Like our first essay, my topic for this essay will be related to homelessness. I felt inspired by the sources I read when composing my first essay and wanted to do even more research. I especially want to find sources that include the voices of homeless people, with words directly from them. I follow some youtube accounts that interview homeless people. I also follow homeless people on TikTok who spread awareness about the conditions they live in and their experiences being homeless in general. I know of a couple Instagram accounts that document work done to aid the homeless. Specifically, I want to know how I can further make a difference so I can do my part as well as inform others on how they can do their part. I think it is our duty as humans to be there for one another and improve the quality of life for people who are struggling. I also wanted to familiarize myself with facts about homelessness. My first idea for a research question was: How can one help solve the issue of homelessness? However, I feel my first idea cannot be easily debated against. It could also be too broad. This led me to think of the research question: What NYC laws further criminalize or improve the lives of the homeless population? This question may be too specific, however it can be disapproved and requires research to be done. I also thought of the question: How does being homeless affect students in NYC public schools? I feel like I can look at how the NYC public school makes it easier for the lives of homeless youth and also how it can make it harder. I am not sure how many sources are out there for this topic though. As of right now, I am leaning towards the questions of how can one help solve the issue of homelessness and how does homelessness affect the lives of students. I hope to get some help in figuring out which is better to use.

EDIT: While reading through other student’s topic reflections, I started to find interest in the topic of  the prison system. How does the prison system work? Does the prison system help or harm our society? Who does the prison system help or harm? Should prisons be more rehabilitating rather than punitive? I will probably stick with the topics I thought of above, however I hope I will get the chance to research this topic in a future essay for this class.