take it because they want money for drugs most of the time. So that’s why my dad says, ‘Don’t give them money,’” says junior Amanda Guevara.
Sophomore Gabby Godoy has a similar opinion. “I think it’s really unfortunate that many homeless people struggle with addictions,” she says. “My family doesn’t give money to them because we’re worried that they might spend it on more drugs. It would only fuel their addiction. If we have any, I would rather give them food to help out.”
In 2013, the Union Square Business Improvement District conducted a survey of 146 panhandlers in San Francisco’s Union Square area. 60 percent of those surveyed made $25 a day or less, and 94 percent used the money for food while 44 percent used it for drugs or alcohol. 82 percent are homeless.
However, some students do choose to give money or help out the homeless. “The people that don’t ignore it or show some kind of understanding, they are more likely to be people who see something of that person in themselves. They can look at that person and say, ‘if I were them, I would want someone to act this way,’” explains Corti. “It may be as simple as wearing an article of clothing or they see that person is a similar age or they see them with a pet and they have a pet also. They find some similarity in that person to them, and that makes them far more likely to help if you see something of that person.”
“My family will give [a homeless person] some food if we have any. If we see a person by the side of the road, we’ll look in the back of our car for some snacks,” says Godoy. “My family has four kids and [loves] dogs. So when we see people with kids or pets, we can relate to them more.”
Sophomore Desmond Ergina often converses with the homeless people he comes across. “Some of my relatives have struggled with financial problems. That is why I talk to the homeless people that I see,” says Ergina. “If I was ever homeless, I would hope that somebody would be nice enough to me to talk to me.”
And, while many people expect the homeless to be rude or hostile, Ergina has discovered the opposite. “95 percent of the homeless people I talk with are nice. A lot of the homeless people are living on their own, so they don’t have anybody to talk to,” he says.
Counselor Steve Allekotte has had similar experiences to Ergina’s. “I always help homeless people. I live in Berkeley and there are lots of homeless people. They sell newspapers called Street Spirit. We always buy one. It talks about the homeless and their predicaments in life. You give them a dollar, and it helps them out a little bit,” Allekotte says. “A lot of them have drug or alcohol problems, so they have had trouble keeping jobs. We just kind of try to be their friend, someone to talk to.”
Everyone reacts differently to seeing a homeless person on the street, whether consciously or unconsciously, and learning the psychology behind why we act the way we do may affect future actions. However, it is important to recognize that when and where we choose to lend a helping hand may be dependent on the situation, and what we do does not define who we are.
