The most common argument for not battling homelessness is the cost. Some opponents argue that battling homelessness would cost too much resources. They think that homeless people would siphon all funds in the government, but they fail to realize that helping the homeless is an investment. The government will end up saving money in the long run. It costs more to maintain homelessness in the long run. And also the former homeless person would be reinstituted into the community as a worker. “According to a University of Texas two-year survey of homeless individuals, each person cost the taxpayers $14,480 per year, primarily for overnight jail. A typical cost of a prison bed in a state or federal prison is $20,000 per year.” (endhomelessness.com). …show more content…
All the residents at this Housing First-styled residence had severe alcohol problems and varying medical and mental health conditions. When taking into account all costs – including housing costs – the participants in the 1811 Eastlake program cost $2,449 less per person per month than those who were in conventional city shelters, as described in the article from the Journal of American Medical Association.” (endhomelessness.com). “The study, conducted by the university’s Department of Social Work, found Moore Place saved $1.8 million in its first year by drastically reducing the amount of time its tenants spent in emergency rooms (447 fewer visits) and admitted to hospitals (372 fewer days). Statistics show tenants also stayed out of trouble more, with a 78 percent drop in arrests and 84 percent fewer days spent in jail.”(dailykos.com). There is actual evidence of battling homelessness and saving money. But government officials are afraid of losing money. They are timid about this proven plan and they do not think it is worth it to make this
The homeless have the ability to make the non-homeless feel threatened and unsafe (Marin.) “They are homeless, are strangers, alien and therefore a threat (Marin.)” The threat and danger that homeless pose to American society could easily be eradicated by shipping all of them to other countries. We would then no longer have to deal with them on a day to day basis.
Homelessness in America has always been an issue. There have been plans to help solve this issue in San Antonio, Texas, but it does cost local taxpayers millions. It is a tricky situation to solve because some people are innocent and have no other solution to help solve their necessitous situation. Although many people who are impoverished may not be bad, we should eradicate the chronically homeless because many of them are without a roof for their decisions or blameful addictions they can not control and is costing San Antonio’s taxpayers millions.
Homelessness in the United States has been an important subject that the government needs to turn its attention to. There has been announced in the news that the number of the homeless people in many major cities in the United States has been increasing enormously. According to United States Interagency Council on Homelessness reported that there was an estimation of 83,170 individuals have experienced chronic homelessness on the streets of the United States’ streets and shelters on only a single night of January 2015, which is a small decrease of only 1% from the previous year (People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness, n.d.). The United States must consider this subject that most of the people underestimate it and not pay attention
Homelessness….. Many assume those who are homeless took part in some type of drug or alcohol abuse which lead them to become homeless. It is an ongoing situation that has not been fully resolved in order to lower the risk of individuals of the youth population becoming homeless. The age group for homeless individuals who qualify as youth is nineteen years of age and under. In the United States, dysfunctional families are occurring more frequent, which is a vital reason adolescents are running away from their homes. This alone puts many of our youth at risk of becoming homeless. When adolescents leave their homes, it decreases their chances of having a smooth transition into adulthood. Some adolescents may leave their home because
Numerous of people believe only certain races are homeless, but it is certainly not true. Compared to seventy six of the general population, thirty nine percent of Non-Hispanic white individuals are homeless. Compared to eleven percent of the general population, forty two percent of African-Americans are homeless. Compared to nine percent of the general population, thirteen percent of Hispanics are homeless. Compared to one percent of the general population, four percent of the homeless are Native-American. Two percent of homeless were Asians (“facts”). Family rejection of sexual orientation and identity was the most frequently cited factor of the LGBT homelessness. Fifty percent of young people that are homeless say parents notified them to leave or knew they were leaving and did not care (“Eleven facts about homeless”). The Williams Institute, said “forty percent of the homeless youth served by agencies identifies as LGBT. Forty
The city in discussion is New Haven, CT, where there are a number of people identify themselves as being homeless, residing in the streets. In the meantime, the number of homeless people continues to rise. A homeless person is an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-permanent situation. According to Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, a count conducted in 2016 for the state of Connecticut counted, 3,911 people were in a homeless shelter or transitional housing on the night of the count. It represented an overall decrease of four percent statewide from the following year, however, there are a still a
When people see a homeless person they probably try to walk the other way to avoid being asked for money. Many people don't think about the homeless; they just think about how to avoid them. People think "that doesn't affect me," but it does. Homelessness affects more than just the people suffering from it. Not many people know how much money they are actually giving to homeless shelters. Helping the homeless is a big deal and should be dealt with, but not with the way the government is handling it. The government throws an enormous amount of money around and builds a few rickety buildings and thinks this solves the problem, but it doesn't. Putting money into something that doesn't work is no way to solve a problem. There is approximately 3.5 million homeless people in the US ("Overview of Homelessness"). Americans are responsible for all of these people whether they know it or not ("Homeless Stats"). The government should be spending money to help the homeless become productive citizens, instead of on shelters that serve only as a temporary, ineffective fix.
Laws that make the lives of the homeless more difficult are meant to decrease the amount of homeless people however they are counterproductive. Many of the cities enforcing these laws don’t have enough affordable housing available for the homeless. Also fines and criminal charges only make the lives of the homeless more challenging when applying for housing. Not to mention one night in jail costs on average three times as much as one night in a shelter. “The US Interagency Council on Homelessness has strongly advised local governments not to enact laws criminalizing homelessness as it fails to increase access to services and tends to create additional barriers for homeless people while also undermining the impact of service providers Building a Movement to End Homelessness).” Criminalization of the homeless sends the message to the public that homeless people are criminals and should not be helped. What needs to be understood is that
Homeless individuals are known for taking hand outs and they prefer to plead for money rather than to go work for it. People assume most of the the money that is given to homeless people they spend it on drugs and alcohol because of the fact that many homeless people have drug and alcohol addictions. It is not uncommon to come across homeless youth and older homeless population that are known to abuse substances like drugs and alcohol. Because of the fact that homeless people have substance abuse problems, they tend face illnesses and infections. Many hard working Americans ask themselves “why don’t homeless people just get jobs?” The assumption is they are just lazy and unmotivated. Homeless people choose to live the life they live. Everyone goes through problems but not all people take the path homeless people do. The problems homeless people face is not an excuse for them to be helped and maintained by other hard working people. Although homelessness might be a choice to some, no one knows the hardships these people have gone through. Some assume these people are just lazy but in reality a lot of these homeless people have jobs of their own, they just can’t afford housing and a decent life. Everyone has their own opinion on homeless people, but that does not change the fact that one should still serve the homeless. Not because homeless people need help but because we are
Water, food, shelter, sanitation are basic human needs that many people in the United States are not fortunate to have. In Gary Beck’s article “Not Your Everyday Homeless Proposal," he proposes that homelessness should be the highest priority but, it is improbable that there will be additional funds to alleviate the resurgent homeless situation therefore cities cannot afford to build a sufficiency of low-income housing and other options should be explored. Beck provides evidence to support his claim with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration homeless shelter report, “Bloomberg administration continues to house the homeless in tawdry hotels and motels at the cost of $3,500.00 to $4,500.00 per month, for rooms that most people would deem uninhabitable”
...is to understand the factors that lead people into homelessness, that keep them homeless, and how they can recover from homelessness. Advocates for the homeless have proposed policies range from taking preventative measures, such as making housing and health care affordable, to policies that deal with individuals that are already homeless, such as rapid rehousing and redefining what it means to be homeless. Although many of the experts disagree on how the homeless epidemic should be handled, many acknowledge that the federal government plays an inexpendable role in helping the homeless. Homelessness is, obviously, a complex issue, but like all difficult issues it must be undertaken. It has become clear that homelessness is not something that will eradicate itself given time, homelessness will continue to grow and evolve unless an outside force stops it in its tracks.
There are countless laws today that subliminally discriminate against homeless people. One such law was passed in 2014 that made it illegal to sleep in public areas of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Philosopher Jeremy Waldron and author of the essay “Homelessness and the Issue of Freedom” would view this law as extremely unconstitutional and immoral. Waldron would argue that making it illegal to sleep somewhere takes away the homeless persons freedom to live. I agree with Waldron on the claim that outlawing sleeping in public spaces is unconstitutional because by doing so one is taking away the homeless persons only home. For those who do not have a place to sleep the streets are their only homes. The law banning sleeping in public spaces therefore discretely makes it illegal for homeless people to even exist.
Homelessness is a subject that has inspired many to write poems, speeches, and even songs. However, there is more depth to homelessness than just a source for inspiration; this is an ongoing problem for many all over the world. The 40th president to the United States, Ronald Reagan, once said that "what we have found in this country, and maybe we're more aware of it now, is one problem that we've had, even in the best of times, and that is the people who are sleeping on the grates, the homeless, you might say, by choice."(Reagan). The president's expression is very powerful even today, implying that even in the best of times homelessness is one of the top issues in society. Notice how President Regan cleverly used the wording "by choice" at the end of the sentence, what did he mean to convey by this? Was he implying that those who are homeless are so by choice? Or that many individuals perceived homelessness to be a choice? Perhaps it was a way to raise awareness of the impending problems that can lead an individual to homelessness. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the National Coalition for the Homeless, there are three triggering factors that lead to homelessness, lack of affordable housing, unemployment, and health care ("Why Are People Homeless?"). Therefore, when exploring into more depth the determining reasons, considering the key roles that a home, money, and employment play in an individual’s life will facilitate a better understanding of the downward spiral towards homelessness.
Homelessness is an issue that affects not only the U.S but worldwide as well. There are millions of people who don 't have a home, a place to sleep or even stay. It 's heartbreaking to know this because many of us do have homes, and we don 't have to worry about whether or not we 'll get a spot in a shelter, or what to eat, so we don 't know how these victims really feel. Not all drugs addicts are homeless; this is a stereotype that has been formed in our society. Many people have simply lost their homes or families and they turn out to be homeless in the end. Some of them are even young students. Homelessness does not discriminate; it affects all ages, races, and financial stratas.
Although homelessness is widespread and almost next to the catastrophic global hunger problems, it can be brought under control and its effect reduced to a greater percentage. By simply tracking the root causes of low wages and the lack of affordable housing as well as improving other support systems like housing vouchers and health care, homelessness can be solved.