Homelessness Throughout America

Homelessness is a social problem that is prevalent around the world. Homelessness has existed for much of "civilized" human history. In the last two centuries, homelessness and changed and expanded. Sociologists who study and research homelessness have argued over its formal definition for decades, though for some, the definition of homelessness seems self explanatory and obvious. The paper will examine homelessness, particularly as a sociological issue, or a social issue seen from a sociological perspective. The paper will additionally reference sociological theory as a means of explanation for homelessness, such its causes, the demographics/populations, and other prominent known characteristics of homeless people. There are individuals and groups who choose to be, from a normative societal perspective, homeless, but for a great deal of the homeless population, it can be a treacherous and tragic lifestyle that is a result of a distinct set of social, societal, and individual factors.

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?

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,

The image of homelessness has changed since the Great Depression, when many homeless people were elderly and white. Today a growing number of women and families, including young children, are homeless because of insufficient housing and resources (Bassuk & Rosenberg, 1988). As the number of homeless people has continued to rise over the past decade, homelessness has become a central feature of life in America.

Early as 1640, the English “vagrants” were listed as outcaste individuals and the police were after them (Kusmer, 2002). The homeless people were regarded as “Sturdy beggars” in the mid eighteenth century and they were found in every corner of the colonial towns. For example towns like, Baltimore and Philadelphia had a more significant number of homeless than any town in America. During the American Revolution, the homelessness increased like never before. Many individuals soon after the war were forced into homelessness due to insufficient needs. By the depression of 1857, most of the growing cities were full of homeless people but there was no effort to intervene from the government (Kusmer,

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 increasing become one of the most pressing and urgent social political problems of our time. It is argued that three of the most important policy issues are health, housing and income. Homelessness is defined as a situation in which an individual lacks a fixed, regular and adequate residence during the night. This definition excludes individuals in correctional facilities or those detained by law. The case is clearly depicted in urban communities, where thousands of people live on the streets or shelters. In rural areas the case of homelessness is less prevalent in that, homeless persons are likely to live with a relative or friends in

There is no doubt that being homeless has always been a problem in America. It is a problem for everybody, no one ever wants to be deemed homeless. Recent studies reveal that being homeless has now turned into an epidemic in some cities across the country. The homeless population has increased this year for the first time since the Great Recession and I think it is utterly ridiculous when the top two prominent cities in the United States (New York City and Los Angeles) are among the top three homeless cities in the world. The increase has been so disturbing that some state governments decided to call for a state of emergency. The reason behind the homeless population increase is due to the West Coasts flourishing economy. Rent wages increased

One of the most dominant reasons for homelessness is due to financial difficulties. Poverty, unemployment, and a lack of affordable housing are some of the main financial reasons which leads to homelessness (Thompson. p. 4). Millions of Americans live close to the poverty line. People living at this level of income commonly do not have additional resources at

Homeless as defined by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as an individual who lacks housing, including those whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary living accommodations, they are a person with out permanent housing, who may live on the streets, in a shelter, abandoned building, or other unstable situations (HHS). It is important for communities throughout the United States to develop a system that identifies the number of homeless around them. This information is valuable to many government and private agencies, it enables them to acquire, and maintain needed resources and money in order to best serve their homeless populations. There are different ways that communities attempt to count their homeless population, shelters, feeding centers and others who provide resources are able to take count of how many they serve each day, but unfortunately it can be hard to track those who do not come on a returning basis. The US Census Bureau every 10 years also conducts a Service-Based Enumeration (SEB) to help count the population In the study published by the National

During the Great Depression, millions of Americans were unemployed which was a huge issue. Unemployment led to homelessness and being poor. Millions of people were unemployed and struggling to find any jobs (Hayes). As the Great Depression got worse and worse, the number of hiring jobs decreased and less jobs were available. Companies were “Firing and not hiring” so many Americans were homeless and unable to make money to support their struggling families (Hayes). The loss of jobs did an incredible amount of damage to the Americans living during this horrific time.

Whose responsibility is it to help the homeless in the United States? I believe that it is everyone’s responsibility. As of January 2015 the homeless count in America was 564,708 people (Fluit, 2015). Even though this is a decline in homeless in America this is still unacceptable. As Americans we need to do all that we can to decrease these numbers. There is so much we could do that would go a long way to help our homeless, like donating time or money to the proper organizations.

Homelessness has always been a problem in major cities across the United States and even the world. This problem also affects out local community and even all of us individually. (Daily) A majority of the American people lives paycheck to paycheck, and according to statistics, we are only one or two paychecks away from becoming homeless. While there are many reasons a person or family can become homeless, a majority of those problems come from a lack of income. The job market of today is quickly dwindling and shows no signs of improvement. This market mixed with new government policies is becoming an issue for struggling American’s on the poverty line. Homelessness is becoming a vast problem

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.

Complications in relationships can end in an individual or a family without a home. Sometimes an issue with family or friends can drive someone out of their home to living on the street. The loss of a loved one who is the main source of income can force their family to move out due to the expenses of housing. According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women. Without enough income, these women choose to live on the streets rather than continue their abuse. A family