Tears pool at the corner of your eyes as you angrily brush them away. You swallow the knot in your throat, knowing that’s the only thing your stomach will be seeing today. Through the tears, you turn back to your book and smile slightly to yourself- as the plot whisks you away into a world where you weren’t crumbling inside… knowing you’d soon have to leave. At the fifteen minutes warning, you gather your few belongings, not wanting to seem like a bother. You allow yourself to take in the bits of warm air knowing these moments are precious. You tearfully force the corners of your mouth to curve up as you walk into the chilly unknown.

Around you, you hear a few people talking (ungratefully) about how dry their meal was, or how old their car looks- only to want to scream out how lucky they were to have eaten, or how lucky they are to have a car to sit in- because recently your only shelter was towed out from under your feet. You only bow your head and continue on your journey. 

Without many resources you walk until you can’t anymore- only to find that the city has made it impossible for a homeless person to just sit on a public bench without committing a criminal act, let alone try to sleep. Shelters are full, jobs won’t treat someone without a home with respect and all you want to do is to cry out for some food and something basic to keep yourself warm.

Know the facts:

With that story in mind, the problem isn’t within the individual, and we need to recognize that. Instead of walking pass a homeless person and blaming their homelessness on them, we need to realize that the problem actually starts in every level of government. You see, the United States of America violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was established in 1948  which shows specific violations of Articles 1, 3 and 5 (right to security, the treatment of equality on the grounds of brotherhood, and that no one should be subjected to inhumane treatment or degrading behaviors), as well as many other article including Article 7, which is seen to be violated continuously when a homeless person is discriminated against - when it comes to the protection of the law. Homeless acts like eating and sleeping on the streets have been viewed as criminal acts (which the person is charged and/or arrested) which is in violation of the Anti-Discrimination Act that the UDHR also values. The homeless have their human rights violated daily, while they are seldom to violate any other person’s human right. They are just trying to live in a situation with little say, although it’s a situation that will more than likely not change. 

As a party of the UDHR, the government has the obligation to respect, promote, release and protect the human rights of its citizens- but instead had been seen to allow violations to slip by unnoticed. Specifically, Article 25 from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has been breached multiple times without further improvement. Article 25 states, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” (UDHR, 1948) In all 50 states, however in many stated- they do nothing to control the homeless population. If the United States of America values human rights, then they need to go over their facts and reevaluate our governmental system. 

Not only does homelessness violate the UDHR, but death on the accounts of homelessness which is preventable is also in breach- which accounts for instances of Hypothermia, Heat Stroke, and many other factors which caused 15-30,000 deaths last year alone for the homeless population. Which violates the standard of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which covers the right to life, preventable death and the inability to live a life of dignity. The ICCPR aims to ensure the protection of civil and political rights. 

Thinking further: News companies act on the initial homeless resulting situation, but rarely follow up on the reports. For example, a local homeless person dies, and the news puts out information saying the person was homeless and the death is being investigated- but then only put out identifying information failing to include the previous information already known about the individual being homeless- therefore allowing the public to ignore the fact the individual is homeless to begin with, resulting in the premature and preventable death. 

All in all, what we recommend are two options:
Part: One- The Bill
1.    Declare a National State of Emergency for the Homeless Crisis, and introduce a new bill that protects the lives of homeless individuals. 

We understand there are laws for different states (some even trying to protect their lives), but we need to be on the same level in order to help these individuals and live up to our Constitution.

Why?

• By declaring the National State of Emergency, the government and government officials of all 50 states in the country would be able to use their resources immediately to help those out of homelessness. We are demanding something be done, before it's to late. This is a very drastic measures that needs to be in place in order to preserve lives of millions of citizens. Yes, this is a short-term solution, and won’t be the best for long term change- however, the measures and the bill put into place during this emergency state will be beneficial for long term changes. 

• By introducing a bill that would protect homeless individuals from discrimination, it would help ease the burden of the situation off the individual. By introducing this bill, we could make changes such as: 

-    Elimination of the addresses field by employment facilities on applications, on the grounds that homeless individuals do not have access to personal home addresses. Simply making it optional is not an option, because it still allows employers to guess who is homeless and who is not and furthermore discriminate against them.
-    Providing individuals with a plan, such as where they are able to reside if shelters are at full capacity. 
-    Providing adequate and fair resources at homeless hot spots.
-    Having all parts of the county be in the same page (laws all corresponding with one another, and enforcement of plan in all 50 states). 
-    Enforcing the countries Anti-Discrimination Acts, and enforcing the countries ICCPR and UDHR’s beliefs and ways of life- by making discrimination against homeless a criminalized act.
-    More coverage for news reports, especially during situations of premature or preventable deaths of a homeless individual. Ignoring the situation is not a solution. 
-    And many more!

• Simply signing the bill is not enough and we need to take a stand to push the government into taking the stand, as the effectiveness relies on local implementation which needs to be covered in the bill. So, requirements would need to be put in place to eliminate discrimination, criminalizing discrimination against the individuals, and enforcing a program to be put into place.
• A simple suggestion to make sure the bill is followed would be to put either a new or existing governmental program in charge of making sure housing is readily available for homeless individuals to truly eliminate the violation of the UDHR Articles, specifically Article 25. (Government programs such as HUD, or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.) 

Part: Two- The Necessities and Resources

2.     Daily libraries shelter hundreds of individuals, but do little to provide them with adequate resources they need to survive. (They feed them and let them sleep, but then throw them back onto the streets for (mostly) the entire day, then they have to fight for their right to sleep there later that night).

In order to ensure equality and accessible options, we suggest adding a Safe Haven table or stations at local libraries- which can be used to provide basic life changing necessities like food, clothing and hygiene products. (Since this is where almost all homeless people reside daily). These would cost little to the facilities and/or government funding as most of the products can come from donations, or from local businesses at the end of the night. This would also help our local environmental waste issues, and prevent salvageable foods from ending up in local landfills. Less waste, and it helps those in need. 

To rebuttal any doubts: 
 You may be may be wondering- “Why does it matter? Just go get a job!”, but how do you do that when they discriminate against you, tell you to put down your home addresses, or don’t like the way you are dressed (even if it’s all you have)? Imagine that pain. Or how about those that have jobs, but found they had medical problems that costs more than you make in a week?! Or what about those that are so mentally distraught, that you end up throwing them in prison for sitting on a public bench legally? How do they make a living then? 

What about those that decide to step out of their comfort zone, and take that step to go into a shelter- only to find out that it’s at full capacity? What do they do then? Wander the streets and not rest? Please, tell me what you believe they should do? They certainly can’t rest on a bench, that’s wrong remember? What would you do?  No family, no house, no compassionate. 

With the instilment of these two plans, there will be more equality and a greater justice for those that are homeless- which will make it easier for them to get off the streets and take their lives back! With the help of local libraries, more homeless individuals will have a greater access to basic necessities. By signing this petition, you are signing to save the lives of thousands of homeless Americans., that are suffering around the world.

Thank you! 

Kaylei

Why I care: 

I promise from this moment forward I will do everything I can for as long as I can, because most important thing my mother has taught my (5) sisters and I, is to give the shirt off your back. To give your last $5 in your pocket, even if that means going without yourself. People are dying, and it's our job to protect them! Why? Because there are people in the world that are worse off than yourself…

Resources:
OHCHR (n.d.) Homelessness and Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-housing/homelessness-and-human-rights
UN (n.d.) Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights