Homeless in America

1.56 million people in the United States are homeless and around 50,000 of those people are children. According to Google, homelessness is defined as a person without a home who typically lives in the streets. This problem needs to be solved because being homeless is illegal in some states and it leads most people down the road of alcohol and drugs. The main causes of homelessness is substance abuse and not having money to pay a security deposit. The effects of this are many diseases like HIV, AIDS, or skin diseases because they are always being exposed to new things. The main impact of this problem is poor health because being homeless and not having a job doesn’t allow people to go to the doctor or buy proper

Homelessness is a pressing issue that affects everyone all over the world, of all ages, all race and all sexes. There is an inexcusable amount of young people who are homeless. 17% of all homeless people are under the age of twelve. That could be the age of a younger sibling. Imagine if they were homeless, living on the streets. This is the reality that some have to face

In addition, adolescents and children have faced trendmous educational barriers on their success. This has been seen when they are facing “lack of transportation, residency restrictions, lack of personal and school records, guardianship problems, and a lack of resources such as clothing and school supplies.” (Hernandez Jozefowicz-Simbeni & Israel, 2006) Some other factors that homeless students face is an “increased risk of school dropout, grade retention, low test scores, low grades, educational disabilities, and school behavior problems.” (Hernandez Jozefowicz-Simbeni & Israel, 2006) However, homeless children are exposed to emotional and behavioral disorders. Having physical health problems and significant developmental delays. These are shown in family financial troubles, substance abuse, and developing mental and physical health. Homelessness is shown in single adult males, single parent mothers and poor or working poor families take up the homeless that has occurred in the United States today. (Hernandez Jozefowicz-Simbeni & Israel, 2006) In fact. “mothers who were African

A study conducted in New York City by Park and colleagues (2004) found that children who had been homeless were at a heightened risk of being enrolled in Children Welfare Services. The researchers found that homeless youths had an 18% chance of needing Children Welfare Services intervention compared to 3 to 8 % chance for children who had a similar economic situation, who were not homeless. The researchers believed there were three reasons for this increased risk, including the additional strain felt in the family, the decrease in stability and the concept that the homeless families were under more “scrutiny” and thus more likely to be investigated (Park, et al.,

Families that become homeless endure countless moves between friends and realatives homes trying to stay together. they are moved into shelters where ultimately they end up separated and children are put into foster care, this separation only adds to the agony which latter leads to these children in turn ending up homeless as adults. do to emotional and behavior issues stemming from childhood Homeless children and families suffer many hardships such as poor health and increased sickness. many of these homeless children are poorly educated and have developmental delays as well as emotional problems. homeless children have a higher rate of learning disabilities than children that are not homeless and sadly these homeless children and their

Firstly, homelessness has an impact on a child’s mental state. For children to grow, learn, and master the developmental tasks of childhood, they must be physically and emotionally healthy. A homeless child is raised without the constant nurture of parents, because many parents are pre-occupied with tending to the family’s housing problems or taking care of themselves. Author Ellen Hart-Shegos (1999) states that homeless children are at “increased risk for mental health problems due to high levels of stress and trauma they experience.” Homeless children are in a constant state of worry and are scared about having no place to live or sleep. The endless anxiety and concern can “stress their developing systems, including lack of sleep, hunger, and increased levels of stress hormones.” (Smith, 2010) Eventually, a child can become depressed from anxiety and the stress to the body. Homeless

There’s a common misconception that homelessness is an issue that only affects single men and woman, but in reality thousands of families will experience homelessness. In fact, 41% of the homeless population is comprised of families (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2007). Homelessness is a severely distressing experience for families and can damage family relationships sometimes resulting is the separation of the parents. It isn’t good for children either since it can hinder their development and education.

According to recent reports child homelessness, an estimated 2.5 million children are homeless in the United States. Sadly, nearly half of these children are under the age of five. In fact, one in every thirty children is considered homeless and the numbers continue to increase annually (Bassuk, E., DeCandia, C., Beach, C., & Berman, F., 2014) Though many factors contribute to this social epidemic, the high poverty rate, lack of affordable housing and single parent households are the most notable influences nationally. The most vulnerable of the population are African American and Hispanic single mothers with poor education (Bassuk, E.et al. ,2014 ) . These families tend to have low paying jobs, live in dangerous neighborhoods and have unreliable transportation. With limited resources available to sustain economic security, families become homeless and the children suffer the consequences.

The children population have a huge impact on homelessness. The homeless population includes many children as well. One fourth of homeless people are children in the homeless families. Childhood homelessness turns into a greater risk of them being homeless as an adult. The HUD’s Point-in-Time report from 2014 says “thirty four percent of the homeless populations is under twenty four. The Urban Institute estimates nearly one in five youth under the age of eighteen will run away at least once” (“eleven facts about homeless”). One out of every fifty— or about one million and five hundred thousand— American children are homeless each year based on a 2009 study on family homelessness (“Facts”). There are about two billion and two hundred million of children in the world. There are one billion children in poverty which is every second child. One hundred and twenty one million of children are out of education worldwide (Snah). One billion children in the world are living in poverty. Twenty two thousand children die each day due to poverty (“Eleven facts about Global”). This study shows that not only adults are homeless, but so are children. There are actually way too children that are in poverty and homeless. There should not ever be children on the streets. It is quite

Homelessness is an issue in our community which results from different factors. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, two of the most important factors are lack of affordable housing and poverty. This organization says that “this deficit of affordable housing has led to high rent burdens, overcrowding, and substandard housing (NCH, 2014).” Which is true because high portion of income in most of the cases is being used to pay the rent. Also, “Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, and education (NCH, 2014).” Families who are at the risk of becoming homeless must choose between those basic needs. There are some other causes that lead people to become homeless identified by the organization

Homeless individuals experience poorer mental and physical health statuses along with lower life expectancies when compared to those who have stable housing (Jones, Zur, & Rosenbaum, 2015). Studies have shown families experiencing homelessness have higher levels of parental distress, elevated rates of child welfare involvement, greater incidence of parent-child separation, less social support, and an increased risk for emotional, behavioral, and developmental problems in children (Holtrop, McNeil & McWey, 2015).

The social variables and determinants that have influenced the development of public school children who are homeless are ethnicity, race, status, education level, poor academic achievement, physical health problems, developmental delays, and child abuse. For example, although homelessness affects many people regardless of their ages, ethnicities, and geographic areas, it occurs disproportionately among people of color. At least 47% of homeless children are Black living in extreme poverty. Also, White children make up 38%, whereas Hispanic kids make up 13%, and Native American youths make up 2% of the homeless population (Cite).

When considering the problem of homelessness, many people jump to think of the stereotypical individuals living on the sidewalks in cities who beg for money. This is a stereotype that has been instilled by movies and television shows, as not all people that are homeless live on the streets. A homeless person can be someone who stays with family or friends, or someone who is living in overcrowded, poor conditions that may affect their health. Many of the people who find themselves in these situations are youth who lack proper shelter. Homelessness amongst young people is a serious social concern in the United States. Youth homelessness is not a new occurrence and over the past decade it has grown to be an even bigger problem than before. There are many risks in the lives of homeless youth that make them more vulnerable to health problems. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, homeless children are 3.6 times more likely than non poor children to experience health risks. (Connecticut General Assembly, 2004) These health risks include physical health problems, developmental delays, decreased school achievement, and emotional and behavioral issues.

Tonight, as I return home from school, have a scrumptious meal, and fall asleep in my comfortable bedding, over half a million people struggle in homelessness. I am beyond blessed to have a roof over my head, yet nearly 200,000 children lack shelter every night. Homelessness is the single most vital societal problem we face around the globe. With the support of my community and the efforts of the nation at large, I am intent on bringing awareness to this issue and making a difference. In this essay, I will discuss three reasons why homelessness is a devastating issue, and the difference I am making in my community.

Economic problems such as being laid off of work or the rise in the cost of housing has 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 too 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 cannot 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. Teenage runaways have different reasons for leaving home but all have some of the same reason for becoming homeless. They simply