Homelessness In The United States

     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

Homelessness in the United States can be ended, not just maintained. Allot of cities now have plans to eradicate homelessness. Homelessness and housing instability are large issues that afflict a diverse demographic such as: Families, youth, veterans, and chronically homeless single male adults. Ending homelessness may require specialized solutions that are specific to individual needs. Factors like these make defeating homelessness a difficult task. Although solutions exist for some of the demographics, such as housing for chronically homeless adults, scaling up best practices remains a challenge. For other subpopulations, such as transitional aged youth, evidence-based interventions need to be developed. In this paper we argue that ending homelessness is a Grand Challenge that is big, important, and compelling—one that the profession of social work should be adopt. Meeting this challenge will require a focused, organized response from social work researchers, clinicians, and policymakers. Ending homelessness will require innovation and interdisciplinary or cross-sector collaboration. Key words: Housing First, Permanent Supportive Housing, rapid re-housing, prevention, poverty. The notion that homelessness in the United States can be ended, rather than managed (Mangano, 2002; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2012), represents a fundamental shift in expectations from the 1980s and ’90s. Since the early 2000s, researchers, policymakers, advocates,

First, government provides housing assistance to low-income families. Low-income families just need pay 30% of their total income for rent. Second, mainstream programs provide a safety net for homelessness. This net makes mainstream programs like housing assistance, welfare, and substance support could provide what homelessness need quickly. Third, Communities created a data system to record information about homelessness. These information could be analyzed to help people know the cause of people become homeless, how long people become homeless, what exactly homeless people need, and the effect of mainstream’s support. Government already saw some positive influence of these programs. The number of family homelessness decreased 43 percent in Hennepin Country. New York creased 11 percent of homeless families was placed by a permanent housing. (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2010)

During the 1980’s the number of "homeless" people, those without a house in which to reside, increased at an alarming rate. Many analysts have given much time and thought as to the reasons that this phenomenon occurred. They cite economic instability and government policies with facts and figures to support their work. Beyond the research and cold statistics that explain this event, are the victims, and those that worked to help relieve their hardship. An interview with Philip Guerrieri gives us insight into the personal lives of these individuals whom he calls "houseless," and the realities of staying alive, both physically and spiritually, on the streets.

Homelessness in the United States is a serious problem that can be helped by giving homeless people opportunities to thrive in better conditions and/or communities. Although getting them off the streets is a huge step in the right direction, other actions need to be taken. Making sure they have somebody in their corner is a huge step in that process. There are 1,750,000 homeless people on the streets at this very moment. 1 in 30 children in the US, 40% of the homeless population are also Veterans. Some people wonder how someone even becomes homeless, there are multiple reasons, such as physical or mental impairments, living in poverty, and tragic life occurrences.

While the homeless population in the United States has declined over the past five years it is still much higher then it needs to be. Currently San Diego County has the fifth highest homeless population in the United States. The homeless population of San Diego County is mostly located in and around the downtown and beach areas of the county however it has started to spread into more areas of the county to include the San Diego River area of Santee. While there is a portion of the homeless population that choose to be homeless a large number of them are homeless due to falling on hard times. While it would be hard to get every homeless person off the streets there are something’s that can be done to help them. One way to solve this problem is to repurpose some of the currently vacant government building and unused county owned land throughout the county and convert them into homeless shelters. While this solution may reduce the homeless population we first need to look at who and why people are homeless in this country.

The issue of homelessness is one that I can relate to all too well. About twenty five years ago I found myself among the homeless. My story is simple, I had no formal education and was working a job making minimum wage. I couldn’t keep up with my rent and other living expenses and was finally evicted from my overpriced apartment. At the time I was on a waiting list for public housing for which there was at least a two year waiting period. The fact that I was single, with no children did not help me either. For a while I lived on the streets and in shelters, too ashamed to approach what family members I had with my problems knowing that they were

There is no doubt that being homeless has always been a problem in America. It is a problem for everybody, no one ever wants to be deemed homeless. Recent studies reveal that being homeless has now turned into an epidemic in some cities across the country. The homeless population has increased this year for the first time since the Great Recession and I think it is utterly ridiculous when the top two prominent cities in the United States (New York City and Los Angeles) are among the top three homeless cities in the world. The increase has been so disturbing that some state governments decided to call for a state of emergency. The reason behind the homeless population increase is due to the West Coasts flourishing economy. Rent wages increased

Given national recognition, The State of Homelessness in America benefits individuals needlessly suffering from a lack of shelter and a steady income. Efforts such as raising awareness and knowledge about the increase in the homeless population has sparked a number of organizations devoted to lessening the amount of individuals living on the streets in major cities. The state of homelessness is able to provide accurate information and statistics for viewers nationwide.

The issue and problem of homelessness is and has been widespread throughout the world; different countries address the problem in a variety of ways. Here in the United States, both the government and nonprofit agencies exist in order to address the wide array of problems homelessness entails. For example, Government programs such as The Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness exist as a partnered effort by the US Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs, and the US Interagency Council on Homelessness. These entities exist in an effort to collaboratively house and deliver services to

According to a study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, in America alone, more than 3.5 million people, including 1.35 million children, experience homelessness yearly (nationalhomeless.org). Of that 3.5 million, 35% are families with children (studentsagainsthunger.org). Worldwide, 100 million people are homeless yearly (homelessworldcup.org). These people are forced to sleep in parks, under bridges, abandoned buildings, shelters, and sometimes cars if available. There are approximately 1.7 million homeless teens in the US and 1 of 7 of every teen are runaways (dosomething.org). More than half of these teens will use drugs or alcohol to self medicate through their traumatic experience. Unfortunately, 5,000 of these teens and young adults die yearly because of assault or illness on the streets (dosomething.org). In most cases, homelessness is temporary, but is still a problem encountered by many. Homelessness and poverty are increasing epidemics around the world, striking millions of people every age, ethnicity, and religion.

During the Great Depression, millions of Americans were unemployed which was a huge issue. Unemployment led to homelessness and being poor. Millions of people were unemployed and struggling to find any jobs (Hayes). As the Great Depression got worse and worse, the number of hiring jobs decreased and less jobs were available. Companies were “Firing and not hiring” so many Americans were homeless and unable to make money to support their struggling families (Hayes). The loss of jobs did an incredible amount of damage to the Americans living during this horrific time.

help others who are in any way, shape or form underprivileged; including the homeless. While,

The thought of being homeless is a terrifying to anyone, but sadly for many it is a reality. I could never imagine not knowing where I was going to sleep for the night, especially not as a teenager. Teenage years are a struggle for everyone then adding homelessness into it gives an entirely different set of issues for someone to be presented with.

As Americans, individuals take the small comforts of life for granted daily. The everyday individual overlooks a growing dilemma in the U.S., and goes home every night to the comfort of their family. The homeless population has increased over the years, and continues to grow by the day with the increase of the cost of living. Healthcare needs, and the availability of facilities to the under privileged is a major problem in the United States. Up to 610,000 individuals and families are living on the streets each and every night. All of these individuals are at a greater risk of contracting an illness simply because of their living situations, as well as not having the means to financially afford the cost of a doctor’s visit.