Homelessness Is Becoming More And More Common As Time Passes

Homelessness is an issue in American society today that affects anywhere from 800,000 to 3.5 million people. There are a substantial amount of people that are without shelter, food, or employment, and there are numerous other people affected by poverty and homelessness. People living in nearly every city in the United States are affected by homelessness due to the large amounts of homeless individuals living on the streets and begging for money, food, and other necessities. The issue of homelessness has been a constant problem since the conquering of the New World, and soup kitchens and homeless shelters have not been able to fully end homelessness. Especially today, with a lack of affordable housing and high unemployment rates, homelessness is prevalent.

“One diverse population that has continued to increase over the quarter of a century is composed of people who are homeless” (Baggerly & Zalaquett, 2006, p.155). Homelessness has become a growing problem in society because more and more people are finding themselves to be homeless and not knowing where to turn. Many people do not

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

Poverty is a common social issue that has troubled nations for thousands of years. While nations like the United States of America have worked diligently to eradicate it domestically, it still widely exists.“According to the U.S. Citizen burow 47.6 million citizens living in poverty.With 20% of those households living in extreme poverty.”(PBS.org)

Homelessness in America has existed for some time now, but has grown and changed majorly over the years since the 1980’s. According to Mary Hombs, “the prevailing stereotype of a homeless person was that of a middle-aged white urban male alcoholic” (6). But now there is no stereotype because homelessness could happen to anyone at any moment, so that is why it important to be aware. Millions of people in this country do not have a place to live including whole families, children, veterans, and even the mentally ill. Going day after day without food or shelter. Throughout this paper the main focus will be answering the questions: What is homelessness?; What are the main causes of homelessness?: Who is the homeless?; and How do the people of this country assist the homeless?

Seeing homelessness develop is a process that the older generation can say they have been apart of. The young generation, on the other hand, cannot say they have seen the development of homelessness. People who are thirty years old or younger have grown up believing that homelessness was always part of the landscape. The younger generation has come to believe that there have always been homeless people sitting on park benches. When an individual is asked what they see most in a large city like Chicago or New York, ‘homeless people’ is a common response. According to the United States Census Bureau, 320.8 million individuals currently live in the United States of America. Imagine the proportion of individuals that do not own a car or even a house to live in. The National Law Center on Homelessness and poverty did studied to conclude that in America more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year. Those concerned with the issue of homelessness are curious as to what events had to have happened that lead to the individuals living on the streets. The reasons are different for each and every person. Some of the more major issues that contribute to this are lack of affordable housing, declining welfare assistance, and most importantly, mental illness. Resolving the issue of homelessness is very possible with new ways of housing and treatment for the mentally ill. The relation between the homeless and the mental illness has risen, and the United States as a whole

Homelessness has always been a problem for the United States. Since its birth as a nation, there have consistently been individuals who find themselves without a place to live, looking for shelter with family, friends, or simply anywhere they can find it. These individuals have been targeted as candidates for social aid, but this was primarily provided by churches and other care organizations. However, in the past thirty years the homeless population has increased almost exponentially in numbers. While the cause of this is undetermined, it is quite certain that while the

“Homeless is more than being without a home. It is tied into education needs, food, security; health issues both mental and physical, employment issues, etc. Don’t forget the whole picture.” (“Boxed In” 2005 pg. 108)

Homelessness is a serious societal problem affecting our communities. Katel of Housing the Homeless says “about 1.5 million Americans use a shelter in a given year- and advocates for the homeless say that figure badly understates the problem.” Yet, society looks down at these people, not doing anything to help them. They are judged, criticized, and bombarded by false assumptions everywhere they go. I have heard people say “they are like that because they chose to” or “they are lazy and don't want to work.” This is not true in most cases. The reality is life can go wrong at any moment for anyone. For some people there is no one there to help them and their only option is living on the streets or a shelter.

Poverty has been an ongoing issue since the birth of this Nation. When one thinks of poverty the last people we think of are the ones closest to home. As children some are told “finish your dinner, there are starving kids in Africa”, but what about the starving children whom are in neighborhoods close to us? Poverty is everywhere, even the places that are thought of as wealthy. Poverty in America; a continuing issue.There are many different definitions of poverty. The United States Census Bureau states that

Homelessness and poverty are no strangers to any United States citizen. On any day you are almost guaranteed to see a homeless person, whether it be a trip to a local Walmart, or a coffee shop in the city, the poverty-stricken are everywhere and completely unavoidable. In the United States there are some sobering statistics on poverty and homelessness. According to an article by Alana Semuels entitled “ The Resurrection of American Slums” the author talks about poverty in the United States. “The number of people living in high-poverty areas . . . nearly doubled between 2000 and 2013, to 13.8 million from 7.2 million” (Semuels, Par 2, 2015). When people think of homeless people they think drug-addict, or mentally insane. What they don't think

Homelessness has become an epidemic across the United States of America over the past 40 years. Despite the fact that most individuals are reminded of this problem on a daily basis when they see those without homes on the street, few solutions have been implemented that would fix the causes of this horrendous issue. Funding for programs that assist the homeless and homeless prevention programs is abysmal, while the costs incurred due to such a large homeless population continue to rise. Over the past century, a variety of acts and programs have been put in place that has dramatically affected the homeless population of the time, both positively and negatively. This problem can be directly linked to the outcomes of these acts and programs. In order to attack the root cause, the American population needs to look back at the history of homelessness and increase our awareness of what is truly preventing the homeless from mobilizing.

Homelessness has always been present, yet its numbers now outweigh any sense of reason, and the “social fabric”

Every year approximately 2.3 to 3.5 million people go homeless in the United States of America. Twelve million adults in the US were homeless in the year 2001, or are still currently without a permanent home (“Homelessness in the U.S.”). How does this happen in “the land of opportunity?” We think of ourselves as one of the greatest nations in the world, yet citizens are living a life of poverty, often without food, clothing, and shelter. When most people think of fighting homelessness, they think of providing medical assistance, showers, and counseling services for those who suffer mental illness, trauma, and substance abuse. Although these necessities are imperative in helping a significant

According to suitcaseclinic.org, homelessness is a temporary condition that people fall into when they cannot afford to pay for a place to live, or when their current home has been declared unsafe or even unstable. According to Habitat.org, this issue affects between 1.6 million to close to 3 million people within the United States ("World Habitat”). The issue is growing throughout the world, yet what is the root cause? Numerous people wonder how they can help. Most tend to believe that the solution is as simple as just giving them money to use for daily living. Even though their root cause for their issue isn’t money. It is the fact that they don’t grasp how to use their money properly/ responsibly. The homeless can’t be helped with just cash, they need the proper support systems along with education to become successful.