Homelessness : A Review Of Literature Essay

The information that is presented within the article contains a lot of truth about how and why homelessness came to be, and how and why is has became so persistent over the years. For example, Hulchanski calls “homelessness” a “catch-all term for a host of serious social and economic policy failures… and reflects what has happened to Canadian society - the way we organize who gets what, and our failure to have in place systems for meeting basic human needs in a universal, inclusive fashion… also reflects the institutionalization of a problem resulting now in a huge social service, health, mental health, and research sector focused on homeless or dehoused people”. Hulchanski has shift the individual blame of persons who has experiences homelessness

San Francisco has a homelessness problem, yet that problem can be solved. The problem of homelessness in San Francisco can be observed by taking a stroll through an area such as the Tenderloin District or Haight Ashbury. In these places, homeless people are plentiful, yet they are almost always overlooked by the other San Franciscans who use those areas to work and play. Providing permanent housing (as opposed to places at shelters) to chronically homeless people has been proven to be an efficient method of combatting homelessness. I propose that San Francisco introduce a voluntary 10-cent tax on coffee, as a way of raising money to provide services to homeless people within permanent housing, and simultaneously raise awareness about the housing disparity within San Francisco.

“Today … there is a growing crisis of women’s homelessness across Canada. The Canadian government has failed to explore the causes of women’s homelessness” (Rahder, 2006, p.38). This growing issue is caused by societies carelessness on the homelessness issue, and the lack of support to change it. Even the Canadian government does not see it as an urgent issue to address because, as stated above, they have even failed to

Homelessness has become an evolving epidemic of our time, and the health implications associated with being homeless makes it that much worse. Homeless people are at major risk for premature death and a wide range of health problems such as HIV, skin blemishes, and much more. It is very difficult for homeless people to fix their health issues due to the difficulty of accessing health care possibly because of missing health cards, or simply because of the stigma placed on them when they enter a public facility. Whatever the problem may be that is forcing more people to become homeless, it must be solved, and quickly before our world turns into a travesty.

Homelessness is a condition of people who lack regular access to adequate housing. As this condition becomes a growing problem in Canada people are forced to deal with the issues. Who are the homeless? They range from children to adults and even in some cases, families. Why are they homeless? Poverty, lack of jobs or well paying jobs, decline in Social Services, domestic violence, mental illness, and chemical dependency contribute to the majority of the homeless within our society. What effects does being homeless have on members of the family? It contributes to many physical and mental health problems for both parents and their children. Homelessness is a world-wide issue, yet zeroing in on Canada, the majority of the homeless live on the

According to recent research, homelessness affects between 150,000 and 300,000 Canadians a year (Cherner et al. 2017, 219; Gandermann et al. 2014, 341; Piat et al. 2015, 2367). This increase in homelessness began in the 1980’s following economic changes as well as shifts in government policy that lead to a reduction in supports for low-income families as well as a decrease in affordable housing available across Canada (Gaetz 2010, 21; Piat et al. 2015, 2367). Though proving a national problem, a concrete solution for homelessness does not exist, making it a wicked problem seemingly impossible to solve. Homelessness continues to present itself as a multifaceted

According to Lee Tunstall, homelessness is a social problem that “has been growing since the 1970’s” (2009, para.1) and has caught the attention of both the Canadian government and the general public (Tunstall, 2009) . Predominantly, the homeless are individuals or families with no permanent residence who also lack the resources or abilities necessary to arrange for their own adequate housing and living (Stearman, 2010). This matter affects a diverse demographic of the Canadian public. In 2003, the Toronto report card on housing and homelessness reported that out of 32,000 people who used homeless shelters, 15% were families, 22% were youths between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four, 18% were single women and 48% were single men (2003).

The issue of homelessness in remains an issue that is rarely acknowledged or discussed. Governments all around the world boast of all the work they are doing for their country, bringing up GDP, employment rate and promising even more. However, when the issue of homelessness is brought up, governments shy away, pretending that it is barely an issue in the country. Unfortunately, Canada is one of those countries. A study done in 2014 on the issue of homelessness in Canada found that approximately “235, 000 Canadians will experience homelessness in a year, with over 35, 000 Canadians homeless on any given night.” (Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, 5) The issue of homelessness is not a new issue; however, this issue needs to be

“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

The purpose of this study is to identify areas where the use of data, algorithms, and comprehensive need assessments could reduce costs while increasing access to services by those in need. This research has the potential to reduce duplication of processes involved in administration and services to more efficiently prevent or resolve homelessness. I have reviewed recent literature identifying many structural barriers to services faced by homeless individuals. Each of the research papers I reviewed identified areas where lack of communication between agencies, unclear criteria or unstated criteria, and poor communication with clients increased difficulty in obtaining services for eligible clients.

Halo smiled, "I think you are like me, all you know is hard times and it's hard to imagine anything else. Even when I was happy with my boyfriend, I still had all the sorrows of my home life. After I found Mom dead, it was like I was free, but the sad stuff doesn't go away. I feel like I have all this tension built up in me and there is no way to get it out."

Affordable Housing is the social problem and the social issue addressed by the social problem is homelessness. Homelessness is “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” (HHS, 2016).

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.

Throughout the entire history of human civilization, the prevalence of homelessness has been a challenge to every nation.  It might be depressing to learn that no countries today have eradicated homelessness, but the human race is never stopped from trying harder than before to tackle this prolonged issue. As the two leading economic powers, America and China have to face the challenge of reducing homelessness. According to a report written by Nation Coalition for the Homeless, “a study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty which states that approximately 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year” in America alone (National Coalition for the Homeless, July