The Homeless During the Winter Season

As the winter weather approaches, I find myself commenting on how cold this weather has been. It then makes me realize the sad truth about this world: homeless people have to endure these freezing temperatures everyday and every night outside. 

Due to the change in weather, the homeless seek shelters to escape the cold temperatures. A majority are not able to secure spots due to how packed it is with others trying to do the same. They are left to suffer in the cold and rainy weather. 

It could be easy for some to say that homeless people could just find shelters but this isn’t always that easy. First off, Oxnard has the highest count of homeless people in the county–being around 460 people according to the VC Continuum of Care. There are only three shelters in the city of Oxnard, two of which only being available to women and children, the third is for single men only and has a capacity of thirty-six. All of those three shelters combined can house 187 homeless people.  

The rest of the homeless people, the 270 people have to stay out doors on the streets with nowhere to keep warm. They are forced to sit out in the cold with very little protection and have to endure heavy rainfall and strong chilly winds.

Many fast food places, such as Mcdonald’s, Panda Express, and Starbucks have codes for the restroom, which gives them the power to restrict certain people from using them. Some fast food restaurants go as far as not letting people use them unless they buy something. This prevents many homeless people from  being able to use restrooms or temporarily find a place to stay warm. 

I’ve seen many instances of homeless people being kicked out of stores or food places for seemingly no reason other than stereotypical ideologies–which would be assuming they are dangerous. This may be true to some homeless who deal with mental, or any other issues, but it is not true to everyone. We are all people and should be treated as such, regardless of the situations we are in. 

There are many counts of homeless people inflicting injuries upon themselves so they could seek medical attention from the ER. They’ll go as far as doing this in order to have a place to sleep and keep warm. This saddens me to know that there are people in this world who have to harm themselves in order to simply find a warm bed to sleep on for the night. 

Not only does winter make it more difficult to deal with cold weather, but it also means many homeless people will have less chances of eating. Many homeless people who ask passersby for money or food will have even less chances at succeeding, as less people will be walking outside. This means there is an increase in starvation of the homeless during this time of year. 

Every winter season is, sadly,  a very tough one for homeless people as they have to deal with low temperatures, rainy days, and face even more challenges with getting food.