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An essay on the causes of homelessness
An essay on the causes of homelessness
Homelessness in society
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Homelessness is all around the world, and many people have either dealt with the issue or had first-hand experience with it. Thus causes everyone to think about the possible solutions to such an important social and economic problem. Whether or not anyone wants to support or ignore the issue, it will always be there. However, the youth population is on the rise among the homeless. While the exact number of youth among the homeless is hard to determine, given various information about homelessness available and the age range that is considered youth, a 2012 survey from the Department of Education shows that 52,950 unaccompanied homeless youth were reported through school-based programs (Sparks 31). Homelessness among youth can be overcome or at least reduced, by reducing family conflict, severe economic hardship and abuse.
Homelessness has always been seen as people just being lazy, and choosing not to work. In the 1600s transient individuals or groups were thought to be “morally deficient”, punished by God for their undesirable behaviors. Back then in order to live in a town you would have to prove yourself to a “community father”, before they would consider your residency. Present day individuals must also prove “self worth” in order to live in any society. The complex structure dictated by others and followed by complacent individuals gives rise to multiple variables that causes homelessness.
Most people who have lived with family have at one point in their lives come across family conflict, especially where their views clash. Family conflicts and miscommunications have often been problems between family members. Taking sexual orientation as an example, many gay adolescents in today’s society feel the negative backlash of e...
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Murphy, Patrick T. “A Trap of Welfare and Child Abuse.” New York Times 8 Nov. 2000, 19. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
Slesnick, Natasha. “Predictors of Homelessness Among Street Living Youth.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 37.4 (2008): 465-474. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
Solomon, Frank. “Welfare (Opposing Viewpoints Series).” Policy and Practice 66.4 (2008): 35. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Sparks, Sarah D. “Schools Still See Surges in Homeless Students.” Education Digest 79.7 (2014): 31-35. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
Tyler, Kimberly, and Lisa A. Melander. “A Qualitative Study of the Formation and Composition of Social Networks among Homeless Youth.” Journal of Research on Adolescence 21.4 (2011): 802-817. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
Although The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is a program that guarantees education for the homeless youth population, many homeless do not receive the proper services they need because they are not aware of available resources (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Many homeless youths do not have a safe place to stay during the night or do not have any family or friends to rely on for support. In addition, approximately 7% of youth members in the United States are left without a home because of high dependence on an addictive substance or because they have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Services that could provide shelter for the youth are often underused. Research in homeless youth
Youth become homeless for a number of reasons, including: family violence and neglect, rejection due to sexual orientation or gender identity, the overwhelmed child welfare system and extreme poverty. These youth almost always have experienced unimaginable abuse and trauma, in their homes, their communities, and on the street. It is the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA)-funded services and programs that help to rectify the deep injustices that homeless youth experience on a daily basis.
National Center for Homeless Education. (2013, October). Education for Homeless Children and Youths Program. Greensboro: U.S Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/homeless/data-comp-0910-1112.pdf
There are many things that can cause one to be homeless but this research will focus on the two main reasons, insufficient economic resources and affordable housing. Other causes include lack of education, domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse and etc.
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.
Youth homelessness in Ontario is not a new phenomenon, it has become more and more severe over the past 20 years. “One third of homeless individuals on the streets are under the age of 25”(Cino, Rose). It is a significant social justice issue in Canada. Within our community people are increasingly aware of the sight of youth sleeping in parks, asking for money and sitting on sidewalks. Youth homelessness in Ontario is primarily caused by tragic life occurrences such as abuse, illness or unemployment.
It is true that some individuals are homeless not because of bad habits one might have, but because of financial reasons. A lot of society that is part of this problem is because they simply do not make enough at their low
Homeless Youth: Characteristics, Contributing Factors, and Service Options. Journal Of Human Behavior In The Social Environment, 20(2), 193-217. doi:10.1080/10911350903269831
Many of the homeless may have faced a loss in society such as losing a job, losing a loved one, they may also have drug and alcohol addictions where they lose all their money and then do not have money to pay off their bare necessities. Some homeless may even have a mental illness not knowing how to deal with the world or they may just have been simply psychologically abused and abandoned by their loved
The youth homelessness population is increasing because of the many challenges that these children or teens face in everyday life; It also continues getting larger every year because of the many youth who are getting into dangerous situations that force them to be homeless or thru their own choosing. One third of the homeless population is between the ages of 16-24, which is incredibly young and it is the prime years for an adolescent or young adu...
Economic problems such as being laid off work, or the rise in the cost of housing had lead people to live on the streets. 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. These people get kicked out of their homes and are to ashamed to go to their families because of their illness, so we see them on the streets struggling to stay warm. Teenage mothers are also forced to live on the streets because their families will not help them. The fathers are not there and that forces them to live on the streets. So they must resort to prostitution to pay for the food that their young ones need to stay alive. There are many other people that become homeless for many different reasons. Some of these people can not help becoming homeless. Some of these people are the illegal immigrants that come here from other places to get a better life but end up not having enough money to make it in this hard world that we live in.
Reports of this issue have been seen since the 1600s. There have been many events in history that have led to people being homeless. From wars to natural disasters, homelessness has been a prevailing issue that was not addressed when it first began. Society in past eras believed, as many do today, that homelessness was due to personal circumstances. The term given to this population of homeless or homelessness began in the early 1980s. Homeless, however, wasn’t the only term used to identify this population. “Vagrants, vagabonds, tramps, beggars, bums… (Ocobock,).” All of these names given to them were not only for society’s use, the terms were actually legal names to describe them. There were harsh vagrancy laws created to handle the
Homelessness….. Many assume those who are homeless took part in some type of drug or alcohol abuse which lead them to become homeless. It is an ongoing situation that has not been fully resolved in order to lower the risk of individuals of the youth population becoming homeless. The age group for homeless individuals who qualify as youth is nineteen years of age and under. In the United States, dysfunctional families are occurring more frequent, which is a vital reason adolescents are running away from their homes. This alone puts many of our youth at risk of becoming homeless. When adolescents leave their homes, it decreases their chances of having a smooth transition into adulthood. Some adolescents may leave their home because
Based off the attention from modern media, youth homelessness has been on an unfortunate upslope in the United States within the past decade. Various factors tie into why this issue is becoming more prominent such as low income households being unable to afford children, LGBT youth rejection, and domestic abuse leading to children leaving home. Now, vagrancy has a severely negative impact on the development of young people as it inhibits them from developing academically, socially, and mentally and can also expose them to diseases and potentially various types of abuse, such as sexual and substance abuse. This is an issue that should be addressed, for the rising generations are America’s future, and so investing in the overall well-being of the
Many people find themselves in a predicament when they are living with a partner and the two decide to go their separate ways. Some people may not be able afford the cost of living on just their income alone, so when two people terminate a relationship where one depends on the other, both are often left homeless for a period of time. Unemployment is another major cause of people becoming homeless. When people lose their jobs and fail to find another within a reasonable amount of time, they will not be able to pay their rent or mortgage on time or even at all, causing them to look else where for shelter. Many people are not fortunate enough to have a family member that is willing, or capable, of taking them in and supporting them. The main cause of homelessness comes from people being evicted from their place of residence either by their parents, friends, or land lord. Parents will often kick their kids out of the house because they can not financially support them anymore, or they are just simply tired of their kids bumming off of them when they are perfectly capable of supporting themselves or at least contributing to the cost of living expenses. So many people are forced to live on the streets because of something as little as a relationship problem. All homeles...