Major Social Issues In the United States that Everyone Should Be Aware Of

There are a number of social issues plaguing the United States, and after having completed a year of service with AmeriCorps, I feel that I have been able to truly empathize with the plight of people in the communities where I have served. It's easy for us, as a society, to turn a blind eye to societal issues. I feel it is in our best interest to take notice and devise solutions to our nation's most prevalent problems. In my experience, homelessness, education, and a perpetually changing racial climate are the most pressing issues of our time.

I grew up in the south, and the thought of homelessness never crossed my mind. I'd see a "bum" every now and then, but any service geared toward that demographic just never happened. I never questioned it, and that's part of my own ignorance (yes, even as a young child), but as I grew older, I became more aware of my surroundings and began to question the status quo.

When I attended the University of Tennessee, I joined a program geared toward service-related initiatives. One of them was homelessness, but I didn't feel that I could do anything to help the cause. When I moved to DC and served with City Year, I saw the rate of homelessness had increased at an exponential rate. Try as I might, I tried to overlook the problem, but alas, it was everywhere you looked! Homelessness may not be an issue in some parts of the U.S., but it's an problem that deserves a collective effort to create a viable solution. Take a trip to DC, and you'll see what I'm talking about. I fear that people in other areas in the U.S. feel that because they don't see it, they think it doesn't exist, or... if they know it exists, they think their efforts have proven to be somewhat of panacea and "it" has been eradicated. More needs to be done to bring this issue to light.

Education, one of the issues that I don't think should be an issue, is actually much worse than I thought. Once again, I grew up in an area with great schools. I received an excellent education, and while I heard about the problems in D.C., I didn't realize how bad it really was. Let's look beyond the curriculum and look at something that most may not consider... the physical structure/condition of DC public schools... oftentimes, lead paint is peeling off of the walls, tiles are falling from the ceilings, and some of the gymnasiums I've seen can't be used!

Why?

The cost of maintenance is too high for the upkeep of the once beautiful wooden floors. They are now a danger for children (and adults) because they have begun to buckle from the water damage rendering them "off limits" for the also non-existant P.E. classes. I'm sure we've all taken P.E. for granted and dreaded having to dress out for gym class, but imagine a school where you didn't have P.E. The children who need to have fun the most aren't allowed to play together and learn the benefits of exercise. It's a real shame.

Finally, the racial climate *everywhere* is a problem. People always ask me what it was like growing up in the south. I don't have any truly awful memories from growing up. If the south can have a "progressive" city (not counting Atlanta), then I lived in it. I had an open-minded group of friends, and I consider myself to be extremely lucky. We need to realize that children, young adults, and even grown adults are dealing with racial tension everyday. I'm not saying that I am an advocate for affirmative action, but I am saying something needs to be done. Whether it be in the form of diversity training or another means to assuage the hatred amongst each other.

We've only got one world, and it's up to us to be held accountable for each other.