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Main causes of homelessness
What could be done to stop homelessness
What could be done to stop homelessness
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There are many possible causes of homelessness, but this research will focus on the two main reasons, insufficient economic resources and affordable housing. Homelessness is primarily a poverty issue. People who become homeless have insufficient financial resources to obtain or maintain a living and a housing. This includes being unemployed, as well as being underemployed and being dependent on government benefits which does not cover the cost of basic living expenses. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) shows that 75% of households at or below the poverty line are severely housing cost burdened. Unexpected financial crises threatens housing stability and can lead to an increased risk of homelessness. Poverty remains to be a significant feature of life in the United States and throughout the whole world. In the United States, the Census Bureau statistics revealed that the percentage of Americans below the poverty line in 1959 was 22.4 percent and 11.7 percent by 1973 (drop of 11.7 percent). In 2006, the official poverty rate was 12.3 percent (increase of 1.2 percent). Still the question remains, what is poverty and how do you measure it? Why does the wealthiest country in the world have many who are living in poverty? The book, Poverty in America: a Handbook by John Iceland is a very informative book in regards to these issues. The book covers the topic of the definition of what poverty is and how it is measured. It also provides information on the history of poverty in the United States and how it was viewed then and how it is viewed now, what the characteristics of the poverty population is, the causes of poverty and why poverty rate is still high. In the end he examines po... ... middle of paper ... ...2011) Current Statistics on the Prevalence and Characteristics of People Experiencing Homelessness in the United States. SAMHSA. Retrieved April 2, 2012, from http://homeless.samhsa.gov/ResourceFiles/hrc_factsheet.pdf The City of New York Office of the Mayor, April 2014. "The CEO Poverty Measure, 2005 - 2012: An Annual Report from the Office of the Mayor." NYC Office of the Mayor. Web. 20 June 2014. The Human Rights Project. (2007). Race Realities in New York City. Urban Justice Center. Retrieved May 20, 2012, from www.urbanjustice.org/pdf/ U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2010). The 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, (6th report). Retrieved from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development website: https://www.onecpd.info/resources/documents/2010homelessassessmentreport.pdf
As per the State Housing Authority, the issue and trend of homelessness has changed particularly throughout the most recent three decades. Public homelessness first turned into an issue in the 1970's and now it is normal to see individuals congregating before sanctuaries and thinking about park seats. Soup kitchens are generally stuffed to limit. Safe houses have multiplied their ability since 1993 and they dismiss individuals consistently because of absence of cots (Kenyon 1991). During 1987, Congress passed the Stewart B. Mckinney Homeless Ass...
Tunstall, L. (2009). Homelessness: an overview. EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. Retrieved February 5, 2011, from http://web.ebscohost.com/pov/detail?hid=119&sid=d5f751fa-0d0d-4ed1-8deb-483e701af50c%40sessionmgr111&vid=3&bdata=Jmxhbmc9ZW4tY2Emc2l0ZT1wb3YtY2Fu#db=p3h&AN=28674966
Although most people know what homelessness is and it occurs in most societies, it is important to define because the forces of displacement vary greatly, along with the arrangement and meaning of the resulting transient state. The Stewart B McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 defined a homeless person as “an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence or a person who resides in a shelter, welfare hotel, transitional program or place not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation, such as streets, cars, movie theaters, abandoned buildings, etc.” Resent surveys conducted in the U.S. have confirmed that the homeless population in America is extremely diverse and includes representatives from all segments of society, including: the old and young, men and women, single people and families, city dwellers and rural residents, whites and people of color, employed and unemployed, able workers and people with serious health problems. The diversity among people that are homeless reflects how difficult it is to generalize the causes of homelessness and the needs of homeless people. Robert Rosenheck M.D., the author of Special Populations of Homeless Americans, explains the importance of studying homelessness based on subgroups, “each subgroup [of homeless people] has unique service needs and identifying these needs is critical for program planning and design.” Despite these diversities, homelessness is a devastating situation for all that experience it. Not only have homeless people lost their dwelling, but they have also lost their safety, privacy, control, and domestic comfort.
"Overview of Homelessness In America." Homelessness In America. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. .
Many believe that a common thread among the homeless is a lack of permanent and stable housing. But beyond that, the factors leading to homelessness and the services that are needed are unique according to the individual. To put them into one general category ? the homeless- suggests that people are homeless for similar reasons and therefore a single solution is the answer. Every homeless person shares the basic needs of affordable housing, adequate incomes and attainable healthcare. But a wide range of other unmet needs cause some people to become or remain homeless which include drug treatment, employment training, transportation, childcare and mental health services (Center 8.)
New York has the 25th highest poverty rate in the United States. According to the Ameri...
Many people debate on weather homeless people should receive guidance or just be abandoned. Do homeless people deserve our service and to be supported, or are they just lazy individuals trying to take advantage of people? Homelessness is a growing dispute in cities. It has became an extensive problem for the community. Homelessness can not and should not be ignored. The number of homeless people in the United States is quickly growing. It seems like no one cares to help them. Even our heroes like police officers show no sympathy towards the homeless. “Homeless people appeared on the streets of Bucharest in 1990. Since then, their number and the problems created by this phenomenon have steadily increased in all major
With nearly 3.18 million people in the United States, there are 610.042 individuals who are homeless which calculates to about nearly one in five individuals (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014 and HUD/US, 2013). At any time situations can change that can render an individual’s homeless. There are no qualities that exempt individuals from the chances of becoming homeless. However, there are certain predispositions and characteristics that can predict the likelihood of becoming homeless. Homelessness can be contributed to a number of situations such as occupational stress, financial stress, mental health issues, substance use, gender, age, race, disabilities, incarceration, chronic illness, and family stress.
The economic component of the homelessness situation can be broken down into two interrelated parts: housing affordability and a low income rate. The economic recession that followed the financial crisis of 2007 left many individuals unemployed during a time that saw a spike in the price of housing. So not only did the cost of living increase, the rate of income also decreased accordingly. Unsurprisingly, during these same years homelessness rose from 24.2 percent in 2007 to 29.4 percent in 2009 (citation).
National Coalition for the Homeless. (2006). NCH Mental Illness and Homelessness. Retrieved from NCH: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/Mental_Illness.pdf
Instead, they exacerbate the problem,” which is exactly true. One of the main reasons for homelessness is an economic crisis. During the recession of 2008 many cities saw an increase in the number of homeless individuals, with over 300,000 people being evicted (City Mayors). According to City Mayors, during the recession, of twenty-five cities being studied, nineteen of them had a rise in the numbers of homeless. The issue with sudden increases is that the cities have no way to handle the new influx of people. In 2011, the poverty rate for the United State was at 15%, meaning there were over 46 million people in poverty (National Homeless). While being in poverty does not mean that the person is going to become homeless, it greatly increases the chances of becoming homeless in the future, because any unexpected incident could push them over the edge. When people get pushed to this extreme, housing costs are often the first major things to be cut out of the budget, forcing an even greater number out onto the
Homelessness has become an epidemic across the nation. The frequency of the amount of people who are unemployed and the failing economic system has effected a significant amount of people who are homeless. The number of people who become homeless have tripled in number all across the United States. Some issues that have led to the rising percentage of people who are homeless are poverty and unaffordable housing, the decrease in job opportunity, social and economic factors, and various changes in individual living conditions. Homelessness had reached its peak when it is discover that over 3.5 million people become homeless each year in America. Out of that 3.5 million of people include single adults who suffer from substance abuse as well as
Homelessness in the United States is as a revolving-door crisis. Person a can have a place to stay one night, and the next have nowhere at all. Homelessness is when one cannot afford for a place to live, or their current home is unsafe or unstable. One is homeless if he or she spends a night in a shelter or possibly on the streets. Many other definitions of homelessness exists, however, the main idea is that homelessness is a condition not a status. Women and children make up a big chunk of the homeless community. Education for homeless children is a struggle, and many agree that the Federal government should invest more towards reducing homelessness. Poverty and homelessness has always existed in the United States but by the turn of the twentieth century, approximately 40 percent of Americans were homeless in the year 1900.(Patterson,13) In the United States there are many factors to becoming homeless, but in America you are forced to become homeless.
There has been a significant increase in homelessness in United States where it is approximated that currently there are over 750,000 men and women who are homeless. In US homelessness is mainly caused by the in ability of people to pay for their housing. This condition is believed to affect people of all ages, races and ethnicity. This essay analysis some of the major causes of homelessness as well its effect. In addition, the essay will also suggest some of the possible measure that can be implemented to help deal with this social problem. However this essay presents a strong argument that the US government should commit efforts toward eradicating this social problem.
“In 2014, 1.49 million people used various types of homeless shelters and 578,424 were recorded as being without shelter: sleeping on the