Homelessness Is A Problem That Affects Many Americans

47,725 or about 8% of the homeless population are veterans and 50% of the homeless people are over 50 years old in the U.S. Homelessness is an unsatisfactory issue that we as humans do not see the importance of the help they need. In our community, we take things for granted and not worry about the importance of helping others. The unfortunate people living in the streets have passed through difficult times and appreciate small or big things. Homeless is a person without a home, and therefore typically living on the streets. Some homeless people have become abusive of drugs, alcohol, and other different type of drugs. Homelessness is a major problem in our society. Homelessness contaminates our city, makes our city look dirty, and it is priority to fix this problem.

Homeless families compose a fraction of the homeless population as they “represent roughly a third of the homeless population in the United States (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2010), and approximately 1.5 million children—1 in 50 youngsters—are homeless each year in the United States” (p. 389). These homeless families often struggle to find permanent residency as a collective unit. There are several types of housing situations available for homeless families such as temporary housing, transitional housing settings, and shelters, yet the housing situation for homeless families often causes stress for families as stability and a secure home is always in question. “The lack of stable, consistent housing is the central, defining characteristic of families experiencing homelessness, distinguishing them and their experience(s) from those with stable housing who experience other correlated conditions (e.g., poverty)” (Kilmer, Cook, Crusto, Strater, and Haber, 2012, p. 394). Homeless families often seek different types of housing usually by first reaching out to temporary shelters in emergency situations like domestic violence that often lead to homelessness, which provide services for children and families. There are many challenges families encounter in the process of seeking permanent housing.

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.

Homelessness has always been a social problem in the United States; however, it only began to take precedence as an important policy problem to be solved by our nation’s lawmakers in the 1970s and 1980s. Homeless veterans initially

To make things worse about 9 percent of the total number of homeless are veterans of war. Of the amount of homeless seeking shelter every day about 217,000 of them are families which include women and children. Most of the time homeless families are the result of some sort of financial crisis, which left them to be without a home or even food for the children. Most of these families receive some sort of help from the government such as short-term help with payments and job

The history of homelessness in America has been documented since 1640. During that time, homelessness was perceived to be a personal, ethical imperfection. Much like the members of today’s society, the first impression of a homeless person is considered to be that they are lazy, drunken, or a bum. On the contrary, homelessness is not always a matter of choice, and vagrants are not deserving of their predicament. The Industrial Revolution, American Civil War, and Great Depression exemplify some

Homelessness is an issue in the United States. Individuals often become homeless for reasons such as; joblessness, underemployment, and enervation of unemployment benefits. People with families often do not earn enough income to support a family and provide adequate housing. Some people neglect to pay their rent, and as a result, he or she and possibly the entire family become homeless. In addition, people and families with barriers associated with medical issues, illicit drug use, and sexual/physical abuse may become homeless. The impact of multiple barriers on a person and/or family and lack of available resources to address these needs, is one of the many reasons why homelessness is such a serious issue within communities

Blowing wind, extreme temperatures, lack of private amenities and feeling of shame; these are all of the issues that homeless people endure on a daily basis. Homelessness is an issue that is on rise for many communities throughout the United States. It not only is your stereotypical person but it can be families who have come of hard times but also our veterans who have served our country. According to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council website (2016), “A homeless individual is defined 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 that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in a transitional housing” (para. 1). Issues caused by homelessness have many communities creating policies and ordinances for those issues that could become a future problem.

I Feel like homelessness is a serious yet under rated issue specially here in the United States of America. In fact, the economy is still recovering from a big recession in 2008 caused by the banks giving out loans to people who really couldn't afford to pay them. I recall watching the news back in 2008 and 2009 and seeing the rate of people getting foreclosures on their homes skyrocket that it made me think about my living situation. Although this is a circumstantial situation that would force some one to become homeless, There are people who voluntarily choose to be homeless as well. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/recession-leads-to-25-rise-in-homelessness-as-spending-to-tackle-the-problem-falls-7994416.html).

Homelessness is all over the nation-- like an epidemic, it invades the lives of unsuspecting people, college students and veterans being a subsection of the homeless population affected. A staggering 5,600 college students nationwide are homeless or living in their cars, with the numbers increasing yearly (Gregory). Our brave veterans put their lives on the line to protect this country and go overseas with the government’s false promise that once they return from war, they’ll have an enormous pension, but once they return, the only things waiting for them are the cold streets. No sane human being would ask to be left without shelter and sustenance, but what if by a tragic incident, one day all your belongings are gone and the only items

Do you think there is to little homeless shelters? People died on the streets for being to hot or too cold. Americans starve to death because living on the streets. There should be more homeless shelters in America to get people off the streets forever to help people who need it to make America a better place.

About 1.7 million youth in America will encounter homelessness each year (Tompsett, Domoff, & Toro, 2013). Homelessness within the youth population in America is a serious problem and there are many associated risks and hazards identified with being homeless as a youth. For this research youth has been established to be any person between the ages of 12 and 18; in the process of maturing through adolescent stages of growth (Oliveira & Burke, 2013, p. 154). Youth whom become homeless are at risk of developing a lifestyle or acculturation to street living. Researchers are exploring the causes of homelessness in the youth population and the consequences of homelessness.

In the United States, the amount of the homeless individuals continues to fluctuate throughout the country and the inconsistency is apparent. In total, 33 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) reported decreases in overall homelessness, while 16 states reported an increase (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2016). The states with decreases in homelessness were focused in the South and Midwest (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2016). Even though, there is a national decrease in unsheltered homelessness, only 18 states reported decreases in the number of people living in unsheltered locations such as streets, cars, and abandoned buildings. The national decrease in unsheltered homelessness was

Your post is very insightful and a pleasure to read; I agree with you and Elaina that homelessness not only a global issue it, is a significant issue in the United States. You write that there are about 3.5 million homeless people throughout the world and there are a number of causes contributing to homelessness such as; domestic violence, mental illness, poor education, poor social skills and substance abuse (Shi & Singh, 2015). The United States have a number of homeless every day; reported to be in excess of 500 thousand with over 47 thousand individuals are veterans (National Alliance to End Homelessness, n.d.). With the ongoing war against terrorism, the number of veterans that are having difficulty returning to a normal life is steadily

Homelessness is also the product of individual difficulties such as legal issues stemming from past offenses and mental disabilities like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for our veterans returning from foreign wars.