My Dream by Kai

My Dream by Kai - May 2025 Scholarship Essay

One of my most perpetual grievances with the world today is the occurrence and stigmatization of homelessness. Whenever I see a homeless person in public I always experience a sudden feeling of pity, compassion and anger all at the same time. It’s such a strange mix of emotions because on the one hand I feel terrible for people who have to live like this and want to help somehow but at the same time I feel angry because I don’t understand why some people have to live on the streets. It always throws me off a little bit and I can’t shake the thought of who I saw for a while. I’ve struggled with these emotions all my life but I think as I’ve matured I’ve been able to accept and understand how homelessness happens more. I will always remember the one time I tried to actually help a homeless person. It was late at night and I was biking home past my local grocery store and there was a person wrapped in a blanket, and lying on a curb. I was very hungry and excited to eat one of my mom’s home cooked meals and so the guilt I felt in the moment while I biked past this man was the most immense guilt I've ever felt. I ended up giving in and stopped at a Mexican restaurant where I bought a burrito and a big water cup. I biked back and seeing as the man was still laying down, I just placed the bag and cup next to him and biked away. I never talked to him or saw his face, but I like to imagine that he opened the bag and was just simply relieved to have a free meal.
It seems like the current mentality of American society tends to place more importance on personal success, whether that be through becoming wealthy or powerful. This model leads to great innovations in tech, science, the arts, and the expansion of industry. Despite all of the benefits, I think there are some major flaws that cause disadvantaged or less fortunate people to fall through the cracks who are cast aside and forgotten- just like homeless people. Additionally, there has been a stigmatization of people like this, where it seems like people don’t regard homeless people or otherwise not “normal” people as not a part of society. Because of all of this, if I had unlimited time and money, I would construct hundreds of thousands of “Holistic Humanitarian Care Centers” all across the United States to combat these flaws in the American system to ensure that everyone can live a good life.
“Holistic Humanitarian Care Centers” is just a name I came up with for this essay, but I’ve been thinking about how these kinds of problems can be remedied for a long time now. My care centers would aim to provide holistic support for people experiencing personal and social issues mainly based around homelessness but also for issues that may be a cause or effect of homelessness like poverty, domestic violence, substance abuses, food insecurity, social injustice, lack of healthcare, economic inequality, and mental health. My interest in such a program was sparked by some recent events in my home town where measures meant to remedy homelessness have been delayed time and time again by the city council, and there really isn’t anything in place to help homeless people besides policing efforts. The amount of homeless people has also been increasing with increased housing costs in my area. My dream is to make a physical location where people that need help can go to receive any kind of care they need. My care centers would have expansive soup kitchens with free or very cheap meals, supply closets, and free temporary housing for people directly affected by homelessness. In addition to all of this, I would have the best drug/substance abuse therapists, mental health therapists, life/career readiness classes, basic educational services, and real estate agents that would assist people in getting rehoused. All of this would allow people to rebuild themselves and prepare to be a functioning member of society again. I really do believe that a holistic approach to this kind of issue is the best way to approach it because it creates a place and community for anyone that is struggling with anything to get back on their feet again. However, having all of these services for free and at one central location is obviously very unrealistic and would take a huge amount of funding and organization, which is something that most cities/states are not willing to take on. Therefore, if I had unlimited time and money, the first thing I would do is create these centers all across the US as well as across the globe to help people. Then again, it is just a dream, but I will still strive to help my fellow humans as much as I can.