December Non-Fiction Blog Post

December Non-Fiction Blog Post

            This month, I read, “Formerly homeless teens share their stories” by Andrew Denney. The overall main idea of the text was to pity homeless teenagers and help them out whenever you can. “ “I used to make fun of people who did that,” Girdner said. “Then I became homeless; then I had to take a bath in a Greyhound bus station.” “ Denney includes a quote from one of the four homeless teenagers who spoke at the Columbia Public Library. This quote makes me think that even I could become homeless, and to help rather than make fun of things that are uncontrollable. There are at least 1.6 million homeless kids in the US, and Rainbow House in Columbia gets 10 to 15 phone calls every month concerning abused teens that have been kicked out of their homes. These details help add to the sympathy readers have towards the “formerly homeless teens”, making them want to help them out.

            The author wants readers to think that homeless teens aren’t to blame for being homeless. Denney makes the teens out to be innocent by including their stories of how they became homeless, however does not go into detail about how they are to blame. The author wants readers to feel bad and sympathetic towards the teens. “Phil Leak, 18, spent a few months living under an outdoor staircase at Hickman High School after he got in trouble with the police and was kicked out of his parents’ home.” Denney doesn’t include what the crime Leak committed was, or any prior family history. Without this information, it makes Leak seem like the victim, when in fact he may not be the victim and could be to blame in this whole situation.

            I will take away the constant thought in the back of my mind of whose perspective is missing, and how that affects the text, from this article. I’m sure that teenage homelessness is a horrible thing to go through, but this article really didn’t help enforce that point. It talked more about how the teens were victims, rather than their actual experiences. I still think teenage homelessness is probably a traumatic experience to go through, however I don’t believe they are all victims, and some are to blame. I’d like to know more about how teenagers become homeless.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/nov/04/formerly-homeless-teens-share-their-stories/