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Homelessness
Ever noticed the people outside, asking you for money on the train or in the streets? Most have a funny smell, or are barely dressed when it is freezing outside? Those people are more than likely homeless. Being homeless is the state of a person living on the streets, if they have no home. Homelessness occurs because many people cannot afford housing, do not have a job, receive low income, are mentally ill or have a drug addiction (Coalition for the Homeless). Homelessness affects society in a variety of ways making it a social issue. It causes economic downturn, increases poverty, and also causes family dysfunction.
Since January of 2002 the homelessness rate has increased 69 percent. There are more than 52,400 homeless individuals that sleep in a homeless shelter in New York City, and thousands that are sleeping on the street and in trains. More than 12,500 families including 22,100 children in New York City sleep in a homeless shelter on a daily basis (Coalition).
These families and individuals are now considered part of the percentage of those who are labeled poverty stricken. Poverty is the state of being extremely poor. Although most families are not exclusively poor, they are labeled as part of poverty because they cannot properly provide for their family and themselves.
Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, and education (The National Coalition for the Homeless,2009). Poor people are a statistic of poverty because unemployment increases and most of them get paid low wages that can barely help them get by. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some of these necessities (National Coalition).
Families with children are the fastest growi...
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... the root causes-low wages and lack of affordable housing-and by improving support services like TANF, housing vouchers, and health care.” The National Coalition for the Homelessness supports Students against Hunger theory on how to end homelessness. The National Coalition for the Homeless states “effort to ensure jobs pay a living wage, adequate support for those who cannot work, affordable housing, and access to health care will bring an end to homelessness.”
Works Cited
"Basic Facts about Homelessness: New York City." Coalition for the Homeless. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
"Overview of Homelessness in America." Homelessness in America. The National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
"Why Are People Homeless?" National Coalition for the Homeless. The National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
The Web. 26 Jan 2011. http://www.endhomelessness.org/content/article/detail/1623>. "National Coalition for the Homeless - Homeless Families with Children" National Coalition for the Homeless. National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009.
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
“Why are people homeless?” National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH). Web. July 2009. February 15,2011.
Before we can explain the causes of poverty, one must first define what poverty is. If you were to ask someone for their definition of poverty, you would get several different definitions. There has been much conflict in the United States over defining poverty, but according to Diana DiNitto (2007), poverty can be defined in six different ways. Poverty as deprivation, inequality, lack of human capital, culture, exploitation, and structure are the six different ways. When a family or individual does not have the adequate amount of income to meet all of their basic needs, they are described as being deprived. Poverty as deprivation explains that a family or individual is deprived when they are living below the standard of...
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
Why Are People Homeless?. (n.d.). National Coalition for the Homeless. Retrieved April 23, 2011, from http://www.nationalhomeless.org
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 ...
Fairchild, M. (2013). How to Help the Homeless 4 Ways to Help the Homeless in Your Community. About.com.Christianity. Retrieved from http://christianity.about.com/od/faithinaction/qt/homeless.htm
Introduction to Homelessness: Opposing Viewpoints." Homelessness. Ed. Tamara Thompson. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
"Overview of Homelessness In America." Homelessness In America. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. .
Poverty is “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions” (Merriam-Webster dictionary, 2015); in other words, struggling to provide a comfortable living style. It is the cause of family stress and many other problems, especially for the children. Millions of people around the world are struggling with poverty; families suffering to provide enough food seem to be growing in numbers. According to the United States Census Bureau, the poverty rate was highest in the 1960s and decreased greatly in the 1970s. However, it is now slowly starting to increase again. Recently released census data by the Bureau showed that one in five people are living in poverty (Census Bureau, 2014). Poverty is even
Homelessness is a problem virtually every society suffers from. There are many things that cause people to become homeless, such as unemployment, relationship problems, and being evicted from ones domicile either by a landlord, friend or even a family member. However, with every cause there must be an effect. Some of the effects of one becoming homeless, besides the obvious change of lifestyle, are various health problems which often times may lead to death.
What is poverty? Well, according to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, poverty is "lack of money or material possessions; poor." Two-thirds of the world's population fits this definition. I know that many times we think of being poor as not being able to buy the car we want or take the trip we can only dream about. However, being poor, living in poverty, hits a lot lower than that. For example, a resident of the country of Chad will only bring in $100 each year. Since many people can make more than that in one week, some in one day, can you imagine having the feed a family of five or six, or even a family of two, on only $100 a year? These are the conditions that exist in poverty-stricken countries.
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.