Developing my topic question was a challenge; I ponder different ideas. For example, I thought about the current situation at the border in Texas regarding families trying to enter the United States for refuge. Undoubtedly, that would have been an interesting topic; however, we have thousands of people living in the United States who need shelter. We classified them as homeless, but how did they get to this point. Just think about it we have thousands of people trying to enter the United States for refuge and a better life; also, thousands of people living in the United States seek the same thing. Another way to look at it, living in New York City, you may cross a homeless person on the train, park, or the store. Has it ever crossed your mind how did this person end up homeless? It formulated the question: What are the contributing factors that generate homelessness in the United States? In addition, I worked in a city shelter that provides services for the homeless population. I have noticed each year; the numbers of homelessness increase around New York City. Homelessness is not just, and New York City issues this misfortune of homelessness affects many States. This assignment presented the opportunity to explore some of the contributing factors to the cause of homelessness. Most people will narrow homelessness down to job loss, wrong career decisions, or substance abuse. Homelessness goes much deeper my research presented a variety of issues to the cause of homelessness.
My research proved an abundance of information; most was gear around opinions and an inclusive statement about the growing issue of homelessness. The first article I selected was Homelessness, Poverty, and Social Exclusion by Marybeth, a professor at Vanderbilt University. What is unique about this article it provides homelessness on a global scale. The article proved homelessness data from different countries and displayed the United States as one of the highest homelessness rates. I also obtain information from a Non-Profit agency specializing in collecting data to solve homelessness in the United States. My last resource of data is the YouTube page that gets data and implemented some solutions for homelessness.
I intend to target young adults ages twenty-one to thirty-five. I feel there is a lack of awareness of the homelessness issue taking place in the United States. My research also uncovers that this age bracket (21 to 35) is the highest homelessness rate. Each year the homeless numbers continue to rise. Homelessness is affecting many young adults as they transition to full adulthood hood. My research uncovers policies and the lack of funding from our federal Government are contributing factors towards homelessness. My object is to enlighten and encourage people to get involve with resolving the ongoing issues with homelessness. The age bracket is the new frontier to implement change. The best method to reach this age bracket is utilizing a PodCast. Data supports young adults’ gravitas towards social media, verse the traditional newspaper or magazine for information.
Selecting a PodCast as the best method to reach my target audience starts with a song that tends to catch many people’s attention. The song is an old song; however, the message is solid and transparent. The title of the song is “Wake Up Everybody” by Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes. When the music comes up on the lyrics ” There is so much hatred, war, and poverty,” the open dialogue will tackle my first two topics, poverty, and social exclusion. Funding will is the last item and will lead into the closing song by Aloe Blacc title “I need a dollar.” The reason I selected this song is to encourage people to donate to charities to help the homeless. For example, National Alliance to End Homelessness, Urbanpathways, and Breaking Ground are all non-profit organization that depends on donation to assist with the fight against homelessness. If we all donate a little, no one will have to contribute a lot to generate more funding for homelessness.
In conclusion, doing the Pod Cast was kind of awkward. The most complex challenge was trying to organize the data and present it in a convincing matter. Overall, I think it came out good. If I could couple of things is to have a cohost to take some of the pressure. It was more of a challenge sitting alone in front of a lab top talking to myself and not getting a reaction from my intended audience. Ultimately, I believe my presentation of the data is convincing.
