Argumentative Essay: The Abuse Of Housing Assistance

Is there anything you own, particularly anything expensive which the thought of living without sends a shiver down your spine? You’d almost certainly be lying if you said no. There are so many amazing (but pricey) things you can buy these days, like super advanced smartphones, consoles with every kind of game imaginable and life size statues of TV characters (should you be so inclined).

Many professionals recognize the benefits of assistive animals for people with physical disabilities. This includes seeing-eye dogs that are trained to alert owners to environmental hazards. Some policies may be hard to change, but are required if needed. One well known policy

The issue of homelessness in regard to shelter in Australia has been prevalent for an extended period of time in the 21st century. Homelessness is the situation in which individuals are unable to attain a permanent and adequate quality of shelter. Shelter is a human right as stated under article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which specifies “Housing” as part of the standard of living required for an individual to maintain their wellbeing. Australia’s law specifies no legal right to shelter, however as a party of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Australian government must recognise that all individuals should be entitled to “an adequate standard of living for themself and their family”, where one criteria is “adequate housing” as stated in article 11. It is imperative that in order to fulfil both Australia’s obligation to uphold human rights and maintain social cohesion within society both legal and non-legal responses are effective in dealing with both the causes and effects of homelessness.

The problems that arise from housing are numerous. Housing takes up more than half of all real property tax. Not only that, it’s also the largest issue in a family’s budget. The federal government spent $38 billion in preferential subsidies and $2 trillion on housing in total in the year 2006. Rigid zoning codes prohibit certain types of housing from being built. This prevents some citizens from being provided with homes that fit their budget and ads to the chronic problem of homelessness our communities face. Too many houses can crowd neighborhoods and make transit difficult. They can also obstruct view and, when foreclosed upon, lead to plummeting property values.

Often it is housing, that absorbs high proportion of income that can cause Americans to become homeless. Twelve million homeowners and renters pay more that fifty percent of their annual earnings for housing. This percentage is astonishing high for the county who has the best weapon system in the world. Although, several programs were developed such as the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to stabilized homelessness, America should not have a large amount of homeless people, we should take care of our own people. According to National Coalition for the Homeless (“In a survey of 24 cities, people remain homeless an average of seven months, and 87% of cities reported that the length of time people are homeless has increased in recent years (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005)”). Seeing children and families living in shelters should not be permitted, in this great nation. Instead of interfering with other countries well being, America should focus on its own citizens. Investing in increasing developing affordable programs would prevent people from becoming homeless, and be in

For the past fifty years the shift from meeting the housing needs of the poor through government projects-based housing to a more individual approach, has been slowly implemented. Housing vouchers now enable underprivileged populations to move from high-poverty, segregated neighborhoods to more un-segregated, low-poverty neighborhoods. Low-poverty neighborhoods have less crime, better opportunities for employment, and more diverse schooling options. Some housing advocates however, contend that housing assistance is unnecessary and is an income subsidy that should be combined with other social safety nets (Clark, W. 2008).

“You have to be twice as good as them to get half of what they have.” Was a famous quote said by Kerry Washington on her hit show Scandal. The quote was said in reference to Kerry having to work twice as hard to get half of what her Caucasian co-workers have. This quote relates to a black person everyday struggle. As a black person, they are constantly competing for equality with their Caucasian counterparts. Equality in things such as the work-force, food industry but more importantly in the housing area. Housing discrimination amongst blacks has been one of the biggest issues in the United States. Because of the discrimination, Blacks still have a greater struggle finding housing more than their equally qualified Caucasian counterparts. The

That is a large amount of people, including whole families that are homeless over this matter. These people are living in shelters or with friends and family because they are unable to rent their own place. This is all because they have a criminal record, and now the record is being used to judge and discriminate against. One would think this would fall under the fair housing act. Sadly you couldn’t be more wrong in fact Robert Wise said “To give felons the protection of the Fair Housing Act protects them from the consequences of their own conduct. No such protection is presently afforded to anyone by the fair Housing Act”. And he couldn’t be more wrong it’s not protection against the consequence of the action, its giving someone an even playing field, it’s allowing a person to obtain a home for their family, and have dignity. And let me add some more madness to this already un-just issue, most of these people have jobs, and can afford to rent and pay utilities, but yet they find

It is often easy to castigate large cities or third world countries as failures in the field of affordable housing, yet the crisis, like an invisible cancer, manifests itself in many forms, plaguing both urban and suburban areas. Reformers have wrestled passionately with the issue for centuries, revealing the severity of the situation in an attempt for change, while politicians have only responded with band aid solutions. Unfortunately, the housing crisis easily fades from our memory, replaced by visions of homeless vets, or starving children. Metropolis magazine explains that “…though billions of dollars are spent each year on housing and development programs worldwide, ? At least 1 billion people

Homelessness is described as ‘The state of having no home’, however, it is much more than this. A home isn’t a place to sleep, it is where you feel comfortable, a place where you feel safe and protected; And although so many of us have the luxury of having a place we can call home, many don’t, in fact over 0.5% of people are homeless on any given night, while this may not seem much to you, however accounting for Australia’s population, over 255,657 people are homeless on any given night. This number is even more concerning when you discover that people under 18 years of age make up 27% of the homeless population to make matters worse over 17,845 children under 12 years old were counted as homeless. Image if your son or daughter slept every night on a park bench, wondering if they would have any food tomorrow, fearing for their safety; how would that make you feel.

One of the causes of homelessness in Baltimore City is lack of affordable housing, this includes subsidized housing from the state. Lack of affordable housing in Baltimore City is due to an increase luxury housing and Baltimore’s decrease desire for rental housing (Mayor’s Office of Human Services, 2013). Available housing is not proportional to the wages of people living in Baltimore City. Nearly half of renters in Baltimore spend 35% of their income or more on their rent. The waiting list for Baltimore City opened in 2014 and 74,000 households applied for 25,000 available slots for up to six years to own a voucher (“Homelessness in Baltimore,” 2017). For the extremely poor population there are only 42 available homes for over 100 people who identify with the population (Public Justice Center, 2015). Therefore, Baltimore needs to make affordable housing for their population or there should be an increase in jobs and wages. However, the private sector is not interested in developing houses for the low-income population because it is not profitable compared to selling a building to a company to make luxury housing (Richman, 2015).

Although most American citizens do not typically notice government programs in their daily lives, implemented policies have major effects on American citizens. It is estimated that around 1.35 million children suffer from homelessness due to their families living on the streets (Crook). With this massive housing conundrum, the United States government should increase funding for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Increased funding would decrease homelessness by lowering the crime rate, educating students, and improving American living conditions.

What if you couldn’t find somewhere to live? This is an actual issue that many Americans face every day. Not because of the lack of money, but because of their criminal records felons to be specific. Having a criminal record, now in days is not hard, you can be felon for something small or for something big. However, once a felon you are out of luck with finding a place to live on your own. I think it is the smallest and most irrelevant things that our government take into notice. The government will never see and think like a person who grew up in poverty. If you have a criminal record and can’t find a place to live to better yourself what the next step? It can only go south from here. No one should struggle to find a place to live and call home.

The government is the best audience for the modification of the housing first program because it has the power and resources to make changes for the good of the citizen by the use of the law that is set to protect people’s rights and freedoms. It is an individual’s right to have access to a safe, secure home and habitable home.

Throughout New York or even the United States, there are many people who are homeless and without jobs to help them survive. Many mothers and fathers are struggling to keep their homes while others are already out in New York streets trying to seek help. Those who are already on the streets are seeking charity from others as the walk by them. And to stop this from ever happening there should be more shelters, jobs, and help/supporters.