j0shripley - Tumblr blog

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

Writing Portfolio Reflection

Josh Ripley

English 2010

Fish Burton

April 20th, 2020

Writing Portfolio Reflection

Dear Professor,

I feel like my writing has come a long way since the beginning of the semester. Before this class, as I’ve shared with you, I always knew I had somewhat of a knack for writing but it always seemed like a burden. I’d try to fill a word count and would be fine in all my classes. It wasn’t til this class that I felt challenged to actually do something with it. My favorite thing that I’ve written still has to be my jumbled thoughts on what I called “Stepping into the bigger picture.” excerpts are below:

“Step out of your body and into retrospect,

Who is god? Why is god? Is there “God”?

Is modern belief based on ancient characterizations of natural laws that only seem mystical or supernatural through a dusty lens? Can the so-called “unexplainable” actually be explained?

Is accepting “God” strictly as that, a cop out of a higher plane of thought? Throw yourself through space and time and see yourself standing over the universe with the natural elements sitting on a rickety wooden table. Will there come a point where the world as we know it today seems laughable compared to the technology of a future day? Will we see ourselves as we are now, simply as children toying with basic shapes fitting them in their designated spots? Will we see the times where the odds are 99.9% failures that we miraculously succeed, or the recoveries that were sudden and seemingly only possible by a divine being, ultimately be the cultural norm to a higher society years from now? Seeing the world as stepping stones where we are only on the 21st step to a 1000 step staircase can seem daunting, unfathomable, or a waste of brain cells. I mean who cares about something so far off? If I live my probable 80 years on earth content with putting a name and face to those currently unexplainable experiences strictly by calling it “God’ with a firm hope in an afterlife, what’s the issue? The issue that I find in this is complacency, but when trying to answer the questions, how do you answer the questions about the future when the current technology and advancements don’t exist? Short answer, you can’t. everything you’ve read up to this point is skepticism, everything can only be assumptive and repository. It seems that this thought process pushes to the “hard question” to answer, it would be easier to admit that there is a deity and truly a supernatural plane that isn’t visible to the naked eye, hard to accept for some, easily provides comfort to the content/complacent. Then again, who’s to say that “Deity” or “Supernatural plane” isn’t the ultimate last step of the staircase? Who’s to say time can only be seen as linear rather than a spiral plane in the room of the magnificent? Who’s to say the advancements of the future and modern day aren’t carefully constructed and placed in time by a higher power/deity? in short, who’s to say the easy answer isn’t the right answer.”

This is my favorite thing I’ve written because it was real, it was raw, it was the first time that I let my thoughts take over my fingers and actually wrote something I cared about. Before this class I honestly don’t think I would’ve ever written anything quite like that. It was a whole new experience for me, time faded away and I was actually enjoying typing something out. Even though it’s not much it’s definitely my most prized piece of writing.

Before I left on my mission in 2017, I had a strong run in with anxiety, I lost 15 lbs in a week and my parents decided that I needed to see a counselor to try and get it taken care of before I left and it got worse. When I saw the doctor the first time, he introduced me to some sort of a 3rd person reflection. He did some hypnotherapy with me that helped me see how I was in an out of body experience, hard to explain and understand I know, but bear with me. I’ve kept the process with me in my brain ever since and when I get anxious, I find a place to meditate for a while. I’ve done that recently and noticed how much my life has changed this semester, not just my writing style but now I am getting married in 4 months and I’m noticing that this class hasn’t just helped me with essays, but it has helped me produce something from my thoughts. They used to be so jumbled and distressing that I did my best to suppress them as much as possible, now I can honestly say writing is a way for me to put those thoughts somewhere and turn them into something that I can see and impact. Everything isn’t nearly as disorganized as it was.

With putting all my thoughts on the page, I have realized that I still have a lot of work to do when it comes to organization and formulating an accurate argument or meeting the prompt. I tend to throw as much down as possible and I find myself going through many rabbit holes and ending up in a completely different direction that I was supposed to be headed in. Then comes the rewriting, then the re-rewriting, then the punctuation fixes, and etc. As you can see, writing hasn’t become easier for me this semester, it has actually become more challenging, but it’s a good challenge, it’s like challenging yourself to learn a new skill in your hobby. It’s more work, but it means more to you because you enjoy it and have something to be proud of. I hope that makes sense, it does to me. I also hope this is what you were looking for out of my reflection essay, thanks for helping me learn to love writing.

Sincerely,

Josh Ripley

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

Research Report

Josh Ripley

Professor Burton

English 2010

April 15, 2020

Research Report

One day while I was at my friend Cole’s house, his dad talked about a recent experience he had. He found a homeless man on the side of the road and was instantly filled with compassion for him. He decided he wanted to help out as much as he could, so he took him to lunch, and they went shopping afterwards. While they were shopping they picked out things like food that he could pack, a sleeping bag, new clothes, and hygiene supplies. He dropped the man back off where he found him and that was the end of it. A little while later, tragically there was a report of a homeless man who was found dead in a river with nothing on him. They found out it was the same man Cole's father had tried to help and his things had been stolen from him before he died. If there were equal opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and had the supplies they needed to survive and get on their feet this may have been avoided.

This previous experience helped me want to see what I could do or what is currently being done to help these people. This is why I am writing to you, our local government officials, based on the research I have done and the statistics I have seen, I feel like it is time to once again make an effort to emphasize helping our fellow citizens who don’t have shelter. When thinking of who to write to, I chose you because we have elected you to watch out for us. Whether some of us have homes or not, you are our leaders and should have our best interest in mind. Before we can focus on helping those outside of our immediate fascinity, we should focus on getting those that we see around on their feet. Their success should be our success, and our success is ultimately your success. Everyone wins.

My research began with updated articles I could find on the internet, followed by additional articles found in the schools library. I did both because along with the academic sources found in the school library, there are other sources that aren’t found in there that seemed to be more recent and more specific to my issue. In the article Why America Can’t Solve Homelessness the author, Michael Hobbes, addresses the hows and whys to the homeless issue in major cities like Salt Lake City, New York, Seattle, etc.

This article gets pretty personal when bringing up an individual who doesn’t seem to be able to catch a break. Meet Eric, “Eric (not his real name) is exactly the kind of person Utah’s policy experiment was intended to help. He is 55 years old and has been homeless for most of his life. He takes medication for his schizophrenia, but his paranoia still leads him to cash his disability checks and hide them in envelopes around the city. When he lived on the streets, his drug of choice was a mix of heroin and cocaine. These days it’s meth. Despite all his complications, Eric is a success story. He lives in a housing complex in the suburbs of Salt Lake City that was built for the chronically homeless. He has case workers who ensure that he takes his medications and renews his benefits. While he may never live independently, he is far better off here than in a temporary shelter, a jail cell or sleeping on the streets. The problem for policymakers is that Eric is no longer emblematic of American homelessness. In Salt Lake City, just like everywhere else, the population of people sleeping on the streets looks a lot different than it used to.”

That article was written when everything was good, The “housing first” program was working and people like Eric were finally getting the help that they needed to get on their feet and stay there. But, after some time, slowly other things took priority and for some reason that changed. With the housing first program now on the backburner, the homeless population seems to be climbing at an alarming rate.

Another article I found that speaks pretty clearly to the rising problem is titled Once a national model, Utah struggles with homelessness, by Gregory Scruggs. It talks about how Utah used to have that program in place that decreased chronic homelessness by 91%, but in the last 3 years the number of people sleeping outside has nearly doubled. When asked about the rising issue, officials said “The mistake we made was stopping” (Scruggs). I relate to this issue because I have noticed the difference while walking around the park in downtown salt lake, it is impossible not to notice the struggling individuals begging for food. This is our home and our people, it is hard to sit back and see someone going through that. We know that there are solutions that work, the issue is implementing them and making them a priority once again. When reading the articles I couldn’t believe that we just “stopped” helping, there had to be a reason and I was determined to get to the bottom of it and find out what exactly happened.

While pondering on why they would’ve stopped, I decided to interview my father, who I have many political conversations with, he has a pretty level head and doesn’t just go with the easy answer. I chose to interview him because he has a law degree and is very informed politically on what is going on in our state and nation. One question I asked that opened my eyes to the more cautious side of the argument when it comes to giving out money was, “What do you think we can do to help our homeless neighbors?” When asked that he responded, “You know, I think the best thing we can do as fellow citizens is giving to them things that can be found useful, like food, toiletries, blankets, coats, etc. Recently I saw a mother and baby asking for money outside of walmart and I decided to go in and buy stuff for them rather than just give them money because with all the drug abuse that goes on, I wanted to make sure that some of the money that I would’ve given them would actually go to caring for her child. I don’t want to judge too critically or be too assumptive but that is a sad case we see happen all the time, single mothers who are hooked on drugs having a hard time feeding their addiction and child at the same time.”

This opened my eyes because I tend to lean toward more of giving people the benefit of the doubt and doing what is more convenient for me, which is usually giving away a little bit of cash rather than having to go in and pick out things for their specific situation and trusting they will use it for food or shelter. But after he told me about this experience, it helped me see that we can’t always assume people will do the most rational thing and there needs to be some guidance. That is why I think it would be good to have required classes for independent living, substance free.

On top of that interview, I spent a lot of time reading articles I could find in the school library that touched on the issue in the state. I found some interesting information that answered my ultimate question of “Why did Utah stop it’s housing protocol?” This question came from the previous article where an official failed to give a proper reason to satisfy the question posed by a reporter. As I suspected, one of the primary reasons was the increasing costs found in our state as well as the scarcity of space. With our economy continuing to climb along with our population, it is no surprise that this issue that seemed to be resolved, slowly lost it’s spotlight.

After the last little while of research it has opened my eyes to a lot of opportunity to bring this issue to light. I hope to find programs in place with our neighboring states that are successful that could be adopted. I want to do a survey that helps inform people about the current issues with homelessness around us and put together a brochure to have printed out and made available at different places around the community. They would be put in public places and government buildings, in a perfect world this would be an issue that we start talking about with the elections coming up. But this world is not perfect and I am sure there will be other agendas to fill, my goal with this research and this project is to help people see that a little can go a long way when acknowledging people's struggles and giving a little bit of aid. I’ve never been homeless, I can’t imagine not having somewhere to sleep and call home, just like most of you, so why would we ignore that need? I realize that just giving out resources won’t solve the problem, but there needs to be programs in place to help them become independent and transition into bettering our society and state.

Works Cited

Scruggs, Gregory. “Once a National Model, Utah Struggles with Homelessness.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 10 Jan. 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-homelessness-housing/once-a-national-model-utah-struggles-with-homelessness-idUSKCN1P41EQ.

Hobbes, M. (2019). HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media. [online] Huffpost.com. Available at: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/homeless-utah-end-america-salt-lake-city_n_5cd1cac0e4b04e275d511aba [Accessed 29 Oct. 2019].

Eisenberg, Marla E., et al. “Homelessness Experiences and Gender Identity in a Population-Based Sample of Adolescents.” Preventive Medicine Reports, vol. 16, Dec. 2019. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.100986.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “California’s Housing Crisis, Homeless ‘Apocalypse’ Are Focus of AHF’s New $500K TV Ad Campaign.” Business Wire (English), 2019 July 11AD. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=bizwire.bw84642226&site=eds-live.

Netsmart. “Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program Partners with Netsmart to Address the Opioid Crisis.” Business Wire (English), 2019 May 11AD. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=bizwire.bw092956424&site=eds-live.

Balagot, Caroline, et al. “The Homeless Coordinated Entry System: The VI-SPDAT and Other Predictors of Establishing Eligibility for Services for Single Homeless Adults.” Journal of Social Distress & the Homeless, vol. 28, no. 2, Nov. 2019, pp. 149–157. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/10530789.2019.1622858.

Keuntae Kim, and Ivis Garcia. “Why Do Homeless Families Exit and Return the Homeless Shelter? Factors Affecting the Risk of Family Homelessness in Salt Lake County (Utah, United States) as a Case Study.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, no. 22, 2019, p. 4328. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3390/ijerph162243

Laine, Samantha. “How Utah Reduced Homelessness by More than 90 Percent.” The Christian Science Monitor, 2015. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbro&AN=edsbro.A412252911&site=eds-live.

McCoy, Terrence. “The Surprisingly Simple Way Utah Solved Chronic Homelessness and Saved Millions.” The Washington Post, 2015. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbro&AN=edsbro.A410095685&site=eds-live.

DARK, STEPHEN. “As Boise Considers a Housing First Model to Fight Chronic Homelessness, Utah’s Experience with the Program Shows Uneven Results.” Boise Weekly, vol. 25, no. 26, 14 Dec. 2016, pp. 8–11. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=120224108&site=eds-live.

“Researchers from Utah State University Discuss Findings in Social Services (The Relationship between Community Investment in Permanent Supportive Housing and Chronic Homelessness).” Politics & Government Week, 2014, p. 370. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgit&AN=edsgit.A378479942&site=eds-live.

Rogers, Charles R., et al. “Colorectal Cancer Screening Uptake’s Association With Psychosocial and Sociodemographic Factors Among Homeless Blacks and Whites.” Health Education & Behavior, vol. 44, no. 6, Dec. 2017, pp. 928–936. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=126234585&site=eds-live.

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

Opinion Series

Josh Ripley

Fish Burton

ENGL 2010

April 12, 2020

Opinion Series

For my Opinion Series paper, I decided to write off some of the articles I have already read. The first perspective I choose to write from is the point of view of a transgender individual, the next one is written from the perspective of a middle class family found in Utah, while the final one is written from the perspective of a homeless man addicted opiates.

The first perspective I am writing on with the transgender individual is based off of a study that was conducted in Minnesota back in 2016. The article talked about how transgender youth have a 10% higher chance than their peers to have experienced some homelessness before 11th grade. From the perspective of Transgender youth, one of two things can run through your mind. One side, depending on your support system, you could see running away and becoming homeless as a viable option. If you don’t feel love at home then why stay there? On the other hand, the other emotion they could experience is fear, fear that their choice is going to get them kicked out or become socially excluded. This fear could drive you to run from any potential danger or ill feelings that could come as a result of people's response to your personal decision. At first you might think, what’s the big deal? 10% isn’t that much, but when you start putting names to the faces you realize that for a group of people to have a higher chance of being on the streets because of their gender preference doesn’t seem right. For them, a scary part of being homeless is the illness that can follow, especially common in adolescence. “Homelessness is associated with adverse outcomes in youth, including poor mental and physical health, high risk health behaviors, poor cognitive and academic functioning, and emergency room visits and hospitalizations” (Eisenberg 1) This is found in the article I mentioned at the beginning titled “Homelessness experiences and gender identity in a population-based sample of adolescents.” When children leave home the last thing they are thinking about is the potential health risks that come with being out all the time. As I said before I believe there are 2 paths when it comes to a transgender individual thinking about homelessness, it is either an option for escape, or they are filled with the fear of being kicked out and being forced to live on their own in order to survive emotionally, while in fact, causing more harm to themselves then good.

The next perspective I am writing on is the middle class family in Utah looking at homelessness. You see it as something that could never really happen to you, you make enough money, have a strong enough family, and friends in the community to help when you need it. But of course there are many stories of people being struck with some random event that crippled them out of nowhere. It’s an issue that doesn’t seem possible, and at the same time, there’s a fair amount of people that think they did it to themselves. It’s easy to look from the outside in, being raised in a family that has never struggled too much financially with no serious health concerns and be like, “why don’t they just get a job?,”or “ They have to be addicted to drugs.” or “How does anybody get to that point? Just budget.” When the reality of the situation is that it isn’t always that easy. There are a lot of different things that can happen in order to end up on the streets. Utah’s homeless numbers aren’t too high or alarming and for the amount of judgmental people there are, there are also people wanting to help. It is not uncommon to run into people that care enough to either give food, money, or clothing to help those in need. Instinctively, most of us are filled with compassion when we see people in need. This was the cause of the original plan set forth in Utah that minimalized homelessness by 90%. “Utah and other states are discovering that by investing in people’s most basic needs, they are better able to address the other factors that lead to homelessness. And they are doing so with less money. Lloyd Pendleton, the director of Utah’s Homeless Task Force, was not always a believer in the state’s current method of addressing homelessness, initially saying the idea was “totally unrealistic.” But now he says that prioritizing a home for those without has drastically changed the way the state can deal with other factors, including unemployment.” This is from an article written about how Utah has successfully dropped their chronic homeless rate so drastically. When I asked my father about his views on homeless individuals he said, “You know, just the other week I saw a mother and son out in front of Walmart holding their cardboard sign. It was hard for me, as a father, to sit there and not picture your sister and her 1 year old. So i went inside and bought them food, diapers, and clothing.” To me this is proof of what most respectful citizens think of when they see a family struggling, despite what happens to get people to the point of being homeless, you instantly feel some sort of remorse and a desire to help.

The last point of view I am writing from is that of a homeless man addicted to opiates. Looking from the outside in, it is easy to judge someone from the place they are at currently. It is easy to look at a mangled man on the road with a cardboard sign, long white hair, and gross teeth, and say “I’m helping him by not giving him money because he will only spend it on drugs.” When in reality we don’t know what they have been through in their lives, we don’t know how they were raised or what health issues they have faced, or the state of their mental health. You can’t look at someone and instantly know their life story. As I sat thinking about it, there were many things I didn’t initially consider when it came to being homeless. For instance, how are you going to find clean water or afford to keep looking clean if you don’t have toiletries? While trying to put myself in one of their shoes, I thought about how tough it would be to sit there and beg for help while people walked by and you know exactly what some people are thinking. You know some people will look at you and tell their kids “stay away from him.” or use you as an example of why they should stay in school. I wonder where your family would be at that point, how many bridges must’ve been affected by your use to ultimately not have anyone to turn to. Or maybe they are there for you but the amount of shame and disgust you feel in yourself keeps you from reaching out, not wanting someone to worry about you. I can’t imagine being in a situation where people won’t even consider giving you cash because they don’t think you have the sense to buy the basic necessities, toothpaste, water, food, and soap. It would be tough to be such a slave to a drug that you can’t accurately discern what your immediate purchase would be. The aches and craving you would feel would seem insurmountable. But you are addicted to the point where you think you could quit if you wanted to, or that quitting is impossible because when you hit your withdrawals you feel as if you will explode from the pressure in your body. I’d be wishing for any aid possible, but would feel hopeless that anyone would care enough to help me. Everyone has their own issues. In response to the rising opioid use in Boston, an article was written about some recent technology to help that says, “BHCHP delivers a full spectrum of primary care, mental health and addiction services. It recognizes that behavioral healthcare is an essential element of quality integrated care. The care model at BHCHP united behavioral health clinicians, case managers, physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses in close collaboration. They provide low-threshold engagement and constant care to individuals in a variety of settings, including on the streets, in shelter-based clinics, hospitals or supportive housing.” This would be the hope I was longing for and would finally give me a push to get my life on track and that the road back was possible.

Works Cited

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

Annotated Bibliography

Josh Ripley

Fish Burton

ENGL 2010

March 30, 2020

Annotated Bibliography

Abstract

The first article I chose to use for my annotated bibliography is from Marla E. Eisenberg, It is based on a study conducted in Minnesota with the school systems, students from 9th - 11th grade in 2016 and their association with gender diverse youth and homelessness. This article was interesting to read for my study topic because it explored an approach I haven’t thought of before, especially with my interest in taking a turn towards more the mind of people experienceing chronic homelessness, getting into transgender youth and the LGBTQ community would be an interesting study. Eisenbergs study concluded that “ TGD (transgender/gender diverse) youth are more likely to experience homelessness, either with a family member or unaccompanied.) From their study, they concluded that 2.7 percent of the youth in Minnesota identified as TGD, and from that 2.7% around 10.3% of them had experienced some form of homelessness. Still not an astronomical amount of youth experiencing it, but compared to the collective 4.6% of the rest of the youth experiencing homelessness, it does seem notable that their chance is higher. The main worry that comes from this article is that there is alot of health risks that come along with adolescence and homelessness, let alone a group of people that are already socially cast aside. Eisenberg raises awareness with this article in showing that TGD youth might be cast out by non-understanding parents/families. If this is the case then they really are at a greater risk and need to be a group that receive further help and attention.

Abstract

The next article I chose to use is titled “California’s Housing Crisis, Homeless ‘Apocalypse’ are Focus of AHF’s New $500k TV AD Campaign” put out by the AIDS Healthcare foundation. To bring attention to the rising homeless problem in California, they released 3 ads titled ‘Apocalypse,’ ‘Squeezed,’ and ‘Searching’ on television. The goal of these ads is to help make housing more available by lowering rent. They throw some scary numbers around like how Los Angeles County was 59,000 in 2019, and 36,300 of those people were in Los Angeles. The first Ad called ‘Apocalypse’ shows California's homeless camps and asks some thought provoking questions about how it got so bad and pushes for stronger rent control. The second one ‘Squeezed,’ is based on the analogy of the higher class squeezing everything out of the working class to make a quick buck, they demonstrate it by squeezing an orange slowly. The third one ‘Searching,’ shows a lady making some phone calls trying to find a room to rent and can’t find one so she sleeps in her car, it is a strong use of emotion. I can use this as a good source because it shows a different perspective of how the upper class is causing homelessness and that they are imposing costs that don’t seem fair. They also allude to a campaign that housing is a basic human “right” and push that into the argument. Overall, I think this is a good source to have for my research.

Abstract

Another article I chose to use for my research was “Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program Partners with Netsmart to Address the Opioid Crisis.” I loved reading about this article because it was the first one I found that addressed substance abuse. Not only does it bring to light some of the statistics of how many are addicted to opiates but on top of the whole article is based on a new electronic health record that will deliver care to the homeless population in Boston ultimately mitigating overdoses and deaths. This article, like the others, pulls scary numbers such as the overdose risk is “30 times higher than for the rest of the population.” This is a great article to be looking at for my research report as well because drug addiction plays a big role in chronic homelessness, I haven’t seen anything like this implemented in UT. The article continues to talk about Boston's program called BHCHP (Boston Health Care for the Homeless) it talks about it’s history as well as what their mission is. The basis of this essay that I read was more informative rather than trying to appeal to emotion. The aim is clearly set to inform everyone about the actions being taken so that they can use them. It was written by an employee at “Netsmart Network” which is the company backing the implementation of EHR’s in Boston. They conclude the article by adding contact info for the company and listing the writer's position.

Abstract

This article, “The Homeless Coordinated Entry System: The VI-SPDAT and Other Predictors of Establishing Eligibility for Services for Single Homeless Adults.” also takes place in California like the previous article written about Los Angeles, This one is centered more on San Diego County. It talks about homelessness being a “persistent societal and public health challenge.” It was written in 2019 and I’m sure their numbers have continued to increase. The purpose of this article was to report on the efforts of San Diego trying to produce some more permanent housing resources for the homeless, especially veterans. They talk about how the demand for these resources are so high and it is almost impossible to meet it with the supply that they have. They say that there are over 15,000 homeless adults enrolled in their “Coordinated Entry System Multivariable” and they have been deemed eligible for a more permanent housing resource. But like I said before, they don’t have the resources for it. This was an interesting article to read because it shows a permanent housing approach that is being taken like the one that was done in UT. It was a great article for my study because I could compare the similarities between the 2 and look for common issues. The article contains a multistep program to get people to be living in permanent housing but the second and third steps are needing more research. In this article they make sure to give credit to the individuals providing the research.

Abstract

An article written by Kim Keuntae entitled “Why Do Homeless Families Exit and Return the Homeless Shelter? Factors Affecting the Risk of Family Homelessness in Salt Lake County (Utah, United States) as a Case Study” is the first article I have read that takes place in UT. That being said, it is centered not only on why homeless people recirculate and end up back on the street after they have gotten off, but it’s primary focus is on why “families” that have experienced homelessness end up back on the street. It takes into account things like their physical, social, and economic characteristics. The study uses information taken from the HMIS (Homeless management information system) tracked from 2015-2017. It mentions how different things can be taken into account for how long they get to stay at a homeless shelter, things like income, destinations on where they want to exit, and how many times they have returned. This is a great study for me to use for my research because it takes place in Salt Lake City, it answers some questions I had previously pondered when thinking about what happens when people get back on the streets after getting off of them. The study seems to be done to find accurate information because they used thousands of records for over 1400 families. This article sheds light on how the results of these tests have helped important individuals make policies for coordinating housing at a more economically available rate to help them out.

Abstract

Here is another article I found about Utah, it is titled “How Utah Reduced Homelessness by More than 90 Percent.” It is an article based around the initiative taken by the state starting in 2005, the theory was simple. “If someone is homeless, give that person a home.” The government put in housing for homeless individuals and while doing so that automatically helped them in mental, economical, and social issues that accompany homelessness. The article talks about how the cost that they spend on homeless people actually went down, and that they’ve transitioned from thinking of it as “them and us” into “we.” The model that has been piloted in Utah is being called “Housing First” and it has been proven to be better to invest upfront like this rather than trying to fix all their problems first. The article continues to talk about how it is a new way of thinking about social programs and breaks down the problems that accompany taking a different approach. Utah isn’t the only place using a housing first approach, it has been used since 2005 in New York, Seattle, Maine, and Chicago. It has lowered the cost from 33,000 a year to about 8,500. This is the article that I read before I chose this topic, it is the one that got me the most interested in the subject so of course it is a great one to use for my research. Lastly, towards the end of the article a man named James Suroweicki is quoted for saying “the “Housing First” model approaches homelessness with a preventative mindset rather than treatment.”

Abstract

The article written by Terrence McCoy titled “The Surprisingly Simple Way Utah Solved Chronic Homelessness and Saved Millions” is like the previous article that explains how Utah reduced homelessness by 90% but it goes more in depth. For instance it goes back into 2003 when there was a meeting held in Las Vegas discussing the issue of homelessness. They brought up the issue of NYC spending 40,500 in annual costs on every homeless person with “mental problems.” After everyone threw around ideas for a while they finally came up with giving homes to the homeless. This study ended in 2014 so that is the most recent data they have on the article. So for those 9 years they have convincing data that shows that they had done the impossible and ultimately solved almost all of homelessness. As stated before, this article is more in depth, it gets down to what they call the “nuts and bolts” of how they did it. For this reason, I think this is the most valuable article I have for my research. It breaks down what happens to most homeless people when they don’t have a home and what they’ve done to fix that. The services they offer are still valuable to help individuals with their mindset and basic skills to keep them on their feet, but taking the housing out of the equation relieves a lot of pressure that keeps them from focusing on getting themselves well. He ends by saying the homeless population is no longer tracked by giving them numbers, but simply by their names.

Abstract

This next article is the first contradictory one I have talking about how Utahs results seem to be uneven. Obviously the leaps and bounds taken against homelessness in UT seemed to turn heads. One of its neighboring states, Idaho, was interested in implementing the same actions taken to better their community. But when analyzing the data they recognized that it wasn’t as simple as initially thought. Over the last couple years the homeless numbers seem to be spiking, this could be due to a number of issues. Utah continues to be one of the fastest growing states both population wise and economically. So supply and demand could be up alot more than it used to back in the early 2010’s. They aren’t alone in this though, homelessness in the USA has been growing over the last couple years. This article goes into how for some reason the state “stopped” doing what they were before when it came to helping our homeless neighbors. On top of the growing population and housing costs, the wage has stayed stagnant. The article gives a compelling argument about the importance of looking at both sides of the coin when it comes to tackling an issue like this. They mention how UT hasn’t built any additional housing since 2010 and how the supply is running out. This is a valuable article to use for my research since it addresses my main concern on when UT stopped producing the “housing first” initiative and now we have to do a full 180 and help them out again.

Abstract

The next article that I found for my Annotated Bibliography was conducted by Thomas Byrne at the Universtiy of Pennsylvania. It’s titled “Researchers from Utah State University Discuss Findings in Social Services (The Relationship between Community Investment in Permanent Supportive Housing and Chronic Homelessness).” It mentions how in the recent years the previously mentioned as “Housing First” initiative has become the most looked at solution for solving chronic homelessness. But they have only gauged that success on a personal level, meaning they look at the individuals they have helped rather than looking at the whole picture, so in this case, how effective it has been for the community of homeless people. This article is centered on “longitudinal data collected by the US Department of HOusing and Urban Development (HUD) and serveral other sources to model the relationship between measures of community investment in PSH and rates of chronic homelessness.” This article is a great resource because, like the others, it takes a different approach than the previous articles I have found. We examined the success of “housing first,” then what has changed to make it stop, as well as other states struggling to solve chronic homelessness, and this one goes into what needs to be looked at in addition to just the personal stories of those affected by “Housing First.” The sources in this article are also extremely credible so that was one of the first things that caught my eye at the beginning. The whole article is looked at as a discussion to address chronic homeless issues.

Abstract

This last source that I have for my Annotated Bibliography is written by a CR Rogers, his article is titled “Colorectal Cancer Screening Uptake’s Association With Psychosocial and Sociodemographic Factors Among Homeless Blacks and Whites.” It tackles a more complex health issue than all the issues written about in the sources before. It talks about the screening for cancer that doesn't take place for the homeless individuals as well as talks about the great disadvantage minority groups are in when compared to the average white american. Not only does it discuss cancer but also things like Depression and other psychological issues people go through. This article is written like a health research essay but seems to be beneficial because it talks about the well being of the individuals that can’t be solved by simply getting them a house. It also addresses the effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening when at an early age. They call it CRC for the remainder of the article, when seeing how available they were to the whole population. They found out that white homeless people were over 6 times more likely to receive that care compared to their minority friends. Sadly, also we find that depression is one of the reasons for the colorectal cancer being more prevalent than others in homeless people. Overall, I am glad I found this article and I can use it to address some of the health concerns that go along with being homeless and why this needs to be such an important topic to cover and take care of.

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

“11 arguments” Journal 7

I’ve been doing more philosophy pondering on some arguments made to try and disprove moral objectivity written by a philosopher named Shafer-Landau. Enjoy! Objectivity makes the claim that standards apply to everyone, even if people don’t believe they do, and even if obeying them fails to satisfy a person’s desires.While the other argument (we could call it subjectivity) claims that morality changes with the audience, for instance things that we do here that are considered moral aren’t moral in another place such as Iran, England, etc. For the writer to prove that his claim is possible, that morality could in fact be objective, The great thing about his claim, is that he only wants to prove that it is possible. To do this he only has to prove that one, if not all, of the arguments he puts in his reading is false. This would throw the ball into the subjectivists side of the court and they would have to make a move attacking his claim. I believe he does this successfully. Since I agree with his claim I think a possible repercussion or follow up question brought forth by a subjectivist wouldn’t be exactly a 12th argument that differs from the earlier ones, I think Shafer-Landau has a pretty solid base with the previous 11, but I do think they could come back clarifying or hitting one of the responses to his proposed arguments with a follow up objection. For instance with the 8th argument “Atheism Undermines Moral Objectivity” they could respond with something along the lines of “Multiple people acting the same way doesn’t make something objective.”Read the “11 arguments against moral objectivity” and give me you thoughts. I agree with him.

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

“Morality and God” Journal 6

These are some thoughts I had pondering on the euthphro dilemma I was studying for philosophy. Is morality only moral because God commands it, or is morality independent of God? The first stance you could take is that God decides what is moral and what is not, this is commonly known as the Divine Command Theory which I choose to reject. I reject it because for God to decide what is moral then he would ultimately have to go off no predetermining knowledge on the subject. At some point he would have to decide, going off no evidence, that what we know widely today as morality is law and we know that for God to act he always has a reason. Morality is independent of God. At first glance, this idea may be hard to accept for religious individuals because it deems that there are some things out of God’s immediate control. He has no say on what is moral, for if he did, then morality would be subjective and ultimately become arbitrary because it was commanded by a being with no previous experience giving him reason to make these laws and he cannot alter them as well. If he altered the laws as they are now, and for example, changed the idea that it is immoral to steal. Then, us, already knowing that stealing is wrong due to our own knowledge or morality, would see that God is a being condoning “sin” or promoting evil actions which most religious individuals would see as a blasphemous possibility. For these reasons, Morality cannot be dependent on God.

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

“Writing Drafts” Journal 5

As I’ve been in my current writing class I’ve wondered why we have to write so many drafts before submitting a paper. While thinking about this I looked up what the benefits are to writing drafts, I came across a passage called “Shitty First drafts” Anne Lamott does a beautiful job arguing the importance of putting pen to paper as soon as possible when trying to write something. In her selection called “Shitty First Drafts” from her book Bird by Bird she stresses how firmly she believes about this through relatable experiences. It is very clear that having a “shitty first draft” helps her accomplish her own writing assignments. When I first read her selection, I was moved by her word choice. She writes in a way that catches the readers eye early on, you can feel how strongly she believes in what she is writing about. Especially when she relates her own experience while writing food reviews found in Paragraph 4 on the first page. After she shares her long and strenuous process of trying to form her reviews she concludes the experience with this, “Finally I would pick up my one-inch picture frame, stare into it as if for the answer, and every time the answer would come: all I had to do was to write a really shitty first draft of, say, the opening paragraph. And no one was going to see it.” Through this we can see clearly through her lenses that ultimately having a foundation of notes and trial and error, can help us accomplish even the most strenuous of writing assignments. She clarifies for me a practice that I tend to do while trying to brainstorm, I start writing as soon as possible and then go back and make many revisions, but after I put pen to paper, everything else comes easier. The hardest part is over.

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

“Thoughts on Printing Press” Journal 4

Recently I read an article titles “The effects of reading.” It was mainly about the printing press and I’ve been thinking about it a lot in a historical sense. The invention of the printing press is arguably the most important invention of all time, so much information was then able to become accessible because of Johannes Gutenberg's creation. With information now being passed out in such an efficient way, it advanced the course of history at an extremely accelerated rate. This invention threw Europe into the Renaissance era. The main book being distributed at the time was the bible, and with so many bibles now being circulated without europe the common believer had to face their own dilemmas and opened up their minds to a higher plain of thought. Text could now be interpreted by more than just the monks and priests. I really like how in The Effects of Reading it says, “They share a common piece of facts but not a common comprehension.” Although books were then available at a greater rate, people still needed to learn to read, and we all know reading the same sentence doesn’t mean we all get the same out of it. The Effects of Writing also touches on the rules that come along with texts. Such as linear investigation which follows suit with punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. If a reader doesn’t follow the rules to books, then everything becomes jumbled and the message inside the reading is distorted or even completely destroyed. Possibly the most important thing that came from all of this, was that learning stopped being just a giant game of telephone, the information was made available and unchanging through ink and type.

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

“Crash Story” Journal 3

I regained consciousness with the crushing weight of the overturned ATV side-by-side on the left half of my body. The dense cloud of dust filled my nose as I croaked out, "Get this thing off of me!" My friends pushed the vehicle to its tires and helped my co-riders to their feet, I was instantly filled with regret. I knew taking a gravel corner going 40 mph was a bad decision, not only had I seriously injured myself, but worse I had put the lives of my friends, Brad and Ron, in danger. As we waited for the ambulance to arrive, I reflected on how things had happened and the consequences of my irrational decision.

This moment has influenced my life forever. That split-second decision was accompanied by months of painful recovery that weighed heavily on my parents, especially during the first month while I was bed ridden. They had to help me constantly and to their credit, never complained or showed any sign of it being a burden. Even though my mom put everything in her life on hold to take care of me. As I look back on that experience now, I am glad I learned the lesson I did at a young age.

It was a strong reality check that my decisions impact more than just me. We all play an integral part of the lives of our loved ones whether we see it or not, when we suffer, they suffer. Experiences like this are shared in hopes that others can learn without having to go through them personally. Learn from the rest of us that your lives our precious and your decisions have a lot further reach than you’d initially think.

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

Project Proposal

Josh Ripley

Professor Burton

English 2010

January 28, 2020

Project Proposal

A proposal written to the City Council of Provo Utah. I am asking for permission and support, to distribute trifold brochures with information about homelessness in our state with the end goal of motivating our fellow citizens to action in a cause persuading our state leaders to more fully support our homeless neighbors.

I read an article I found titled Once a national model, Utah struggles with homelessness, by Gregory Scruggs. It talks about how Utah used to have a program in place that decreased chronic homelessness by 91%, but in the last 3 years the number of people sleeping outside has nearly doubled. When asked about the rising issue, officials said “The mistake we made was stopping” (Scruggs). This was the question that prompted my project. An important issue like this can’t be placed on the back burner, especially when the results of the actions being taken seemed to be working so well.

Regardless of the why, we can all agree that the hault made shouldn’t have taken place.

It is hard for anyone who sees an image of a homeless person to not feel compassion for their situation. Regardless of how they ended up there, us as humans are filled with compassion when we see others who don't have a place to stay or a way to eat. The citizens of our community deserve to be supported by their leaders regardless of their income or outward appearance. With this project I want to focus more on the psychological aspect of chronic homelessness rather than just finances.

I’ve always been a firm believer in treating others how you want to be treated, I believe it is our duty as fellow citizens to help out where we can when we are given the opportunity. In addition to that, there should be support coming towards these people to help them get on their feet, including classes on how to budget/hold a job, food stipends, temporary housing, and somewhat of a volunteer health service program where doctors can volunteer their talents to benefit the community. If we really are a state of equal opportunity then we shouldn’t give up on our people when they get in a slump. Their success should be our success and hence, their distress should be our distress.

While Pondering on this issue I had the idea that I would like to raise awareness starting at important places where people with an appreciation for our local leaders and government would attend. Thus my idea to distribute pamphlets at our local government buildings was formed. With a simple brochure like the one I made just as an initial approach to get people thinking about it. Followed by later steps, hopefully being accompanied and supported by city council members, meetings, volunteer nights at soup kitchens, etc. The possibilities are endless, but for now, I want to have your permission simply for the brochures.

I will draw up a brochure and send it into the city. It will include a short 2 paragraphs asking for people's participation and encouraging them to bring the issue to light at city panels in an appropriate fashion, also I will collect data from trusted websites and government buildings on the rising issue of homelessness and put those statistics in it as well. My goal is to raise awareness that ultimately would influence our state leaders to increase funding and classes to help them get back to being a functioning member of society. I would like to find out why we stopped giving the support that was already being supplied by the government. If there are programs already in place to help the homeless, what are they? How do they influence the probability of someone getting back on their feet?

I suspect that I am not the only one that feels this passionately about the issue, I want to get support from other citizens in provo as well as get some stories from local homeless individuals as they are willing to share. I’ll ask them how they got to where they are and what is their biggest struggle with trying to get back on their feet. I believe homelessness should take the highest priority in issues to be handled. There has to be a better viable option that can be managed by our local government instead of just nonprofits. If all those efforts were combined I believe their efforts could be magnified and results would increase dramatically. Thus my reasoning for starting this project and wanting it to snowball into a bigger campaign than the initial brochure, but we have to start somewhere. In the last couple of years utah’s homeless individual count has grown exponentially and there needs to be a solution to the problem. I believe awareness is the start of this solution.

Works Cited

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

“I wonder” Journal 2

I wonder why I enjoy being alone, but at the same time hate the thought of not existing. When I am alone I feel at peace but after a couple hours loneliness sets in, I can’t get over the thought that I am being selfish and my life isn’t meant to be kept to myself. I enjoy being alone until the anxiety sets in piled up with a crave for responsibility. Being careless is fun for a while but ultimately that will always leave me unsatisfied. I believe life is meant to be spent caring. We need to be loved, and we need to love. The only way to know love is to know pain and we can never know pain if we don’t feel loved. Catch the drift? It’s an ongoing cycle that never ceases, if it ceased, we would cease. Whether or not we would disappear physically is unknown, but emotionally we would certainly die. I wish there was a way to step out of reality for a moment, see things as they are in perspective with the world. See what influence my existence has on this planet. I feel like it would troubling to realize that my existence is but one grain of sand on the beaches of time that holds little to no value in the grand scheme of things. Is there a way to change that? Maybe thats why I long to share my life and experiences with others, If I am living for myself then I am the only one who will notice I am gone. I need to start making a life that benefits not only me, but the public, I need to get myself out there and make myself known. Not for praise or vanity, but to spend my life sharing my thoughts and impressions with those that could appreciate the feeling that they are seen and heard.

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

“Stepping into the Bigger Picture” Journal 1

Josh Ripley

*Thoughts from a freshman at UVU sitting in an intro to philosophy class*

Step out of your body and into retrospect,

Who is god? Why is god? Is there “God”?

Is modern belief based off ancient characterizations of natural laws that only seem mystical or supernatural through a dusty lens? Can the so called “unexplainable” actually be explained?

Is accepting “God” strictly as that, a cop out of a higher plane of thought?

Throw yourself through space and time and see yourself standing over the universe with the natural elements sitting on a rickety wooden table.

Will there come a point where the world as we know it today seem laughable compared to the technology of a future day? Will we see ourselves as we are now, simply as children toying with basic shapes fitting them in their designated spots?

Will we see the times where the odds are 99.9% failures that we miraculously succeed, or the recovery’s that were sudden and seemingly only possible by a divine being, ultimately be the cultural norm to a higher society years from now?

Seeing the world as steppingstones where we are only on the 21st step to a 1000 step staircase can seem daunting, unfathomable, or a waste of brain cells. I mean who cares about something so far off? If I live my probable 80 years on earth content with putting a name and face to those currently unexplainable experiences strictly by calling it “God’ with a firm hope in an afterlife, what’s the issue?

The issue that I find in this is complacency, but when trying to answer the questions, how do you answer the questions about the future when the current technology and advancements don’t exist? Short answer, you can’t. everything you’ve read up to this point is skepticism, everything can only be assumptive and repository.

It seems that this thought process pushes to the “hard question” to answer, it would be easier to admit that there is a deity and truly a supernatural plane that isn’t visible to the naked eye, hard to accept for some, easily provides comfort to the content/complacent.

Then again, who’s to say that “Deity” or “Supernatural plane” isn’t the ultimate last step of the staircase? Who’s to say time can only be seen as linear rather than a spiral plane in the room of the magnificent? Who’s to say the advancements of the future and modern day aren’t carefully constructed and placed in time by a higher power/deity? in short, who’s to say the easy answer isn’t the right answer.

0 notes

j0shripley · 4 years

Text

Piece Comparison

Josh Ripley

Comparative Critique

Identify: The first piece I chose to critique and then compare is After the Hurricane, Bahamas by Winslow Homer. It was made in 1899, and as we can see, it is a water color piece. From the initial perspective of its audience, we can tell that there is a black man next to the remnants of some type of ship. You can see in the background, what looks like storm clouds based on Homer's use of colors. What is also apparent at first glance is the island in the background, the fronds on the palm tree seem to be bending in an unnatural direction due to the strong winds from the tropical storm. The man in the foreground seems to be unconscious, it can only be assumed that he was caught in the storm on his boat and got shipwrecked after the battering of the waves.

Analyze: Since this is a Winslow Homer piece we can tell that it falls under the category of style of “Realism.” I love the contrast of colors found between the deep blues of the sea and the paleness of the sand. He creates a wide sense of space in the piece with the distant view of the neighboring island and the perspective of the boat next to him. Seeing the tail end of the small vessel with what looks like an anchor broken behind him creates a strong balance with the tones used between the sand and the storm. Included with the tones used in that retrospect, we can see that the man lays in sunlight, as if he has already endured the storm and now lays in exhaustion and recovery. You see the color shift halfway through the water used in the piece, it moves from a lightened shallow blue to a harshly deep and vigorous tempest continuing to wreak havoc on the sea behind him. With his medium, it must be noted the amount of detail Homer was able to portray on the young man lying in the sand. You can make out muscle definition as well as his hairline and eyelids. With the chaos taking place in the foreground, the lines drawn from the rear end of his boat pull your eyes to the cause of the destruction, the hurricane.

Interpret: The emotional appeal of this painting can be found mostly through the use of light. As stated in my analysis, you can tell that the young man seems to be laying in the sun. In contrast from the storm found in the background of the painting, there is a sense of peace that accompanies the beach from the still imagery as he lays there recovering. It’s as if Homer was trying to give us a sense that there is always a calm after a storm, no matter how battered we get during the tempests in our lives, we will always have a time to recover and gain our strength back.

Judgement: I like this art piece, I mean if I didn’t I wouldn’t of chosen to critique it. But some of my favorite parts of this piece are the subtle uses of vibrant colors to keep the naked eye appealed. Like with the greens of the grass, or the wave found just at the peak of the boat. I think it adds a much needed lightness to the painting. I also really like the detail Homer was able to bring in with the sea foliage on the shore as well as the attention to detail he made with the young man. You can see his muscle definition and that he seems to be unconscious.

Identify: The second piece I chose to critique and then compare is Sergeant Carney and the Death of General Shaw by Hale Aspacio Woodruff. Created in 1942, this modern art piece is a work of tempera on masonite. This piece was created for a program that was supposed to demonstrate the heroism of African-Americans in a building being built in Washington DC. We can see Sergeant Carney displayed in this painting holding the recently shot General shaw during the civil war. We can see a lot of chaos taking place in the painting but the lines that can be drawn from General Shaws body give us a sense of direction to navigate the piece. What is also very apparent is the state of the soldiers they are fighting with. They have bandages and wraps, but continue to press forward undeterred as their fellow soldiers continue to fall next to them.

Analysis: Some notable elements found in this painting include Woodruff’s use of color, lines, space, and perspective. The colors he uses are vibrant and anyone who knows anything about US history can tell that this is taking place from the view of the union side of the war. You can vaguely see the confederacy grey used on the soldiers in the background. The perspective takes place on the front lines of the union side but with the small windows taking place by the fallen soldiers, you can see the use of space and depth used in the piece. The lines drawn from General Shaw's arms and legs draw an easy and attractive path for the viewers eyes to follow. His bent knee pulls you to the expression on his face and notice the holder of his corpse, Sergeant Carney. His outstretched hand helps us see the cause of his demise, the opposing soldiers getting ready to advance.

Interpret: The mood of this painting becomes more apparent as we become aware of the history behind the prompt for the piece in the beginning. It is meant to display heroism. The african-american holding the general displays a sense of compassion that seems to be lacking from the rest of the painting. Other comrades lay fallen on these 2 mens sides but you can see that there was a respect noted of the general in the middle. Understanding this, Sergeant Carney catches him and lays him down as he readies to take a more influential part of the battle and push forward to make sure this man's death wasn’t in vain. They continue to fight for civil liberty and freedom.

Judgement: I love this piece of art. The vibrancy of the color and the many subjects in the painting add a depth that really speaks to me. There are many things about the painting that aren’t immediately noticeable, but the longer you look at it the more you see. Like the broken staff of the flag being held by the wounded soldier, or the difference in apparel held by the union side, or the subtle reds that add a balance to the many blues used in the foreground. This piece arouses strong emotions and is very well done, I wouldn’t change anything about it.

Comparison of the two paintings:

The main differences of the paintings comes from the mediums and art styles. Both invoke an abundance of thought on the perspective. The first piece being a realism piece done about 50 years before the latter. The other one being a work of tempera on masonite in comparison to Homer’s watercolor. Woodruff’s painting holds a different use of color than Homer’s, He uses more vibrant colors throughout the piece and his space is much more crowded. It is easier to feel the calm surrounding Homer’s piece rather than Woodruff’s because of the amount of space used and the gradiance in the light. Overall, I appreciate both pieces and although they portray different messages, and take very different approaches, I enjoy analyzing both of them.

Works Cited

“Sergeant Carney and the Death of General Shaw - Hale Woodruff - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/sergeant-carney-and-the-death-of-general-shaw-hale-woodruff/SAG9gnXJ98uAEw.

Homer, Winslow. “After the Hurricane, Bahamas.” The Art Institute of Chicago, Prints and Drawings, 1 Jan. 1899, https://www.artic.edu/artworks/16776/after-the-hurricane-bahamas.

1 note · View note