Whether it was while you were on your way to work or school, or just driving around on the weekend, you have most likely seen a homeless man on the streets begging for money. They are tired, dirty, hungry, and in need. Some of them have used all of their money on alcohol or drugs. Others have been kicked out of their homes and need a place to stay. Either way, both kinds of people need help. However, when a police officer approaches them, he does not given them money. He does not help them. Instead, he tickets them and could even arrest an innocent homeless man. Ticketing one of these people does not solve a single problem; if they are standing on the streets begging for money, it most likely means they are unable to pay for a ticket. Instead of antagonizing these people by putting them further into debt, police officers should help them. If a homeless man has wasted his money on things he should have, he should be put into a rehab center that way he can destroy his addiction and get his life back on track. Once he is able to pay for it, he will be charged the appropriate fee. People who simply have lost their homes from foreclosure, eviction, or family issues should be taken to a place to stay so they can obtain a job and also get their life back on track.

I remember when I was 8 years old, and we were getting off the Sawgrass Expressway. I had just gotten a haircut and we were coming home. I noticed a police car pulled over with his lights on, and he was talking to a homeless man sitting on the side of the exit, standing by a traffic light. Due to my young age, I became curious almost instantly and I asked my mom what was going on. “The cop is giving the homeless man a ticket.”, she said. “Those people aren’t allowed to stand their and get money from people”. From that point on I thought that putting the man further into debt was a bad idea. How will he ever pay his ticket if he has lost all of his money? This man obviously needs help to get out of the financial hole he has fallen into, and instead of helping the man, the officer was doing just the opposite.

While we all are people, our society definitely needs improvement. The person I saw standing on the street that day was just like anybody else; a human being. Some of us have been given great wealth, while others have been given challenges to overcome. If you are a millionaire, why keep all of the money for yourself? Lend a helping hand. Our state government uses up money for things that we do not even need. Take a water park for example. If the city mayor built a water park in his city, he would be taking money that could be used to help people like the man I saw on the street that day, and using it for something people do not even need, especially if there is another water park fifteen to twenty minutes away.

In conclusion, people need to understand that helping one person makes a big difference. There are billions of people on this planet, and if we each chipped in to help each other out, we could be one, single family. If you believe that homeless men on the streets are annoying, just help the man out once. Eventually, he will be able to move on, get a job, and have as much money as you are, that way you will never have to worry about seeing him again. All I ask is that you lend a helping hand, so that one day our society can be a big, happy and free family again.