ALIEN FACE

Understanding the illusion of Support

Across the main streets of every major city, people struggle to survive, even as many believe a robust safety net exists to support low-income and homeless individuals. On paper, several programs are meant to help:

• Food stamps
• Food pantries
• Planned Parenthood and family services
• Free clothing programs
• Affordable housing (Section 8 and HUD)
• Shelters for men, women, domestic violence survivors, and families with children
• Housing assistance for utilities, security deposits, and emergency needs

Yet despite these programs, millions of low-income and homeless Americans remain trapped within the very system meant to help them—drawn toward centralized resources in the heart of major cities, seeking survival through programs built to manage crises rather than resolve them. In many ways, the government system doesn't allow people to survive independently; instead, it requires them to pay for nearly everything just to live. Even attempting to sleep somewhere safe—a sidewalk, a park—can lead to arrest for trespassing, despite posing no threat to anyone. And once someone has a record for something as minor as sleeping in the wrong place, that same system often denies them the job opportunities they need to escape homelessness in the first place.

A Biblical Reflection

This contradiction calls to mind a moment from Scripture: as Passover approached, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and found merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves, while money changers exchanged coins at their tables. In response, Jesus overturned their tables, scattering the coins, and declared that this earthly space was not meant to be a marketplace for profit. In many ways, we remain caught in that same struggle today—compelled to chase money and compete with one another just to survive, often at the expense of our own sense of identity and peace.

A Brief History

Christianity itself began in Judea, spreading through Greece, Rome, and eventually much of the world, growing steadily over centuries. But as Judea introduced coinage, the emphasis on trade and communal sharing gradually gave way to a culture built around currency—one where people were increasingly required to work for money rather than exchange goods and support directly. This shift toward financial dependency deepened over generations, long before more recent innovations—like the invention of television in 1931, first broadcast in black and white—reshaped culture even further.

Television, and later networks like PRISM (Philadelphia Regional In-home Sports and Movies), transformed the arts and public imagination, spreading thousands of cultural expressions and languages faster than ever before. It became one of society's first major sources of external validation and identity—long before smartphones took on that role. In the process, many people began losing touch with their own sense of self, chasing external ideals instead. This shift also reshaped the broader system, reinforcing a culture centered on chasing money, one that leaves many people behind—stuck on the streets with little support, even from institutions like churches that might otherwise stand behind them. Television puppeting to believe in what it be told, and leads us fall into the hole to climb up for the light all over again. Do you feel that the television had deprivation your life? Well, we serviced everything for The Eye.

EVERYBODY BORN ON THE DIFFERENT ROAD

There are many reasons someone becomes homeless, and none of them erase their humanity. We were all born as small, vulnerable infants—none of us asked for the hardships, losses, or disasters that life can bring. Circumstances shift quickly: someone celebrated for a victory one day might be struggling to survive the next. People experiencing homelessness are not defined by stereotypes—they are our neighbors and fellow citizens, and their circumstances are often far more complex than they appear from the outside.

Consider: a wealthy person could become homeless overnight, and within a day, others might assume drug or alcohol use rather than consider the real cause. A healthy person might end up sleeping on a bench simply because they couldn't get back home after a personal conflict. We rarely know the real stories behind the faces we pass by.

And then there's the issue of sex trafficking—a reality often ignored or misjudged. A woman struggling and asking for help on the street might be quickly dismissed or labeled "crazy," even by those who attend church each week, who just walk by toss 25 cents and keep the rest in pocket to big money to throw on Black Friday. These snap judgments overlook the deeper struggles people may be facing, often in situations far beyond their control.