There are so many agencies out there that try to help the homeless people of the world, but does it really help? Some agencies are successful in helping the homeless and there are also those that think they are helping but make more problems. During the last year I have had the opportunity work with and observe in some agencies that are a part of the Tacoma/Pierce County Coalition for the Homeless. Here I watched the interaction between persons that were homeless and also with staff persons. There were many stereotypes that I thought I would see, but on the contrary, these homeless people seemed like an average Washington State citizen but I know that there are a lot of people that I did not have interaction with that just "milk" off the system.
"Homelessness" the official or literal definition of homeless is those who lack "a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence and resort instead to shelters, temporary residence at institutions, or public spaces (parks, abandoned buildings, transportation terminals, under bridges, etc.)" (Benedict, 1995). The operational definition used more by the agencies, including most the agencies apart of the Tacoma/Pierce County Coalition for the Homeless, is "homelessness included not only those who were roofless, but also those residing in hostels, bed and breakfast accommodations, or staying temporarily with friends. (Reid and Hilary, 1999) These are the people that are most desperate for help. Needing someone with enough mercy and compassion to help someone in need and that is exactly what the agencies do for homeless people. The bad part is that people take advantage of these agencies. There are a lot of people that just go from one agency to the other getting help from other people but are never willing to help themselves. There is, however, there is a low percent rate of those who are willing to get help and want to change in order to have a better quality of life for themselves and their families.