Dear Future President,

I am a resident of North Miami Beach, FL, and I am writing to you about the lack of support for the less fortunate within my community.

Homelessness has become a vast problem in the busy city of Miami. Homeless people can be seen living along commercial stores, walking in the streets, and asking people for money on busy roads. While the Homeless Trust and city of Miami has signed a pact creating fifty more shelter beds in the city, the number of homeless people has reached 4,152 in the county as of 2014 and has stayed steadily the same. Amongst this, nearly 400 unaccompanied youth under 25 years of age live in the streets of my home. Continuum of Care, a network of services aimed to provide shelter for homeless people, are just one of the many organizations and services available to decrease this problem. Although a lot has been done by these services, it doesn’t seem to be enough to provide a clear solution to the problem.

As a devoted student, I understand the vigor it takes to succeed in high school and college. It is hard to imagine the struggle homeless teens and young adults face as they try to catch up with the demanding needs of school. With all the homework given and the expensive supplies needed, it definitely must not come easy to them, and there is only so much they can do. While this problem extends to the adults and even veterans living amongst these streets, more needs to be done to fix this not only in my community, but across the nation. I have seen the conditions these people live in first-hand as I have volunteered for local homeless shelters and soup kitchens, and it definitely isn’t enough for anyone to call home. This is why more funding should be given to improve homeless shelters and provide solutions for the vast amount of homeless people still living in the streets.

Overall I am writing to you so you can hopefully aim to provide a plausible solution for this problem that affects communities nationwide. By allocating extra money to programs and services that encourage support for homeless people, less people will be on the streets and therefore provide a nice environment for tourists and commoners alike. Such programs that can aid you with this goal include Feeding South Florida, Continuum of Care, Miami Rescue Mission, and many more. This will only improve the quality of my wonderful city, and hopefully change a person’s life for the better.

Thank you for your consideration and time.

Sincerely,

Francesca Sperbeck