Homelessness Research Paper

Homeless people are a vulnerable population in many respects that they always face discrimination and exclusion because of their housing condition. It is a social problem that typically low wages and shortage of affordable housing are the main factors contributing to homelessness. In fact, many poor people face significant barriers to maintain stable housing because they don’t have accessibilities to increase their economic stability. Overall, there are significant factors that contribute to homelessness that many homeless people usually struggle with limited access to resources, lack of information about services, and lack of support systems.

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

Accessibility to affordable housing for the homeless in an issue that not only influences the impoverished, but people of all races. The insufficiency of stable housing forces individuals who are facing extreme poverty, at times, to make choices that are out of their control. The loss of employment and distressful events that have occurred in their lives can eventually lead to a person or a family becoming homeless.

The United States of America is the place known to many as the land of the free, home of the brave, and the place to start a better life. With any place that has good qualities, some have not so good qualities. The homeless population in the United States is at a staggering high, and many individuals are suffering because many lack employment/financial resources, housing resources, support from family and friends, and others negligence; such as natural disasters or fires. Homeless individuals may have no other choice than to live on the streets, trains, and alley ways to name a few places where homeless people seek shelter. The history of homelessness, social problems, demographics, common clinical

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?

The Homeless are a vulnerable population. Homelessness is a social issue that anyone can almost be subjected to despite his or her age, race, ethnicity or geographical background. Kornblum (2012) defined homelessness as… “as a social condition in which people do not have regular housing and are forced to sleep in public places, public shelters, or facilities designed for homeless individuals and families” (p.280). The homeless population faces several adversaries in their lifetime of being homeless. Their adversaries are a lack physical and emotional disabilities, and possibly drug abuse. Grant some are homeless by choice, whereas most are homeless by mishaps, but nevertheless, they are humans deserving to be treated with fairness, dignity,

Homelessness is a critical issue that requires everyone’s attention. Hundreds of thousands of homeless people live on the streets as their shelter. Historically, homelessness has always been a problem in society. Homeless people were known as “the wondering poor”, “sturdy beggars”, and as “vagrants,” but it was not until the late 18th century that homelessness because noticeable to society. Homeless person is anyone who lacks adequate shelter, resources, and community ties. People who are homeless can be categorized as chronic deinstitutionalized or temporary

My capstone project is on homelessness and preventative methods. Research on the various factors that are associated with homelessness and how to best reduce or end the homeless situation. Research shows that there are many suggestions on methods to reduce homelessness (the Homeless First Program) which have proven to reduce the numbers in various states across America (Tsemberis, Gulcur & Nakae, 2004). The homelessness problems are multifaceted with overlapping of other factors such as mental illness and risks, which include substance abuse, health disparities, and victimization, all of which have a role in the homelessness (Canton, Dominguez, Schanzer, Hasin, Shrout, Felix, McQuistion, Opler & Hsu, 2005).

Homelessness can simply be defined as the lack of house or shelter. Hulchanski (n.d.) believes that homelessness is “a great unresolved political and social problem of our time.” He defines homelessness as:

Homeless in America is the most shameful problem that we try to ignore.Such as Arnold Abbot, a 90 year old man who went around making good for the homeless; and the couple Brenda Knokrl and her boyfriend Robert Bloch letting homeless people sleep on their porch. Getting fined for their effort to help. Homelessness continues to be a major issue in our country because we as people look down upon them and do not treat them as equals, we assume that they are in situations based on the addiction and dependency of drugs and alcohol. Not all homeless people are drug addicts or alcoholics, most of these homeless people are young adults with children and most people don't understand that homelessness goes

Homelessness affects millions of people every year. Homelessness is an endless epidemic that continues to grow. There isn’t one specific causal factor to this every increasing population. Individuals experiencing homelessness come from various backgrounds and cultures physically, financially, and emotionally. They could be considered the melting pot for diversity. Often times individuals experiencing homeless are judged by their outer appearance with no regard for the contributing factors to the situation. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, “in January 2014, there were 578,424 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in the United States. Of that number, 216,197 are people in families, and 362,163 are individuals” (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015). The homeless population contains “about 15 percent who are considered to be chronically homeless and 9 percent are homeless veterans” (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015).

First, the chronically homeless are a very costly population to serve. A large number of

I also think the homeless population is a vulnerable population that required a lot of help. When it comes to the homeless population, it does not mean one individual, but it can be a group of families or children. Being homeless you can be young or old. The homeless population are already have limit resources to them such as notify information, transportation, and medical needs. In an event of a disaster, it is important to find a solution to help the homelessness people to be at a safe shelter. One of the most important aspect and challenge when it comes to helping the homeless population is communication. Since they do not have access to technology to provide them information about a disaster, there must be a way to spread the words

As a young First Nations single mother of two I had witnessed first hand the struggles, barriers and obstacles many people in the community were facing; issues such as, lack of basic housing, inadequate food, poverty, addictions, and suicides to name a few.

Addressing homelessness, regardless of its cause, requires creativity, empathy and dedication. Oftentimes, the factors that lead to homelessness are complicated and intertwined, with no clear origin. Medical catastrophes, job loss, and foreclosure or eviction can be the catalyst into a life of insecurity and chronic homelessness. Once secure, stable housing is lost, a person faces a slippery slope. In Kansas City, like many other substantial cities, efforts to combat homelessness must be creative and comprehensive in order to succeed. Social programs that focus on stable housing and address the complicated causes of homelessness prove to be the most successful.