In this article, "Homeless Teens, In Their Own Words", by Josie Raymond addresses the problems that homeless teens face. They talk about how teens should be facing problems such as crushes, bullies, and homework. Not worrying about where they are going to sleep every night. The Homeless Resource center compiled interviews with three homeless teens who were in the shelter system. All three of those teens used the word "sad". These teens wish they could invite friends over but can't. "We have to share everything, with people we don't even know", says Sandra a fourteen year old homeless teen living in the shelter. Getting these teens views on how they live and what they have to deal with speaks to me and actually grasps my attention. I think it's great this girl Sandra found a shelter where she can stay. It states in the article "To get in the shelters, some of the teens moved to new states and new schools." (Josie Raymond 2010) These kids that stay in the shelter who are going to turn 18 soon may not get better treatment than a younger person would and I feel this is wrong. Some of these teens have many challenges that if they don't prepare right they're future could be very difficult. Some of these teenagers stay with their moms that don't have secure housing. This could cause these teens to age out into becoming homeless adults in the future. This should be a big incentive to stop this epidemic and help the homeless.

http://news.change.org/stories/homeless-teens-in-their-own-words

Stigma

I think it is very unusual that a piece of clothing could determine how people think of you. I think in the case of Trayvon Martin that what George Zimmerman did was harsh and really uncalled for. Just because someone was wearing a hoodie they could become a potential target. The stigma is the hoodie that one might wear and I feel this very absurd. It's like gangs and their colors, you can't walk outside the wrong neighborhoods with certain colors or you could be a target. I have also been related to a stigma by the clothes I wore in high school. Wearing Baggy jeans and tall t-shirts sometimes wouldn't be the best. I would get dirty looks from others and sometimes people thought I was a threat. So yes the word stigma has been a really bad thing involved in my life growing up.

Society reacts to the stigma in a very odd way and sometimes don't react. When I was walking down the street I saw a group of people sagging their pants and wearing the same color. My first reaction is to walk by them without saying a word even if they tried to come in contact with me. I agree with what they said in the article that most people now a days try to avoid them by crossing the street or holding their valuables tightly. I think there is a foundation to the stereotypes and that some people are supportive on that and some people take offense to it. Many people make assumptions to quickly and end up making the wrong decisions for example George Zimmerman. What I am doing to repair the stigma is by improving my professionalism by being productive and studying. I am staying away from bad influences and telling some of my friends who stereotype to not do it because it's not helping our society. To build a strong community we need to end this stigma and stop stereotyping.