Poverty has been a serious national epidemic since the United States’ founding. No matter how the country is faring economically and politically, there will always be the element of poverty that is ever-present in our society. Homelessness is a key element and a major result of poverty, it is a cog of poverty that has high awareness and is easily identifiable due to the visible stigma associated with those that are homeless. Although homelessness is a widely-known aspect of poverty, especially in more populated cities, a majority of the public turn a blind eye to it and ultimately neglect this major problem with the thought that it cannot be solved. The government has tried to get a grasp on the issue but has fallen short with its impractical …show more content…
It is also estimated by the HUD that about 1.6 million people use a homeless shelter in a given year (Katel, 2014). The strategy for counting the homeless inside and outside of shelters is also very flawed and inaccurate, the HUD does an annual count of the homeless in one night, obviously, this makes it incredibly hard to get within the realm of accuracy. According to the HUD, people that are “living in dwellings unfit for human habitation, in emergency shelters or in temporary housing; leaving such a place; facing loss of their housing within fourteen days; living in families with children or unaccompanied youths who haven’t had a lease in the past 60 days and have moved two or more times during that period; those fleeing domestic violence” are people that qualify as homeless and are counted in their annual statistics (Katel, 2014). The HUD does not count people who are doubled up and in unstable housing situations, and although they claim to count those facing imminent loss of their houses, there is no accurate way to do that. Doubling up is when a person or family who cannot afford to live in a home, live with friends, family, or non-relatives. Doubling up is often the last step before one becomes homeless on the streets. According to a survey by the Department of Education, who tallied 1.3 million homeless children, an …show more content…
Homelessness’ main strain on society is financially: when the homeless are admitted into a hospital, it can cost the public around $2,500 of tax money, per incident (Cassady, 2011). If a homeless person is admitted for psychiatric help it can cost the public $996 per day, and if they are admitted for drug or alcohol rehab it can cost the taxpayer about $220 per detoxification (Cassady, 2011). For the incarceration of homeless people, an event that happens frequently, it costs taxpayers about $15,000 per year due to food, housing, and arrest charges. Overall, HUD states that homelessness costs a taxpayer an average $40,000 a year (Cassady,
Homelessness is primarily a poverty issue. The persistence of poverty in the United States reflects more than just an aggregation of individual failings. Structural factors, such as the way we understand and define poverty, the inherent features of our economic system that produce income inequality, social inequities and our policy responses to these problems shape current trends. Economic changes have had the strongest association with trends in overall rates, regardless of how poverty is measured. Poverty rate is high amongst minority groups, children and female-headed households (Iceland, 2003). According to professor Iceland’s research, rates of extreme poverty are higher among children and African-Americans and lower for whites, Asians and the elderly. Among families with children, married couples were less likely to be poor (6.9 %) than single parent male (17.5%) and single parent female (35.3%).
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.
It is estimated that, “each year, more than 3 million people experience homelessness, including 1.3 million children” (NLCHP). Clearly poverty and Homelessness come hand in hand, and the economy downfall has only contributed to this growing crisis. “Homelessness stems from a lack of affordable housing. Increasing rents, destruction of traditional low-income housing, and cuts in federal housing programs threaten affordable housing with extinction” (NLCHP). Most people in poverty have a housing affordability crisis, which means that they pay more than half of their income for rent, so therefore they have to buffer to deal with unforeseen expenses.
Homelessness is a problem that happens in many different countries around the world. Definitions of homelessness are defined in different meanings by different people. However, the Stewart B. McKinney Act defines a homeless person as “ one who lacks a fixed permanent nighttime residence or whose nighttime residence is a temporary shelter, welfare hotel, or any public or private place not designed as sleeping accommodations for human beings” (McNamara 1025). It is impossible to find out exactly the number of homeless; however, the researchers can do a study to estimate that number. Based on different statistics from different researchers, the homeless population in America has been increasing as “an alarming rate” (Markos and Lima). Therefore, even though America is one of the most powerful countries in the world, homelessness, which has many common causes, has always been a big problem in society.
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
According to Streetwise of Street News Services (2010), the first reported instances of homelessness dates as far back as 1640, in some of the larger cities in the original 13 colonies. At this time, there were wars being fought between settlers and Native Americans, and people were left with no shelter in both sides (Street News Service, 2010). Later, the industrial revolution caused more homelessness, industrial accidents left many former hard-working families with a dead provider, or with severe disabilities, and then the economy entered a recession in the same time period (Street News Service, 2010). Wars always left a large number of veterans homeless. Later, in 1927, there was an astronomical flood along the Mississippi River, across multiple state, leaving about 1.3 million people without a home (Street News Service, 2010). Natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, the Asian tsunami in 2004, and the earthquake early this year in Japan are still a major cause of homelessness.
Take a drive down town and the problem will be apparent, take a look to the left and there one stands, take a look to the right and there’s another. Homelessness is a term used to define a person who does not have a home to go to at the end of the day. Homelessness does not discriminate against age, sex or gender. What is startling to many people is that reasons why so many people succumb to homeless ness in their life; people assume that when someone is homeless it’s because of bad choices that that individual made in their life, which might be true but not for all, “approximately 1 and 5 Phoenix residents live below the poverty line” and that in itself has a lot to do with the current
In the word homeless there are two root words, home and less. Home is what most people would define as the place where they live, or grew up. Less, simply means not as much as. When you combine the two together homeless equals someone who grew up in a home that was held to less standards than what they would normally be held up to. For example, someone who is homeless could live in a box, it sounds terrible but unfortunately it is a part of our reality. Not everyone can afford to live in a house, pay mortgage, and all the other expenses that come with the responsibility of owning a house, or home. Today homelessness still has an affect on many people.
every aspect and institution in a society work as one to create a function; these institutions are said to be
In fiscal year 2006, the HUD, Department of Housing and Urban Development, was presented a budget by the Bush Administration consisting of $528.5 billion for homeless programs (Romeo 1). The problem of homelessness and extreme poverty is not a new occurrence; but in past years more extreme measures have been taken to combat the issue as more people become homeless. Expensive social programs and housing developments for the homeless have been created to help battle the increasing issue. Homelessness is an expensive problem that will never end; furthermore, the condition of homeless people in America is affected by the type of education they receive, the state of the economy, and the amount of funds that are available to house and feed them.
After watching the video “Sociological Perspective Project: Homelessness,” and read the article “Community Level Characteristics Associated with Variation in Rates of Homelessness among Families and Single Adults I started to think about this more and started to read more on the topic and have I concluded , America could support its citizens better than it currently does by eliminating the progressive tax system, in which as wealth increases so does their income tax and implement tax incentives to encourage job creation. Loop holes should be eliminated in such systems as taxes, as well as welfare in order to prevent people from playing the system. The system should not be set up in such a way that filing for unemployment can be and often times is more profitable that holding a minimum wage job, which defeats the entire purpose of the welfare system. By adding these tax incentives to big business, it would encourage them to create new jobs, decreasing the number of people on welfare. While welfare should not be entirely disbanded, it should be made more restrictive and it, along...
...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.
Homelessness has become a serious problem in today’s society. Despite the organizations that help multitudes of homeless people, homelessness is continually increasing. In recent years, America’s culture has been changing due to economic, political, and social issues. These issues have caused a lot of stress on America resulting in abject poverty in several cities. Poverty is not nationwide, but if dealt with lightly, the affects can be catastrophic. Homelessness is increasing more than ever, and research proves that changing culture contributes to rising amount of homelessness.
Homelessness is not something that was created over night; it has existed for a long time; often we choose not to see the homeless, or bother with them, so we look the other way. Homelessness is not prejudice toward race, creed, or religion--it has no boundaries; all homeless people should not be stereotyped as being drug abusers or the mentally ill that have been released from mental hospitals. Homelessness is not a disease that a person can catch from bodily contact, but it certainly has afflicted many Americans. We need to find the cause of homelessness before we can find a solution. More money for more programs is the typical response, but we should look at what has already been instituted and reevaluate them.
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.