Jessy Clark
Dr Iudicello
English 102
30 November 2016
Homelessness in America
“On a single night in January 2015, there were 564,708 people experiencing homelessness in the United States. Sixty-nine percent of those who were homeless were in sheltered locations and 31 percent were found in unsheltered locations” (Facts). People living in poverty are most likely have a high risk becoming homeless. Many other reasons why becoming homeless is due to economic conditions such as unemployment and increasing housing costs (Why). In addition, with all the new economic rules they are at higher risk of losing what they have already. In certain areas, homeless people are families, single mothers, and children are a major issue in homelessness. However, the number of homeless is families who has children had increased more over the past decade or so. It is the fastest growing division of the homeless population. The problem of homelessness in America is growing drastically. It is an issue that can strike at anyone in each moment and least expect when the situation occurs. Therefore, this should be addressed as a major crisis than an inconvenient issue. The National Alliance to End Homelessness and the Government should come together to create a solution to end all homelessness around America for once and for all.
As homelessness describes back in “1640s homelessness was seen as a moral of weakness, a character flaw” (America). If someone found one self in the 1600s homeless they had
To be homeless is to not have a home or a permanent place of residence. Nationwide, there is estimated to be 3.5 million people that are homeless, and roughly 1.35 million of them are children. It is shown that homeless rates, which are the number of sheltered beds in a city divided by the cities population, have tripled since the 1980’s (National Coalition for Homeless, 2014). Worldwide, it is estimated that 100 million children live and work on the streets. Homeless children are more at risk than anyone else, and are among the fastest growing age groups of homelessness. Single women with children represent the fastest growing group of homeless, accounting for about 40% of the people that are becoming
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,
People often think that homelessness only affects men and women but in reality homelessness also affects families “It is estimated that 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness every year. Among this group, 17 percent are single women and 30 percent are families with children” (Finfgeld-Connet, 2010, p.1). It is said that women along with their children are among the fastest growing homeless population and not only does it impact women but it also impacts their children significantly.
In fiscal year 2006, the HUD, Department of Housing and Urban Development, was presented a budget by the Bush Administration consisting of $528.5 billion for homeless programs (Romeo 1). The problem of homelessness and extreme poverty is not a new occurrence; but in past years more extreme measures have been taken to combat the issue as more people become homeless. Expensive social programs and housing developments for the homeless have been created to help battle the increasing issue. Homelessness is an expensive problem that will never end; furthermore, the condition of homeless people in America is affected by the type of education they receive, the state of the economy, and the amount of funds that are available to house and feed them.
Majority of American families are a paycheck, illness or car breakdown away from homelessness. One of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population is families with children. A survey conducted in 25 cities in the U.S found that 36% of the homeless population was composed of families with children, (Millennial Housing Commission. Meeting Our Nation's Housing Challenges, 2002). Homeless children have demonstrated serious developmental and learning delays, and are more likely to drop out of school compared to children with stable living conditions. Single Homeless adults are mostly men between the ages of 31 and 50 years of age. Approximately half of the single adult homeless have use or a have a history of substance abuse. About a third of this population has serious or ongoing illnesses. Another segment of the homeless population are thruway or runway youth. One study showed that approximately one and a half million youth in America were homes at least one night in the course of a year, (U.S. Conference of Mayors. Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness, 2001). Homelessness is a result of complex circumstances in which people are made to choose from the basic human
Because of the weak economy and high unemployment rates homelessness is on the rise at an alarming rate. Homelessness is worse in some areas of the United States compared to other areas because of incomes that are drastically falling, jobs that are no longer very secure which offer fewer benefits to the worker and their family members. The United States is experiencing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Necessary wages made by the hour only improved by one-sixth of the rate from 2007 for employees in production work. Workers in the workforce were given a cut in hours and lowered weekly earnings. As the growth of wages goes down and the consumption growth increases it makes the economic recovery farther out
“On any given night, there are approximately 643,067 people experiencing homelessness in America.” Homelessness in america is becoming a severe crisis a crisis we need to find solutions to. There are not many sound solutions to homelessness unless the government wants to spend millions of taxpayer dollars. Some of the solutions to homelessness can be government housing for the homeless, increasing employment and Income, and creating a crisis response plan.
The topic I have decided to focus Genius Hour on is how to solve the problem of homelessness in the United States. More than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year. And in 2013, there was a high of 2.5 million homeless children. But why should people care? People should care because if they ever went into foreclosure, they could be secure in knowing that they would still have a place to stay in and would not be forced to go on the streets. A solution to eliminating homelessness would be incorporating some socialism factors of government into our federal government. I consider this a sensible solution because our federal government has a double security system that prevents our government
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of poverty on young children and their families. The focus will be on homelessness and how the child is affected in two major settings: the home, or lack of, and school. In both of these settings, children are impacted by different social forces and must push through barriers that are set before them given their circumstance. “Living without permanent, long-term housing creates a number of stressors for children and families, but being homeless can be particularly detrimental to the healthy development of young children” (McCoy-Roth, Mackintosh, & Murphey, 2012). “Homeless families with very young children are one of the fastest growing segments of homelessness. This period in the life
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
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,
As many as 3.5 million Americans are considered homeless each year. Often, people believe that homelessness is a complication only caused by the poor choices of a single person when they are typically the result of multiple uncontrollable factors. For some, the line between being homeless and not can be very thin, with several obstacles preventing stability. These individuals and families commonly come from more deprived areas. Those who are homeless can be very different to each other in how and why they came to be in their situation, but they all have in common their desire to find a way back to a normal and healthy lifestyle. Homelessness is an issue created by poor physical and mental health, a lack of money, and relationship complications.
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
Homelessness as an issue in today's society is largely ignored. To many, the problem of homelessness is invisible or barely noticed. When these people do see the homeless it is found in the form of beggars who need to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” or mentally ill people who “just can't help themselves”. In either case the central point remains; the homeless must be people who are incapable or unwilling to help themselves. After all, wouldn't they stop being homeless if they just tried? These sorts of rationalizations cover a more disturbing truth; that for many in today's society, the spectre of homelessness is more pressing of a problem than helping those who are already on the