Decriminalization Of Homelessness Essay

Homelessness is an issue in American society today that affects anywhere from 800,000 to 3.5 million people. There are a substantial amount of people that are without shelter, food, or employment, and there are numerous other people affected by poverty and homelessness. People living in nearly every city in the United States are affected by homelessness due to the large amounts of homeless individuals living on the streets and begging for money, food, and other necessities. The issue of homelessness has been a constant problem since the conquering of the New World, and soup kitchens and homeless shelters have not been able to fully end homelessness. Especially today, with a lack of affordable housing and high unemployment rates, homelessness is prevalent.

Homelessness is a social problem that is prevalent around the world. Homelessness has existed for much of "civilized" human history. In the last two centuries, homelessness and changed and expanded. Sociologists who study and research homelessness have argued over its formal definition for decades, though for some, the definition of homelessness seems self explanatory and obvious. The paper will examine homelessness, particularly as a sociological issue, or a social issue seen from a sociological perspective. The paper will additionally reference sociological theory as a means of explanation for homelessness, such its causes, the demographics/populations, and other prominent known characteristics of homeless people. There are individuals and groups who choose to be, from a normative societal perspective, homeless, but for a great deal of the homeless population, it can be a treacherous and tragic lifestyle that is a result of a distinct set of social, societal, and individual factors.

Every New Yorker has the right to a safe and affordable place to live in. New York’s shortage of affordable housing has reached a crisis point. Poor and elderly people throughout New York City are at a greater risk of homelessness and forced low-income residents do not have food or medical care to stay in their homes. A sinful structure of homelessness in New York City is New York’s shortage of affordable housing. Millions of New Yorkers are desperate to find affordable housing and tens of thousands are forced to live either in dirty shelters or on the streets. Recent data indicates that nearly 60,000 people, including more than 23,000 children, stay in the city’s main homeless shelter system (Guelpa). A small amount of poor renter households received a housing subsidy from the local government. Little assistance is being provided which means that most poor families and individuals that seek assistance

In the United States the homeless population continues to grow rapidly. Homelessness has been a public health issue for many decades. Often times these individuals feel as though society has turned a blind eye to them. This at risk population is seen by society as lazy or chose to live a life on the streets, but if one would examine this population closely would see that there is more to this at risk population than what society has labeled them as. The forces, which affect homelessness, are multifaceted. Social forces such as family breakdown, addictions, and mental illnesses are in combined with structural forces such as lack of low-cost housing, insufficient health services, and poor economic conditions. Many would

Homelessness is defined as the situation of an individual or family without stable, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means, and ability of acquiring it. It is the result of systemic or societal barriers, a lack of affordable and appropriate housing, the individual/household’s financial, mental, cognitive, behavioral or physical challenges, and/or racism and discrimination. Most people do not choose to be homeless, and the experience is generally negative, unpleasant, stressful and distressing6. Homelessness is a problem that affects every Canadian town or city, and is one that is dealt with using a variety of different methods.

Around the 15th and 16th centuries, poverty was handled with laws similar to the poor laws used in England (Levinson & Ross, 2007). These laws fought to distinguish between the deserving and undeserving poor, highly motivated by religious institutions. Following the civil war, an increase in poverty was seen when unemployed men began following around veterans in search of work and transportation (Levinson & Ross, 2007). This behavior continued throughout the next few decades until law enforcement began using loitering laws to control homeless nuisance

Communities often make more of an effort to chase out or hide the homeless rather than take steps that might eliminate the causes of homelessness. Laws usually include prohibiting loitering in public areas such as parks and train stations. Police officers sometimes take aggressive actions against homeless individuals to enforce homeless regulations (“Dealing With” 8-9). Communities that try to regulate the homeless have a negative impact on public support for rehabilitation programs. Laws that target the homeless support the view that it is not homelessness that is the problem but the people who are affected by it. Money that could be used to fund homeless agencies is instead used to bring homeless citizens to

Many of the anti-homeless polices that have been previously mentioned focus on improving the quality of life for the community rather than reducing the causes of homelessness and for these reasons it is imperative that these anti-homeless policies be reformed. Reforming these polices can be tricky due to the way they are framed. For example, no one is going to advocate that public urination should be allowed. A more effective argument would be to advocate for increased public spending on public restrooms. This is just one example of how allocating public funds away from criminal justice and towards public services could help improve the issue of

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.

According to this estimate, a greater percentage of inmates have been previously homeless, (5% of general population versus 15% of incarcerated population with history of homelessness), which illustrates that homelessness often triggers incarceration. (Metraux S, Culhane , 2006.) Individuals with past incarceration face great barriers attempting to exit homelessness due to such policies which disqualify them from most federal housing assistance programs due to their criminal records. One of the federal housing assistance programs of the community is through the Great Falls Housing Authority, also known as “Section 8 Housing”. This program offers privage landlords contrated with the Housing Authority which approves the home for Housing Quality Standards and subsidizes the rent for the client which pays approximately 30% of their adjusted income as rent. Due to people with previous felonies of sorts being disqualified from such programs, these individuals may feel it necessary to engage in criminal activities to attempt to break the cycle of homelessness, only in turn perpetuationg the viscious cycle of homelessness, and being

People drive or walk past a homeless person almost every day without thinking twice about the plight of that person or they may even unconsciously turn their heads the other way in disgust. Homelessness simply put, means without a home - therefore homelessness is an equal opportunity state that can happen to anyone. Even though we have seen some economic prosperity over the years, statistics show that the number of homeless remains very high. With this in mind, communities need to come together at the state, city, and individual level to come up with solutions to mitigate the spreading of this problem.

The chasm between the law and, the law as applied in practice is vast. The law provides funding for homeless people, but this often leads to discrimination because it is so difficult to gain access to these funds. Roscoe Pound, one of the most cited legal scholars of the 20th century,  points out how the “laws on the street” too often  differ from the “laws on the books” and result in discrimination. Homeless people suffer from government bureaucracy that makes it  almost impossible for a homeless person to successfully receive  aid without help from others. The application process for applying for aid is both  strenuous and difficult, that  requires a level of literacy skills and legal expertise that would likely preclude an otherwise healthy person from becoming homeless in the first place. In order to fix this injustice, experiments in the field of healthcare and government-policy, must be applied to help the homeless in our community in D.C.. To solve the homelessness epidemic, we need to expand collaborations between institutions that already exist in D.C.to help the homeless and create a “housing first” plan that  provides both rapid  housing for the temporarily homeless  and  permanent supportive  housing for those who are chronically homeless. This policy change  may seem intuitive “give homeless people housing”, however detractors argue that it is a naive approach to a complex issue  that also costs too much.

In the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, feeding the Homeless has made it more difficult for them to survive on their own. The law does not benefit the homeless in regards to keeping them off the streets, and preventing them from becoming future criminals. Restrictions on feeding the homeless should be reconsidered because it is not helping them to survive on their own. One bad mistake or mistakes can leave someone in becoming homeless.

The increasing prevalence of restrictions on people experiencing homelessness does little to effectively confront the increasing homelessness in big U.S. cities. In fact, such restrictions have a potential domino effect. “A given community’s efforts to force its homeless residents out, if successful, will drive them into neighboring communities; these communities may then in turn pursue similar efforts” (26). The criminalization of homelessness is, in effect, a set of policies and laws that constitute banishment and therefore do more to serve the more affluent and more stable housed populations in than the people experiencing homelessness that may, quite literally, be left with nowhere to

Many area charities focus on the short term survival needs of the area’s homeless population, and provide food and supplies to them by traveling from area to area to reach them. These charities policy feed anyone. From the hardcore homeless population to a family down on their luck, their patrons include drug addicts, criminals and vagrants just passing through town. They have information on the resources available, but it is not standardized and these organizations and individuals are not coordinated in any