Social change occurs through social movements, technological advancements, and environmental shifts that alter societal norms over months or years. Major social changes in US history include the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Civil Rights Movement, and Women's Rights Movement. These changes had lasting impacts and created new social norms.

1. Social Change
1
What is Social Change?
Social change is a considerable alteration in societal norms
through social movements, technological advancements, and
environmental shifts.
Examples of social changes throughout history include the
Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement,
the Women’s Rights Movement, and more.
Social change is a considerable alteration in the current societal
norms. These alterations do not happen overnight but rather
through months if not years of painstaking movements that span
the continent. Some social changes can even span generations
before fully coming into effect.
The U.S. has experienced many considerable social changes
throughout history, that have had lasting effects even today.
Some of these social changes include the Revolutionary War
and the separation from England, which brought about the
ability to create a whole new set of social norms. The Civil War
the abolishment of slavery, the practice of slavery in the U.S.
began in 1619 and lasted until 1863. The Civil Rights
Movement took place between the 1950s and the 1960s and was

2. a struggle for equality between blacks and whites, this
movement held countless marches and even ended the lives of
some memorable individuals. Finally, the Women’s Rights
Movement began in 1848 and lasted until 1920, this movement
brought about a significant change in the lives of women and
afforded them equal rights to their male counterparts. Many
more significant social changes took place throughout history,
and each one brought new social norms creating the society we
know today
2
What is a Community?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the legal
definition of a community is “the people who live in a particular
place or region and usually are linked by some common
interests.” (Merriam-Webster, 2019)
Communities can include our neighborhoods, groups we are
apart of, and our city as a whole.
The beauty of a community is that it can be anything and
everything. We can have communities built within communities,
and we can even be apart of numerous different communities at
the same time. A community can become apart of someone’s
identity. The Merriam-Webster dictionary provides the legal
definition of a community as “the people who live in a
particular place or region and usually are linked by some
common interests.” (Merriam-Webster, 2019) This means that
for people, our community can not only be the specific
neighborhood we live in, but also groups we are apart of and
even the city we live in as a whole. Communities are only as
restrictive as we make them.
3

3. Community Wide Social Problems
Community wide social problems can range from something
small such as overgrown landscapes that creates eyesores within
communities to graffiti in parks, destruction of community
property, property theft, parking violations, speeding, and
improper disposal of pet waste.
Every community has its own set of social problems, even the
communities that appear to have nothing to hide or improve
upon. Social problems that exist in a housing development may
not exist in an apartment complex and vice versa, just as
problems that may exist in an impoverished community may not
exist in a prosperous community and vice versa. Social
problems exist to provoke necessary social changes and to keep
society moving forward and not backward. Social problems
within a community can be something as trivial as overgrown
landscape that creates eyesores, to things more complex such as
graffiti in parks, destruction of community property, property
theft, parking violations, speeding, and improper disposal of pet
waste.
4
Social Problem Within My Community
The rate of homelessness has begun to rise in Arizona again.
The increase in homelessness has brought an increase in the
number of panhandlers.
Panhandlers create unsafe driving situations on the roads and at
intersections.
Figure 1. Number of People Experiencing Homelessness in
Arizona, by type, 2007-2018 (2019)

4. Arizona has begun to see to a rise in the homeless population,
and that rise is continuing into 2019.
With the increase in the number of homeless on the streets,
Arizona has also begun to see an increase in the number of
panhandlers on the streets. Panhandlers are not inherently bad
for the community. However, they can begin to pose safety risks
for themselves and those around them.
In my immediate city, the number of panhandlers has gotten so
high that the individuals can be seen getting into altercations
over street corners. They can also be seen dashing in between
cars at red lights to retrieve money being held out open
windows. In some instances, they will even begin knocking on
the windows of vehicles in the hopes of receiving money from
strangers. These individuals bring about an increased risk of
accidents happening as they typically appear to have no regard
for their safety or those around them.
5
Theoretical Perspective on Social Problem
What is the conflict theory?
“A theory that looks at society as a competition for limited
resources.” (Griffiths et al., 2017)
Under the premise that society is a competition for resources,
conflict theorists would view homelessness as an inevitable
outcome in society because of the separation of classes and the
inequal distribution of wealth between the classes.
The nature of homelessness fits into the conflict theory rather
well, as it creates a separation in classes on its own. Individuals
in a society are constantly fighting over jobs and financial

5. stability. There is a clear separation in terms of wealth, one of
the most valuable resources, between those that are homeless
and those that are not and the unequal distribution of wealth
among members of society.
6
Social Influences to Address the Problem
Potential
Solution
s
Law enforcement
Homeless programs
In order to solve to problem of homelessness and panhandling,
the problem first needs to be addressed.
Law enforcement tends to ignore the homeless population unless
they are breaking the law, and even then, they tend to ignore
those laws in Arizona. In 2017 Arizona made panhandling on
street corners illegal, yet the police do nothing to stop it, which
allows the safety risks to continue.

6. Arizona has very few shelters, and the ones that do exist are
continuously are on waiting lists or are for specific
demographics. Providing more resources to the homeless that
not only get them off the streets but also help to provide a
meaningful chance at changing their current path can help solve
the problem. Arizona seems to have the covers pulled over its
head to avoid addressing the growing issue of homelessness.
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Resources
Community | Definition Of Community By Merriam-Webster.
(2019). Retrieved from https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/community
Griffiths, H., Keirns, N., & Strayer, E., Cody-Rydzewski, S.,
Scaramuzzo, G., Sadler, T (2017). Introduction to Sociology
(2nd ed.). Retrieved from
https://phoenix.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781948847087/.
National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2019). Arizona.
Retrieved from https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-
america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness-
report/arizona/
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