There are many issues our country faces everyday, some that you see on the news and some that you don't. This is also a country that allows us to speak up and fight for what we want,we should be using that right to give a voice to the voiceless and solve issues we have been facing for decades. If you are passionate about an issue we face in this country, use your voice; you'll make a difference. These are some issues I believe deserve to be spoken about more.
1. Homelessness
17 out of every 10,000 people are homeless in the United States. 67% percent of these people are individuals and 33% are families. Many of these people are veterans, children escaping abusive homes, or disabled individuals unable to secure jobs. As an effort to decrease the number of homeless people in the country, the government has made efforts to criminalize the homeless population. Some of these efforts include restricting public areas in which sleeping or sitting are allowed and prohibiting begging.
2. Violence Against Minority Groups
Awfully, hate crimes are a norm in the United States. Hate crimes are violence motivated by the prejudice of race, religion, sexual orientation, and the like. According to the F.B.I, hate crimes hit a sixteen-year high in 2019. Common cases of hate crimes include, but are not limited to: the killings of transgender women of color, assault of LGBT couples, and innocent black men being killed because they looked like a threat. Since our country has a huge, growing, and diverse population, one would think that prejudice wouldn't be an issue at this point. Sadly, in this day and age, it's one of the largest issues we face.
3. Planned Parenthood Funding
@plannedparenthood on Instagram
Planned Parenthood is an organization that educates on sexual health and provides many services. Due to different cultural beliefs and prejudices against the organization, many are against Planned Parenthood. Protests occur outside of Planned Parenthood facilities to shame people that are going in. What people don't know, however, is that Planned Parenthood provides services for little to no cost. Without funding, those who cannot afford to receive help with things like prenatal health, STD testing, or birth control will be left with no other option.
4. The Child Welfare System
The child welfare system is often never spoken about. It wasn't until the Netflix docu-series, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez, aired that light was shed on the system. More often than not, the system fails the children it watches. Foster children go into abusive homes and home visits aren't being conducted, which leads to children being harmed. Since this isn't an issue that affects the majority of people, no one really talks about it. The system that should be protecting the most vulnerable group of humans deserves more attention and reform.
