Addiction In The United States

Homelessness results from the failure of our system to provide adequate safeguards and economic opportunities to those in society who need them the most. There are no federal benefit programs for those experiencing long-term homelessness until they reach the age of 65—or, in some cases, 62. Federal housing and employment programs for low-income people can be difficult to access for those experiencing homelessness, especially without the support of dedicated and knowledgeable homeless service providers. Short-term interventions provide important relief to individuals and families, but robust, long-term workforce solutions are needed to accomplish the goal of permanently ending homelessness.

An alarming prevalence of homelessness is present throughout the United States. At any given night in 2014, approximately five hundred thousand people were homeless (Klassen, 2013). The government has limited resources, in which policy makers have to make decisions on how to allocate them. This United States has a long history of citizens being without housing. Dating back to the colonial era, homeless people were often referred to as “the wandering poor, sturdy beggars, or simply as vagrants, the homeless first became noticeable in the late eighteenth century, then grew significantly in number after 1820, when urbanization and industrial development began to take hold in the young nation” (Kusmer, 2002, pp. 16). Federal funding for homeless

The homeless assistance programs in the United States are overloaded. There are more than half a million people who are currently homeless, either sleeping outside, in a transitional housing program, or in some sort of emergency shelter. Nearly 180,000 of those people are considered as unsheltered, meaning they sleep outside on the streets, or in makeshift tent cities (The State of Homelessness in America 2015, 2015). While the stigma of those who are homeless is widely perceived as those who are drug addicts, there are many other reasons people can find themselves without a place to call home. Foreclosure, poverty, eroding work opportunities, decline in public assistance, lack of affordable housing, domestic violence, and mental illness are

Homelessness is a growing issue within the United States and it is easily overlooked by the public regarding the causes and effects.

Homelessness typically becomes more prevalent in times of economic downturn or turmoil. However, according to the District of Columbia’s Interagency Council on Homelessness (DCICH), homelessness rates have been on the rise due to a variety of socioeconomic factors. These factors include rising income inequality, lack of affordable housing, depression of wages and public assistance programs, and the lack of mental health institutions that assist with the chronically homeless (Homeward D.C., 2015).

Homelessness has been around for many years and today there are still many people who are homeless or living in some sort of substandard condition. Although most Americans have adequate food and shelter along with other necessities, the homeless do not reap any of these basic benefits. Instead, millions of homeless people do not have suitable shelter to sleep in or food to eat. The United states, a country that is considered one of the wealthiest places in the world still have not conquered homelessness.

“Homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked. Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some of these necessities. Often it is housing, which absorbs a high proportion of income that must be dropped. If you are poor, you are essentially an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets. Two factors help account for increasing poverty: eroding employment opportunities for large segments of the workforce and the declining value and availability of public assistance” (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009). “A homeless individual is defined as “an individual who lacks housing, including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility (e.g., shelters) that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing.” 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 in any other unstable or non-permanent situation” [Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C., 254b)]. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), on any night over 600,000 people are homeless; it is estimated that approximately 2.3 to 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness

Out of all of the social problems that are prevalent across America, homelessness is the one that should be grabbing the nation’s attention. As of April 20th of 2015, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 1,750,000 individuals in the United States were reported as being homeless (Homelessness/Poverty). Homelessness in America is a major problem, which needs to be addressed in a much more effective manner than it currently is. It should be at the forefront of every citizen’s mind. This is not simply a problem of people’s skewed opinions or attitudes, but is rather a matter of the survival of millions of people. American citizens are living, day by day, in deplorable conditions. Some are trying to survive in

“Over half a million people are homeless”(Bill Quigley). According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, any given night, there are over 600,000 homeless people in the U.S. (HUD). Adults are looking left to right for help from anyone who is willing to give a helping hand. Children are affected by this number, not having a stable environment to call their home. Missing or not having three full meals.Veterans are also caught in this number, having a loyal dedication fighting for our country; but at the end they’re caught fighting for their livelihood. Homeless families need more federal assistance because police are making it harder for the homeless to live by enforcing laws that punish instead of protect, students become displaced by financial difficulties trying to pursue an education, and citizens are underpaid (minimum wage) causing poverty.

There are many causes of homelessness in the U.S. and some are more challenging than others. The nation has a high poverty rate which does not help matters. There is a need for more affordable housing and many do not want face the fact that Americans are still facing challenges brought on by the Great Recession. There are racial disparities that exist and the challenges of single parenting. Researchers found that the majority of families experiencing homelessness were led by single mothers with at least two young children. The families did not have a permanent residence and they moved frequently living in substandard housing in dangerous neighborhoods. Most had low levels of education and had difficulties finding work that would pay a decent

Drug addiction has been known to be the most common health problem in the United

Homelessness has harmed our nation for years, regardless if one is elderly, poor, minorities, women and children; people from all walks of life are underrepresented within the government, are most affected by many social issues, which often arise because of inequality in educational and economic opportunities that life may bring one’s way. No one can

The purpose of our survey was to gain insight into our audience’s attitudes and beliefs about addictions in the United States. Our audience consisted of 24 respondents, aged approximately between 18 and 22. These respondents had approximately two weeks to complete our survey. The survey consisted of seven Likert-scale questions, each with a number of sub-questions. All 24 respondents completed this survey. These questions focused specifically on pornography addiction, food addiction, and prescription drug addiction.

Everyone deserves a decent home. A Shelter that provides safety and security. It is a fundamental human need, however, not everyone gets to have a home. Homelessness is a serious problem throughout the world. With an average of 643,067 people experiencing homelessness in America daily, there is now believed to be at least 1.6 million homeless people in America alone according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 's 5th Annual Homeless Assessment Report. (Henry, 2015) Homelessness is a major problem because it damages the capability of a person to provide for themselves. Through loss of skills, they develop an inability to think about employment because they are too busy worrying about housing.

Drug addiction is very common all over the United States. There are many forms of drugs and the government or companies spend a lot of money in them. Tobacco is considered a drug, the amount of health care is one hinder fifty billion dollars, and overall is two hundred and ninety five billion dollars. Alcohol by health care is twenty-five billion dollars, and over all is two hundred and twenty-four billion dollars. There are many more types of drugs, but those who want to overcome drug addiction can do so by going to rehab, having support from family and friends and having a strong personality to fight it off.