Travis- Essay 3

Im writing about the causes and effects of child abuse. and or the "problem children".
Think of a child that you may have went to school with, maybe the class bully or the shy quiet on that didnt have many friends. Why was that child so mean or withdrawn. The possible reasoning could have been more in depth then we could have pictured as kids. The child in question may have been verbally,physically or sexually abused at home. The number of abused children is staggering, and rapidly climbing. Parents/guardians don't know or care about the short and long term effects inflicted with each strike.

EFFECTS

• physical
  
• mental
• withdrawan
  
• bulling
• failing grades
• future abuser (sometimes)
• lashing out at others
• crime
• violence
• lack of social abilities(trust, communication, ect)
• anorexia, bolimia
• joins gangs looking for family
  

Causes

• single parent
• abusive parent
• drug/alochol use in home
• low income
• negitiave role models
• lack of religion
• absentee parents
• wards of state
• hunger
• poverity
• parental stress placed on child

I am going use example from "The House on Maple Street"
and outside recourses to support my topics.

Gracie Doughty Essay #3

At first, I thought I'd like to write my essay on either spousal or child abuse. Both are quite traumatic and worldwide. After thinking about this for nearly a week, I have decided to write my paper on the homeless. Are the majority of homeless people substance abusers, alcoholics, outlaws, and the mentally challenged, or are the majority ordinary folks that got a raw deal in the ever changing times of our economy? If so, how long does it take, on an average, for these folks to get a roof over their heads?
Katrina and Rita made thousands of people homeless. A lot of us know these folks, myself included. Some of us may have been homeless at one point in our lives. I know that I have been homeless, more than once. Every one of us, has a different story to tell, and I hope to find one that I can write about. I would also like to find the most recent statistics on the homeless, and compare it to 10 years ago.
I believe that there are two types of homeless people. The kind that choose to be, and the kind that don't. I met a cab driver about 2 years ago, that told me that the homeless have "beat the system". He said that he watched a homeless man drink a beer while jaywalking in front of a police officer, and the officer did nothing. The cab driver said that the homeless don't have mortgages or rent, they don't have to pay taxes, they don't have car payments, and they get their food free. So in that cab drivers eye's the homeless man had beat the system. As I was thinking about it, half of me wanted to slap the "cabby" silly, and the other half wanted to agree. I know that in my case, as well as a few homeless folks I have met, they all wish they had those bills. A lot of them were drawn to substance abuse and alcoholism after they had been homeless for a while. It was their way of "killing the pain".
Life is challenging, and can be very cruel. As I type this, I hear my Grandma's voice telling me, " Sometimes there are mountains or mudpuddles. If you can't walk over them or around them, you just gotta walk through them!". I was blessed to have her in my life, because that's just the kind of thinking that got me out of my homeless situations, and back on track. But my life, or situation is not the same as others. This is why I've decided to write on the homeless.