NEWS
Help the Homeless
By: Alexis Garcia
Over half a million people in America were homeless as of 2018. The top three causes of homelessness are lack of affordable housing, unemployment and poverty. The states with the highest homeless population are California, New York, Texas and Washington. Although families and youth are affected by it the majority of people facing homelessness are single adults.
Some of the main reasons that individuals become homeless are because of housing prices they aren’t able to afford and divorce. Often people who get divorced will end up homeless because their partner gets the house.
There are many ways that we can decrease and even eliminate homelessness in America. Some ways of doing this are by moving some individuals into permanent housing and making sure that have the financial stability they need. Another way of doing this would be by providing more opportunities for employment. Federal housing assistance was created to reduce homelessness and has been successful in doing so. Out off all homeless individuals in America, 37,878 of them are veterans and 36,361 of them are youth. The majority of all homeless people are individuals. The number of homeless individuals is 372,417.
Some ways that we can all help keep our fellow people stay off the streets are preventing people from becoming homeless in the first place and by providing shelter and food for those who are homeless. Another way that we can help get rid of homelessness is by starting immunization programs and anti-smoking campaigns. Shelters can also help keep people off the streets by getting rid of certain requirements like family shelters being restricted to women and children only. Other requirements that can be erased are not allowing people with pets in the shelters and not allowing couples to stay in the same shelter together.
The United States has the fourth largest homeless population out of all countries. The top 3 cities with the most homeless people in the U.S. are New York City, Los Angeles and Seattle. The homeless population is 0.17% of the overall population in the United States. The term “homelessness” first started being used in the United States in the 1870’s. The word “homelessness” is meant to describe “tramps” traveling around the country in search of work. The 1980’s may have marked what may be considered to be the modern era of homelessness due to the high unemployment rate.
Budget cuts were made to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. These budget cuts had a huge impact on people living in homeless shelters. The increase in homelessness after these budget cuts led to property values going down in certain areas. Research shows that families that experience homelessness are most likely to have poverty issues in the future. The amount of homeless individuals and families in the United States has had a huge impact on everyone in the country in recent years.
California is Pushing Back School Start Times
By: Ixchel Perez and Edgar Torres
A study has shown that enough hours of sleep can lead to more function at school. Considering how early school begins and school activities in the morning, it can lead students to wake up almost 2 hours earlier than the school start time. Obviously that plays a huge factor in the way our school performance is. California is having a new law that prevents a high school from starting before 8:30 am and middle school at 8:00 am, which they will try to see if it will improve the students' health and performance in school. California believes this will improve and help the qualifications of the student’s education. Everyone will be watching what the results will be, they are all on edge. The debates of this situation are the fixed schedule of parents, guardians, teachers, and work environments. Changing school hours can cause a lot of confusion and maybe even dysfunction if California doesn't try to accommodate to their new schedule. There is a big concern of this backfiring and creating more chaos than before, but taking that risk would be considered to be a good risk. Yes, to keep things the same way they have been for years is such a safer and reliable answer to the problem but that will not give us room for growth and improvement. School starting so early in the morning has always been an issue in the world of education, most of the students attending school also don't start their mornings with breakfast meaning they are not prepared for the day. So much information is being provided to us on a daily basis, and so little we are consuming due to sleep deprivation and lack of energy. Of course, we have to take a lot of blame for not fitting in fixed schedules but that doesn't include the fact that we have more to live than school and cannot always be on time to everything and perfectly energized. We are too young to be rushed and have such high anxiety for this educational system, being afraid to wake up late to school and miss a lot of what the day has to offer and also missing out on the most important meal of the day. California is going places with this new law if it goes successfully and hopefully can influence the rest of the nation.
Teen accused of Killing Sandia High student to be held pending trial
By: Jaslin Granillo
Izaiah Garcia, 19, is accused of killing Sean Markey at a homecoming afterparty near Eubank and Montgomery in September. A judge ruled to hold Izaiah in the pending trial. The judge ultimately decided that Garcia is a threat to the public. Garcia is also being implicated in the death of Cayla Campos. The victim was killed at an Albuquerque park while playing Pokemon Go, but charges have not been filed in that case yet. Markey’s family was relieved with the judge’s decision on holding Izaiah due to being a threat to the public, Markey’s family want gun violence in Albuquerque to
stop.
The attorney said multiple shots were fired and many people had guns on them at the party. Police say Markey wasn't the intended target. The defense said the intended target has a lengthy criminal record, hated Garcia and had the motive to point the finger at him. There were many witnesses that night including a friend of Garcia’s with the same story. Although the defense pointed out there were several people firing guns at the party, any of them could have been Markey’s killer. The judge determined that even though the motive is not clear, there is still enough to hold Garcia.
Police are also investigating whether Izaiah is linked to the shooting that happened a few weeks after Markey was killed. Cayla Campos was shot to death at a park in Albuquerque, right across from where Garcia was living. Cayla Campos a 21-year-old New Mexican woman was killed after witnessing a robbery in progress, late Friday night.