Theory Of Homelessness

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Millions of people go without a proper place to sleep or food to eat every night. A homeless person is an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle, or any other unstable or non permanent situation (section 330 of Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.,254b). On one night in January of 2015, it was reported that 564,708 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States ( The State of Homelessness in America, 2016). Homelessness in the United States increased in the early 1980’s. Between 1980 and 1983, 140 billion in domestic spending was cut. HUD (Housing and Urban Development), unemployment,disability, food stamps, and …show more content…

In the United States numerous families, mostly female headed households (95 percent), experience homelessness (Nunez & Fox 1999). There are numerous homelessness theories that have been formulated to try to diagnose the cause of homelessness. For example, the structural theory of homelessness believes that homelessness is caused by social-structural defects such as unemployment, inadequate low-income housing, rising poverty, and safety net ( TANF and SSI)(Wright, Rubin, and Devine 1998). However that theory leaves out other relevant causes of homelessness such as people who suffer from mental …show more content…

Without access to continued treatment and services if homeless individuals with mental illnesses are provided with housing they probably will not achieve residential stability and remain off the streets. Services such as mental health treatment, physical health care, education and employment opportunities, peer support, and daily living and money management skills training are offered through supported housing programs. National Mental Health Association (2006) found that supported housing is effective for people with mental illnesses. Mentally ill people who are homeless will likely recover and achieve residential stability if they have access services such as mental health treatment, physical health care, education and employment opportunities, peer support, and daily living and money management skills training that are provided through supported housing programs (National Mental Health Association,

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