Homelessness in The United States

883 Words2 Pages

Homelessness is a vast predicament in America and around the world. It is severely overlooked as people don’t really think of homelessness as real world problem. However, there have been ways that people have tried to fix the problem. They have come up with homeless shelters, emergency shelters, food banks and soup kitchens. These solutions have limitations though, which will hopefully come to an end.
While Soup Kitchens are a way to feed the poor or homeless, it not a program that effectively helps the homeless onto their feet, it simply keeps them fed. (www.merriam-webster.com) These do help the unsheltered homeless population though. While there are shelters, not everyone has access to them or some even chose not to go. In the city of Los Angeles, there are about 27,000 homeless people who are unsheltered, that’s 1 in 378. There are various factors that cause homelessness; these include a decline in public assistance, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, job loss, divorce, low wages, poverty, severe depression, physical disabilities or mental illnesses. From the year 2011 to 2012, the number of homeless people skyrocketed. In New York City alone, there are more homeless people in the year 2014 than there were in the recession of the 1980s. (www.studentsagainsthunger.org)
It is extremely difficult to keep track of all of the homeless individuals because there is a large proportion of them that live in vehicles abandoned houses or buildings, park areas. The number of homeless people varies throughout seasons as they seek shelter in warmer places.
Homeless Shelters are described as “temporary residences” to protect vulnerable populations. Homeless shelters basically supply a bed for the night and are also a first come...

... middle of paper ...

...b. 19 May 2014. .
"Emergency Shelter [HUD] Law & Legal Definition." Emergency Shelter [HUD] Law & Legal Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. .
"Overview of Homelessness In America." Homelessness In America. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014. .
"Solutions." Coalition for the Homeless. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014. .
"What is the official definition of homelessness?." National Health Care for the Homeless Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. .
"soup kitchen." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Memo

    1312 Words  | 3 Pages

    Homelessness is one of the biggest issues society (Unites States) faces today. Homelessness is caused by lack of affordable housing, economic situations and decline in federal funding for low income families and the mentally ill. A homeless person is defined as an individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family) including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private (shelters) facility that provides temporary living accommodations and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing. This definition of housing is used by the U.S Department of Healt...

    Read More

  • The Problem of Homelessness of Young People in Australia

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    This moves away from the ‘traditional’ definition of homelessness, which can be referred to as primary homelessness, or homeless without shelter. A broader definition is now considered, which also includes secondary homelessness, moving frequently between forms of temporary accommodation, and tertiary homeless ness, living long term in accommodation that falls below community standards for housing (Chamberlain & MacKenzie 2008). The inclusion of varying types of homelessness highlights the understanding of homelessness to be considered without a ‘home’, not just without a ‘roof’ (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011).

    Read More

  • The Trifecta: Homelessness, Mental Health, and Substance Use Disorders

    2511 Words  | 6 Pages

    Individuals often have their own perceptions and definitions of homelessness. These perceptions generally are over exaggerated. Over exaggerated definitions of what homelessness looks like can be explained by movies, TV shows, internet, and ev...

    Read More

  • A SOLUTION TO HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA

    1323 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Functional Analysis Of Homelessness In America

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many of the homeless population are not homeless by choice, many have lost the only job in the household, many are military veterans that have not assimilated back to civilian life, and some are homeless due to natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. It can happen to anyone of us. A hurricane, earthquake or wildfire that is out of control can destroy your home within minutes. We must never say never when it comes to the possibility of being homeless, especially when we consider the impact that natural disasters have. Worldwide natural disasters render middle class people near poverty and the poor, homeless.

    Read More

  • Chronic Homelessness in the United States: An Unaddressed Crisis

    1682 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Homeless Families in America

    3762 Words  | 8 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Satire Essay

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many other cases of why the homeless are homeless like domestic violence, mental illness, addictions, and unaffordable health care. Homelessness is a problem which has been caused by many different aspects but mainly money because of massive unemployment rates. A hidden aspect to homelessness that we may not think of is ...

    Read More

  • The Homeless in Canada

    2623 Words  | 6 Pages

    Homelessness has different meanings to different people; someone who has never been homeless might think homelessness is a person who lives on the street, in a tent or in a box. Many people don’t realize that there are a number of homeless people, who couch surf with friends, family or the ones who live in motels which are unaccountable in the numbers of homeless people. People including families with children, seniors, single parents, youths and those that are single are living in accommodations that are below standards and consider themselves as homeless.

    Read More

  • The Homeless in America

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many of the homeless are women that have become divorced or have left home because of physical abuse. These women have no education because they have not been given the chance to go and get the education that it takes nowadays to get the job, so they are forced to live on the streets. They have no family to help them, and they are left with no other choice. People with mental illnesses also become homeless quite often. These people are incapable of handling the stress of living on their own.

    Read More

  • Thesis Statement For Homeless Essay

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    People should take my argument seriously because it seems that homelessness is such a tough obstacle to escape, especially in today’s society. PURPOSE STATEMENT THESIS: Homelessness is impacted by over half a million people each year, making it an economic problem worldwide. We need more than just the government, economic persuasion, shelters to make a difference of the vulnerability

    Read More

  • Space And Culture Of Homelessness Essay

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    Homelessness is associated with a culture unique to individuals who have, unstable housing or no housing who live on the streets, public places, shelters, halfway homes or in their cars. Homelessness is defined statistically as a state of not having a place to stay (Ravenhill, 2016). The statistical definition of homelessness conflicts with the perception of homeless people because for some homeless individuals the concept of home refers to a refuge, safe place, relationship with other homeless individuals, a unique personal space or an emotional and psychological refuge (Ravenhill). Even though homeless individuals do not have a stable place to stay they may have a place they call home.

    Read More

  • Helping the Homeless

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hopper, Kim. “Housing the Homeless.” Social Policy 28.3 (1998): 64+. Academic OneFile. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

    Read More

  • Literature Review Homelessness

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    Homelessness is steadily becoming a crisis both here at home and in the world at large. It’s estimated that within well developed countries, homelessness is believed to have affected around 1% of city-centered populations. Homelessness doesn’t only affect the homeless themselves. The cost that this epidemic is putting on society is putting a large strain on judicial, social and healthcare resources. All this is further exacerbated by the fact that homeless populations are six to seven times more likely to suffer from alcoholic and drug addiction leading to even more strain on the healthcare system.

    Read More

  • Solutions To Homelessness

    1837 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.)

    Read More

More about Homelessness in The United States

Open Document