Homelessness Is a Rapidly Growing Problem Essay

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

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.

There are varying estimates regarding the number of homeless people in America. According to reports from NLCHP the number of homeless people in America is 3 million which include 1.3 million children. ("Homelessness and Poverty, Overview," 1). As I am living in the state of California so I want you to take notice of the homelessness in this state. Estimates reveal that there are 4,400 to 8,800 homeless people in Foresno County (Della-Piana, 2006). The other areas like San Joaquin County has 2,700 people homeless (Farrow, 2009) and in Sacramento County there are similar number of homeless individuals. The situation has become worse due to financial crisis and financial conditions of foreclosures and layoffs. Other reasons are shortage of cheap housing and increase in inner city drug culture due to which homelessness increased in California's Central Valley.

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

Since January of 2002 the homelessness rate has increased 69 percent. There are more than 52,400 homeless

Homelessness in the United States is an area of concern for providers, government officials, policy professionals, and society at large. An estimated 1.6 million unduplicated persons use transitional housing or emergency shelters every year. Of these people, approximately 1/3 are members of households with children, a nine percent increase since 2007. A study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty stated that approximately 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2007). With 2007 as a benchmark, the data from the report showed a 6.8 percent decline in homelessness among individuals, a 3.7 percent decline of homeless families, a

In the United States of America where it is considered as one of the wealthiest countries in the world, many people are still experiencing homelessness. In the year 2015, 564,708 people were recorded to be homeless in just one night (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2016). On the other hand, in the year 2014, there were 578,424 homeless people. Of that number, 216,197 were family members, and 362,163 were individuals. 15 percent of that number was homeless because of having chronic disabilities, while 9 percent were veterans.

According to Streetwise of Street News Services (2010), the first reported instances of homelessness dates as far back as 1640, in some of the larger cities in the original 13 colonies. At this time, there were wars being fought between settlers and Native Americans, and people were left with no shelter in both sides (Street News Service, 2010). Later, the industrial revolution caused more homelessness, industrial accidents left many former hard-working families with a dead provider, or with severe disabilities, and then the economy entered a recession in the same time period (Street News Service, 2010). Wars always left a large number of veterans homeless. Later, in 1927, there was an astronomical flood along the Mississippi River,

Today, Homelessness in the US is becoming one of the top challenging issues to fix. Recent available data shows an increase the number of the homeless between 2014 and 2015. On a single night in January 2014, 578,424 people were experiencing Homelessness — meaning they were sleeping outside or in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program. From 2014 to 2015, a period of ongoing recovery from the Great Recession, overall homelessness decreased by 2.3 percent and Homelessness decreased among every major subpopulation: unsheltered persons (10 percent), families (2.7 percent), chronically Homeless individuals (2.5 percent), and veterans (10.5 percent). Yet a recent report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, says homelessness decreased by nearly 4% over the past year.. The reports shows:

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness (2016), in January 2015 there were approximately 564,708 individuals living in emergency shelters or outdoors. With the baby boomer population aging, the rate of homelessness among this population has also increased.

     Although it is very hard to estimate the number of homeless people in the US, we can get very close using massive amounts of studies and the census so we can at least get a good idea so we can start helping them. 52% of requests for emergency shelter for families were denied in the last year, a 22% increase from least year.(2) Homeless families in rural areas have very little or nothing to fall back on if they are faced with homelessness. They are often forced to live with friends or relatives to avoid homelessness. This is often considered homelessness and counted in studies. However, nearly half of the families requiring emergency shelter aren't even as lucky as to have a friend or relative to live with.(3) The national estimate for homelessness in the United States as of 2001, was 3.5 Million people, 1.5 million of them being

Each country in the world is faced with various social issues that attract the interests of society and the government. Homelessness is an enormous issue that America has been dealing with for years. There are millions of people, including children, families, veterans, and the elderly who go day to day without food, water or any form of shelter. Mentally ill people also have a rough time out on the streets due to their state of confusion, which makes it dangerous for them, as well as others to be on the streets. Many of these people have had no choice but to become homeless. Economic problems such as being laid off work, or the rise in the cost of housing have lead people to live on the streets.

Homelessness is increasing more every year. In fact, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, over 640,000 people experience homelessness every

According to Social Solutions there are 564,708 people in the United States that are homeless as of 2016. 15% of the homeless are chronically homeless, which means an individual who has disability and has experienced homelessness for a year or longer. 35% are families who can’t afford housing, 8% of the homeless are veterans due to poverty and overcrowding in government housing, and the rest of the homeless are single young adults who either got rejected for being who they are or there was conflict and they ran away.( Social Solutions) The National Alliance to End Homelessness explains,

Homelessness is a major problem facing many cities. Some people are homeless because of unfortunate situations, and others are homeless by choice. Homelessness has been around since 1640.