Housing Crisis Summary

This perspective holds the view that the causes of homelessness lies outside of an individual’s control, and are often the result of a failure of public institutions. Structural causes are often those that affect the opportunities and the social environments for individuals, and as a result leads to a critical shortage of affordable housing, a lack of adequate income, and even discrimination (Gaetz, S., Donaldson, J., Richter, T., & Gulliver, T. 2013). For many, the lack of affordable housing - which is arguably the main contributor to immigrant homelessness in Toronto - may materialize from interwoven forms of discrimination and oppression based on an individual’s race, gender, social class, and even religion. Due to the low average household incomes of immigrants, the demand for affordable housing is further heightened. A study done in Toronto comparing homelessness and housing issues amongst women, revealed that compared to Canadian-born women, non-status migrant women had the most unstable pre-shelter housing, and stayed in shelters much longer compared to the other groups that were interviewed (Paradis, E., Novac, S., Sarty, M., & Hulchanski, J. D. 2010). This study supports the perspective that immigrant homelessness is the result of the failure of public institutions who are responsible for the policies which govern the

During the early 2000 's, the United States housing market experienced growth at an unprecedented rate, leading to historical highs in home ownership. This surge in home buying was the result of multiple illusory financial circumstances which reduced the apparent risk of both lending and receiving loans. However, in 2007, when the upward trend in home values could no longer continue and began to reverse itself, homeowners found themselves owing more than the value of their properties, a trend which lent itself to increased defaults and foreclosures, further reducing the value of homes in a vicious, self-perpetuating cycle. The 2008 crash of the near-$7-billion housing industry dragged down the entire U.S. economy, and by extension, the global economy, with it, therefore having a large part in triggering the global recession of 2008-2012.

Structural factors, such as the availability of low-income housing exacerbate on the already burdening individual factors. The rise in homelessness is mostly due to the decrease in the number of low-cost housing units. Nowadays, families were struggling to consolidate their current situations because they are unable to afford the housing need (Thomas Betar, 2012). Inadequate of affordable housing is one of the contributors of homelessness (Ghee WY, Omar RNBR, 2015). A large number of low-income people have been forced to move. Nearly 6,000 people older people who are aged 60 or above in Victoria need to pay the rent of more than thirty percent of their salary (Ronaldson, 1999). The shortage of affordable and available housing straightforwardly harmonizes to levels of homelessness and inadequacy income and insufficient of

The housing crisis of the late 2000s rocked the economy and changed the landscape of the real estate business for years to come. Decades of people purchasing houses unfordable houses and properties with lenient loans policies led to a collective housing bubble. When the banking system faltered and the economy wilted, interest rates were raised, mortgages increased, and people lost their jobs amidst the chaos. This all culminated in tens of thousands of American losing their houses to foreclosures and short sales, as they could no longer afford the mortgage payments on their homes. The United States entered a recession and homeownership no longer appeared to be a feasible goal as many questioned whether the country could continue to support a middle-class. Former home owners became renters and in some cases homeless as the American Dream was delayed with no foreseeable return. While the future of the economy looked bleak, conditions gradually improved. American citizens regained their jobs, the United States government bailed out the banking industry, and regulations were put in place to deter such events as the mortgage crash from ever taking place again. The path to homeowner ship has been forever altered, as loans in general are now more difficult to acquire and can be accompanied by a substantial down payment.

Initially, Matthew Desmond’s book Evicted represents a profound and realistic ethnography about people’s day-to-day experiences of poverty with a particular focus on the outcomes of housing instability within the state. He exploits the evidence from housing court administrative records, excerpts from the news, and different surveys of renters to support his point of view revealed in the book. In his work, Desmond raises questions why the state is introducing the housing policy that deteriorates the position of tenants renting from private landlords and how a person with the monthly income of $628 and rent of $550 can not only provide his family but also survive. In Evicted, Matthew Desmond reasonably criticizes the American housing system according to which most of the low-income tenants are left alone in the private rental market and have no options to receive affordable apartments.

Experts from various fields, ranging from economics to health care services, are divided on how the task should be approached. Some homeless advocates propose the implementation of preventative policies focused on housing affordability and others on policies that prevent the discrimination of the homeless. The truth of the matter is that there are too many connecting issues that have caused homelessness to escalate from a lifestyle that was really only lived by middle aged individuals with a substance abuse problem, to a condition

The severity of homelessness and poverty has been a much-debated topic in America. Some people believe that homelessness is one of the most serious issues in our country, while others think that the percentage is not high enough to qualify homelessness as a massive problem. In, reality, however, the subject of homelessness cannot be confined to simply “existent” and “non-existent”.

The United States is currently experiencing a homelessness crisis, matched by the Great Depression. An estimated number of sixty-two thousand American citizens are restricted to living in shelters in New York City alone, which also does not include those who are not living in the shelters. Giselle Routhier, policy director for the Coalition for the Homeless, addresses this issue in her in-depth website article titled Rejecting Low Expectations: Housing is the Answer. Published in 2017 by the Coalition for the Homeless website (http://nationalhomeless.org), her primary focus in writing this extensive article was to bring awareness to the homeless problem (as of 2017) in New York City and provide the public with possible solutions. In her website

“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 is unsafe or unstable” (Suitcase). Over the past few years, homelessness has decreased in America. Even though it has decreased, homelessness is still very common in the US. Recent studies show that more than three million people in the United States are homeless each year. Thirty percent of homeless people have been living on the streets for more than two years (National). Adults, families, and even children struggle with the troubling and difficult issue of not having a place to call home. Homelessness is an unfortunate circumstance to be in and has become a growing concern for everyday people especially

Several decades ago, housing was affordable; now it’s impossible for even the middle class to buy a decent home. Housing in California is very expensive, and this is one reason why California suffers the highest rate of homelessness in the country.In an online article written by the Mercury News they express that the median income in California is much higher than the nation’s average, however, it does not measure up the steadily increasing rate of rent.(2017) Lack of affordable housing has lead to high rent, overcrowding, and substandard housing. This can force many people to become homeless. Besides the lack of affordable housing that California is experiencing, there are also not enough homes for the state’s population. An online article written by the SacBee, explains that the population in California is increasing while housing construction is decreasing, due to funds and inexperienced construction workers(Aug 2017.) If California is unable to provide housing for it’s residents, this could lead people on the streets, having no where else to

The primary cause of homelessness can be attributed to unexpected or long-term unemployment. Without the ability to work, individuals suffer financially and eventually find themselves living below the poverty line. In the 2016 “State of Homelessness Report” conducted by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the organization concluded that “households

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, any night of the year finds more than 600,000 without shelter, while “3.5 million experience homelessness each year.” There are many factors that contribute to homelessness in America, but overwhelmingly, it is the economic factor which is largely responsible for the continuing rise in our homeless population. Quite simply, there is a shortage of affordable housing in our nation and the housing that is available requires the poor to spend the better part of half of their income on rent alone. This leaves almost nothing leftover to cover basic needs; making putting something away for a rainy day out of the question. Clearly, the cost of housing cannot be met with a minimum

For decades Americans couldn’t help but rejoice when they were able to own their very own home. The image of holding the keys and to quickly step foot into their home provided Americans with visons of prosperity. Many Americans whether poor, middle-class, or wealthy could now dream of endless possibilities when owning their very own home, as well as embracing a sense of accomplishment. These accomplishments or feelings were great at first; however, the realty for some Americans was that behind the glitz and glamor was a ticking time bomb. Now imagine the United States of America flourishing in the real estate sector and the US economy from Wall Street to individuals benefiting from the booming housing market. However, while all this was

According to Desmond, Arleen is not alone in her dilemma. A great many Americans are being evicted in light of the fact that they cannot pay the rent (Desmond, 2016,p 4). Like Arleen, many poor families are spending the majority of their income on rent and utilities. In fact, using estimates from The American Housing Survey (AHS), 1991-2013, Desmond finds that, in America, most poor renting families use over half of their income on housing; and, roughly one quarter spend more than 70% of their income to pay rent and utilities (Desmond, 2016, p 4). Aside from the fact that Arleen’s monthly welfare stipend of $628 has remained stagnate for years, housing costs have soared. Due in part to the foreclosure crisis, and the deluge of millennials into the rental market, the demand for rental stock has risen.(Sisson, 2016). At the same time, escalating building and labor expenses, and declining subsidies, have helped to slow new construction. Thus, demand for rental housing is exceeding supply, resulting in escalating rent prices. Furthermore, the razing of older public housing projects and defunding of government assisted housing has pushed poor families into the private rental market (Sisson, Patrick may 19, 2016). As a result, most poor families in America today live unassisted in the private housing market. In fact, in 2013, 67 percent of poor renter households did not receive federal housing assistance (Desmond, Matthew, 2015). One day, Arleen stopped by the Housing Authority

Homelessness is a significant health challenge to care system in the United States. Maness and Khan state that over 610,000 people did not have a shelter in 2013 on any given night (Maness & Khan, 2014). Also, a study conducted by Health Quality Ontario (2016) reviewed homelessness interventions between 1995 and 2015. The study indicates that the problem has been in existence for quite some years. According to Maness and Khan (2014), an increase in the shortage of affordable housing has been the primary trends responsible for homelessness in over thirty years. Also, statistics indicated that about 14.3 percent of Americans and 10.5 percent of the families lived on