Family tragedy in October 1929

After the stock market crash in October 1929 many Americans lost their jobs and their money. As a result of this family tragedy, many teenagers, moved away in search for jobs to help recover some of the money lost by the layoffs and by the stock market crash. Many Americans were homeless during the Great Depression.

President Hoover made the homeless situation worse with his lack of aide from the United States government. “Hoover believed aid programs would make people weak and dependent on the government” (Robinson 2019).

The Great Depression was a time period in the United States where many Americans lost their homes and had to rebuild their lives. The loss of finances from jobs closing and industries shutting down affect many people’s daily lives. Homelessness occurred during the Great Depression. President Herbert Hoover tried to help the homeless epidemic. “He urged cities and local agencies like churches to care for the poor in their areas” (Robinson 2019).

The issue of homelessness was affecting people in all towns and help was needed.

Churches did what they could but that was not enough. “Hoover believed aid programs would make people weak and dependent on the government” (Editors 2010). President Hoover made the decision to not grant aide to the American people without homes, he was afraid they would become dependant on the money and not find work on their own. Camps were formed in every major cities to help provide shelter to the homeless and they named themselves Hooverville after the president that would not help them.

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“Riding the rails was dangerous. The bulls were hired to keep hoboes off trains, so you could not just go to a railroad yard and climb on. Most hoboes would hide along the tracks outside the yard.

They would run along the train as it gained speed, grab hold and jump into open boxcars. Sometimes, they missed. Many lost their legs or their lives. As the train was reaching its destination, the hoboes had to jump off before a new set of bulls to arrest them or beat them up” (Helen Bolton on Moving to California 2019). Homeless teens rode the rails to get from one place to another. They risked their lives to go to food jungles to get food that was shared by the homeless community. They “constructed of cardboard, tar paper, glass, lumber, tin and whatever other materials people could salvage” (Editors 2010). Despite the lack of support of President Hoover the homeless population survived during this difficult time in American history.

Homelessness was at its worst during the Great Depression. The Government did not assist enough to help the people most affected. Homeless still occurs today; however, there is more government assistant than there was in the nation’s darkest years. President Hoover was not an advocate, his administration caused further damage. Presdident’s since Hoover put this issue as more of a prioty addressed