To Inform the Audience About the Homeless Culture Through 4 Main Points

Amy Petris

Angela Weng

Communication 103

Informative Outline

March 1, 2017

General Purpose: To inform the audience about the homeless culture through 4 main points

1. Introduction

1. Attention Gainer

I want you guys to imagine a homeless person, Are they sitting in the corner of the streets begging for food or money? Or is a mother trying to take care of her children? Or a child wandering the streets with their sibling? What is homelessness?

1. Reason to Listen

There is a steady increase in poverty and it is important to understand and be aware of other cultures. In a recent study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, approximately 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year.  This translates to approximately 1% of the U.S. population experiencing homelessness each year, 38% to 39% of them being children. (How Many People Experience Homelessness, 2009, par. 11)

1. Speaker Credibility

We are qualified to talk about homeless culture because we have done a significant about of research to broaden our knowledge and invested time in community service to help those without shelter.

1. Thesis Statement

Today we will be discussing the unique aspects that contribute to the overall lifestyle of those in the homeless culture. Homeless culture is a often misunderstood by those outside of the culture.  

1. Preview Main Points

Causes of homelessness, personal experience, values and demographics are some of the misunderstood conceptions regarding the homeless.  

1. Body

1. Main Point # 1 (Amy Petris)

Homeless individuals do not generally have a strong family support system and family conflict is often associated with the cause of homelessness in adolescents.    However, homeless families make up about 34% of the homeless population. (Family Homelessness Facts, para 1)

1. (Sub-Point # 1)

Family conflict, leaving foster care, running away or being thrown away, physical or sexual abuse, and coming out to parents as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or questioning one's sexual identity have been identified as risk factors for homeless adolescents.  For many homeless teens, living on the streets is a logical and rational alternative to living in an unstable, and even dangerous, home environment.  Once out of the unhealthy environment, adolescents are able to focus on themselves and their future while bettering their lives.  (Oliviera, 2009, par. 1 )