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Being homeless is considered to be as being poor. The Structural-Functionalist’s perspective viewed that every aspect and institution in a society work as one to create a function; these institutions are said to be interconnected. With this in mind, it is also true to form an opinion that being homeless is a product of how our society is structured. Belcher and Deforge stated that “the structural view focuses on the society’s structure such as public policies and employment and housing markets, which set up conditions that are ripe for creating homelessness” (Belcher, J.R., & Deforge, B. R., 2012) . The institutions itself creates an avenue to have people struggling having a roof over their heads. When the economy produces a very …show more content…
stiff and high-pricing real estate market, a low-income individual will not have a chance to buy his/her own house or property and is stuck to rent. Even so, being a tenant is also subjected to the landlord’s rules because every year most of the landlords increases the price of rent. The increasing rate of unemployment also plays a role in this social problem that obviously puts a strain to an individual’s financial aspect. Another factor that contributes to this problem is the fact that the society limits people with disabilities, be it mentally or physically, to earn more. The employment market requires a high degree of education for an individual to prosper well and to have a chance to snug a high-paying career (Belcher, J.R., & Deforge, B. R., 2012). It is also argued that people becomes and remains homeless because the society deems it as acceptable and it promotes cohesion. The structural-functionalists believes that it is the individual’s fault and not the society’s therefore, creating a stigma towards the homeless people. With the heavy influence of media, homeless people are often depicted as lazy bums, addicts, and alcoholics, which results in creating a stereotype against them (Rayburn, R. L., & Guittar, N. A., 2013). As a consumer being exposed to all types of media all the time, the society is being fed with misconceptions about the real nature of the problem, and producing a negative notion about homelessness. Furthermore, discrimination and prejudice result from this social stigma, “which allows or enables society both to control people who are homeless and limit calls for broader reform” (p930). This gives the society the power to put the blame towards the people that are experiencing homelessness, instead of solving the problem and seeing it as a flaw in the structure of the society.
As a powerful institution in the society, the government attempts to draw away the attention of the public towards the negative characterization of homeless people rather than strengthening the services that caters to the poor. According to society, “their poverty is avoidable, and any structural explanation of homelessness and poverty is dismissed, despite the fact that they cannot find a job because of high national unemployment” ((Belcher, J.R., & Deforge, B. R., 2012, p933). People who are homeless do not choose to become the outsiders of the society; their outsider status happens because they become invaluable to the society’s consumerism. They no longer participate in consumer culture as they become inactive in the workforce and do not have the finances to function as a useful participant in the society . In Canada, homelessness has become a crisis and communities have struggled to respond as the result from the withdrawal of the federal government’s investment in affordable housing. It has been noted that the major factors that put homeless to the population is the combination of declining wages, reduced
benefit levels, and the shrinking supply of affordable housing. There are no adequate measures to support those people that are at high risk for becoming homeless despite the preventative programs like ‘rent banks’ and ‘energy banks’, that are designed to help people maintain their housing (The State of Homelessness in Canada 2014). In 2014, nearly 1 in 5 households experience extreme housing affordability problems, “meaning that they have low incomes and are spending more than 50% of their income on rent” (The State of Homelessness in Canada 2014).
Most of these stereotypes are bad perceptions of the homeless. One of the myths is that homeless people are taking advantage of the system (“Myths about the Homeless”). What most people do not realize is that only a small percentage of homeless people receive government aid; it is projected that 40% of homeless people are eligible for disability services, but only 11% take it or claim it(“Myths about the Homeless”). Another myth is that people may think that homeless people are different from them, and that they would never be homeless. The truth is that one simple disaster or unfortunate event could lead someone to homelessness (“Myths about the Homeless”). For example, someone could be very rich and a natural disaster, like a hurricane, could strike leaving them with nothing to their name and nowhere to turn to. One more major myth that people think about the homeless are that they are criminals when in fact, most of them are victims of crimes (“Myths about the Homeless”). John Hopkins University did a study about the homeless and crimes and found out that even though some did commit crimes, most were never against a person or property. People not knowing the true facts about homelessness should be educated about it because labeling them with a stereotype that is not accurate does hurt
The root cause of homelessness is largely be explained by economics: people who become homeless have insufficient financial resources to obtain or maintain housing. 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 would jeopardize housing stability and lead to an increased risk of homelessness.
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
“We have come dangerously close to accepting the homeless situation as a problem that we just can't solve.” - Linda Lingle. According to Linda Lingle homelessness is becoming an issue that has been a problem that is at this point unobtainable. The main causes of homelessness among Americans is the result of unemployment, low wages and unaffordable housing; the reality is that people are forced to survive in harsh environments and many are subject to alcohol and substance abuse.
McNamara, Robert Hartmann. "Homelessness." Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Social Issues. Ed. Michael Shally-Jensen. Vol. 3: Family and Society. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011. 1024-1031. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 May 2014. .
In “Brother, Don’t Spare a Dime,” L. Christopher Awalt says that homeless people are homeless on their own accord. He believes “many of them seem to have chosen the lifestyles they lead” (Awalt))).. This article states that most homeless people would prefer to escape responsibility rather than fix their social and economic problems. Awalt uses an example of a man who had been on the streets for about 10 years. He provided this man with resources to improve his life and within four months he was making progress. By the sixth month the man had checked himself out of the hospital and was back on the streets drunk again. Awalt does show a few people are the victims of tragic circumstances and will bounce back in a short period of time. Awalt believes homeless people have become dangerous to the public, and they do not deserve our money to help them out of their predicament. We do not agree with Awalt’s assumption that the majority of the homeless people in the United States are there because of their lack of responsibility. There are many causes of homelessness that cannot be avoided, and the majority of the people that become homeless will not be on the streets for long.
In order to be radical about poverty, we need to understand the difference between wealth and income. Income is a transfer of money by working or by gifts. On the other hand, wealth is more of a total of accumulated assets that has been stored for a period of time (Conley, pg. 253). Wealth is not distributed equally among the public. (NCH, 2016, http://nationalhomeless.org/about-homelessness/). Declining wages has also caused a lot of stress and increase people’s inability to pay for their housing or other needs. If there are affordable housing, it’s usually in an unsafe and polluted environment or it’s extremely overcrowded that people have a higher chance of being homeless or inadequate housing arrangements than getting their applications accepted (Why Are People Homeless Research, 2016, NCH). Also, privatizing housing will increase the accumulation of wealth of the power elite or those that own property and lands by their pricing in rents. Most people go through depression because of loss of home, jobs, or a sense of self. Often times, the lack education about health and they don’t receive adequate support for medical care if they are homelessness. Poverty is also treated as a criminal offence and if people were to ask for public assistance, they have to prove their eligibility. If they have a criminal record, they are
At any given time, approximately 600,000 homeless survive at the front door of America. They are sleeping in parks, living in cardboard boxes, sitting on street corners, and resting under bridges. Terrible hunger gnaws at their stomachs as they search for food. Society labels the homeless as useless and worthless, but they are not. They are children, grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers, and fathers that need a place to sleep, eat, and live. What does society do to help? Nothing. Society hurries home from work, shopping, and leisure, worrying about who will win the next football game. Society is not worried about where their next meal will come from, where they will sleep, or where they will be tomorrow. Although it is difficult for society not to feel discomfort at seeing homeless people, it is the homeless who pay for the way people feel about them. Alienation of the homeless in America is a direct result of injustice, health issues, and societal attitudes; however, solutions are available to society as they are obligated to all of their citizenry, including the homeless.
Throughout history there has always been a lower class society and some even lower than that which are known as the homeless. The homeless are people who don’t own homes or don’t live in their own home so they have to live in public places like shelters or even on the street. Homeless like to come out from the shadows and target the weak like a father with his daughter. They target specific groups so they know they can get money out of them easily instead of having to work for it. Homeless people are lazy to get jobs unless they are handed it so they would just sit down on their butts and do nothing until an opportunity comes to them. Homeless people are lazy and don’t want to work for themselves and have to get others to do their work for them because we think they are useless and therefore won’t do anything.
“Homeless is more than being without a home. It is tied into education needs, food, security; health issues both mental and physical, employment issues, etc. Don’t forget the whole picture.” (“Boxed In” 2005 pg. 108)
Introduction Researchers from the Parliament of Canada have proven that there are “as many as 300,000 homeless in Canada” . Homelessness is a major social issue which is present in society throughout most of the world; when it comes to Canada it is no exception. The homeless are known as people who do not have a home or a stable place of residence, they are seen as individuals who sleep in “shelters, public places, vehicles, abandoned building or someone else’s home” . In the past few years homelessness in Canada has become a growing social issue. Researchers say that there are approximately one hundred million homeless individuals who live in public areas, which means they are that one hundred million out one billion homeless individuals
This fed the narrative that even in the best economic conditions, that homelessness was the person’s choice rather than blame the overarching problem of general progress in
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).
The idea of homelessness is not an effortlessly characterized term. While the normal individual comprehends the essential thought of vagrancy, analysts in the sociological field have connected conflicting definitions to the idea of homelessness, justifiably so as the thought includes a measurement more exhaustive than a peculiar meaning of a single person without living arrangement. Homelessness embodies a continuum running from the nonappearance of a changeless safe house to poor living courses of action and lodging conditions. As per Wolch et al. (1988), homelessness is not an unexpected experience rather it is the zenith of a long procedure of investment hardship, disconnection, and social disengagement that has influenced a singular or family. Furthermore, states of vagrancy may come in fluctuating structures, for example, road habitation, makeshift home in safe houses, or help from administration associations, for example, soup kitchens and the Salvation Army. Homeless is characterized as those regularly poor and, once in a while, rationally sick individuals who are unable to uphold a spot to live and, subsequently, regularly may rest in boulevards, parks, and so forth (Kenyon 1991).
This great nation of awesome power and abundant resources is losing the battle against homelessness. The casualties can be seen on the street corners of every city in American holding an ?I will work for food? sign. Homeless shelters and rescue missions are at full capacity. There is no room at the inn for the nation?s indigent. Anyone who has studied this issue understands that homelessness is a complex problem. Communities continue to struggle with this socio-economic problem while attempting to understand its causes and implement solutions. The public and private sectors of this country are making a difference in the lives of the homeless by addressing the issues of housing, poverty and education.