he homeless population there is also a change in the public’s attitude and awareness that has come from watching the homeless become a regular and permanent fixture among us (Kosof 4). Hundreds of organizations have emerged to help the homeless. Throughout the country numbers groups are working together to find solutions to this problem. Present Federal programs do give some help to the homeless but they don’t meet the needs of the large number of homeless Americans. Help from private institutions is also necessary both locally and nationally.A few ways that average people like us can helps is by helping out at a soup kitchen, participating in a student volunteer, tutoring at a shelter, or even starting a volunteer youth corps. We have come a long way from the time when people thought that the homeless were a handful of “crazies and drunks” who could not fit into our civilized society (Kosof 4). Now more people recognize that homelessness is a major problem facing millions of people and that the government must find the funds to help destroy it, that small humanitarian groups alone cannot provide the solution.In 1994 President Bill Clinton took action on his campaign promise to “end welfare as we know it” (Hurwitz 5). President Clinton’s reform plans provide recipients with health coverage, childcare, education, and training during their first two years on welfare if they needed it. After that, recipients would be required to work in community service or for private businesses. The plan quickly became known as the “two-years-and-out” plan (Hurwitz 5). Calculations estimated that 1.5 million recipients would eventually be required to work (Hurwitz 5). In 1996 national welfare reform law ended the federal guarantee of paid to poor families with children. This legislation set a five-year lifetime limit on welfare benefits. Staying in school is another way to prevent homeless...
