Homeless Hotspots Essay

1. In your text on pages 206-207, the author discusses his research on the homeless population. He refers to the many routes one can take to become homeless. Choose two populations from his list that you might work with in your career as a human services professional. Describe two possible interventions or tasks that you might be involved with in working with each population. What are some of the general skills a human services professional might need to work with these population?

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

The homeless are a vulnerable population. They are defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as “an individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family), 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.” (The National Health Care for the Homeless Council, 2016). They are a social group throughout the US who are susceptible to all of the life’s cruelties. They are much more at risk for adverse illnesses due to their lack of available resources and medical help. Many have predetermined illnesses which need daily treatment but cannot acquire the medication needed. The homeless population lacks the funding for life’s necessities, thus the luxury of insurance and medicine is a dream.

     Here in Tahoe, we are lucky enough to experience a great quality of life, and only a few have to face the horrible life of poverty and homelessness. However, nationwide, even right outside the basin, homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. There are many ways one can become homeless; for the most part poverty. There are also different concentrations of homeless in different types of terrain, such as urban or suburban areas. Last, there is the ever- growing homeless population, and how much money it costs us for others to live in poverty. These are the questions we ask ourselves about homelessness, and the only way we can help is to know the facts about this lingering

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

Each country in the world is faced with various social issues that attract the interests of society and the government. Homelessness is an enormous issue that America has been dealing with for years. There are millions of people, including children, families, veterans, and the elderly who go day to day without food, water or any form of shelter. Mentally ill people also have a rough time out on the streets due to their state of confusion, which makes it dangerous for them, as well as others to be on the streets. Many of these people have had no choice but to become homeless. Economic problems such as being laid off work, or the rise in the cost of housing have lead people to live on the streets.

It was surprising to learn that there is a hierarchy that exists among the homeless. Contrary to how power is established in a typical culture, the characteristics and values of the homeless culture are formed in an inverted hierarchy. For example, a homeless individual who has experienced the most traumas and lived on the streets for an extended amount of time will receive a great deal of respect from his or her peers. Individuals who are homeless perceive living on the streets to be much harsher than a person from the mainstream culture would (Philipps, 2012). As a result, an individual gains authority by being able to survive no matter

Social problems are those that raise a questionable suspense to issues that impact societies congruent to cultural normalization. The social issue researched will be homelessness and the impact along society. Homelessness is a social concern that raises issues for government officials, communities, and people along the community in so many ways. Every town or city is impacted by this liaison. In 2012 The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) calculated an estimate of at least 700,000 people enlisted as homeless in America. This has been an issue for centuries and is an everlasting effect that I feel will never change. What has to be accomplished, or better yet interpreted is, how communities can work together or come up

mouth, depending on generosity of strangers or efficiency of a government agency for your survival, for your children’s survival.”

Homelessness is a serious problem in our society. Every night in our nation thousands of people are on the streets. This type of behavior is considered deviant because it does not reflect the norms and values of our society. In many cases the homeless people in our country are treated as total outcasts. Many of these people have severe mental disorders. Some are victims of an economy that has failed them. One may ask how such harsh situations exist in such an advanced society. With all the money and programs created to help people it seems ridiculous that this behavior exists. In a society where people have so much how is it possible that there are still people that have so little. The homeless are humans, no different than anyone else.

According to Streetwise of Street News Services (2010), the first reported instances of homelessness dates as far back as 1640, in some of the larger cities in the original 13 colonies. At this time, there were wars being fought between settlers and Native Americans, and people were left with no shelter in both sides (Street News Service, 2010). Later, the industrial revolution caused more homelessness, industrial accidents left many former hard-working families with a dead provider, or with severe disabilities, and then the economy entered a recession in the same time period (Street News Service, 2010). Wars always left a large number of veterans homeless. Later, in 1927, there was an astronomical flood along the Mississippi River,

Homelessness is an epidemic that affects millions of people all over the world. These people have no place to live, are rarely able to bathe, and they have little to no food to eat. There are many reasons why people become homeless, but they can be broken down into three categories; Structural factors, systematic failures, and individual and relational factors.

Throughout the United States, homelessness and poverty have become an overwhelming issue. From people losing their jobs to others having to give up their homes, nearly 14.5 percent of Americans experience some type of poverty. This could look like a small percentage to some but in reality, it's more than 45 million people. While this number may be decreasing, the stereotype of those who are in poverty still remains. It is often thought that those in poverty are non-educated addicts and are generally criminal people. This, however, fails to be proven true. In my personal experiences, it was believed that the homeless and impoverished were of a lower social level and it was easy to assume the poor were in their walk of life for more reasons than simply not having money. Drugs, crime, and poverty all seemed to have the same definition.

The homeless stand down was an eye-opener experience for me. I had the opportunity to interact with several individuals, and one family. Initially I conducted some interviews with them to help complete the questionnaire; and the remainder of the time, I escorted the individuals and helped them choose items that were necessary for them. As I talked to each of them, I realized that the present state of these individuals were a product of the current economic situations. According to the National Homeless Coalition (2009), work factors are one of the many reasons why individuals are homeless. One of the individuals that I spoke to informed me that he was working a regular nine to five job at a construction site, but now due to the

     Homelessness as an issue in today's society is largely ignored. To many, the problem of homelessness is invisible or barely noticed. When these people do see the homeless it is found in the form of beggars who need to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” or mentally ill people who “just can't help themselves”. In either case the central point remains; the homeless must be people who are incapable or unwilling to help themselves. After all, wouldn't they stop being homeless if they just tried? These sorts of rationalizations cover a more disturbing truth; that for many in today's society, the spectre of homelessness is more pressing of a problem than helping those who are already on the