Lack Of Homelessness In America

Homelessness has become an evolving epidemic of our time, and the health implications associated with being homeless makes it that much worse. Homeless people are at major risk for premature death and a wide range of health problems such as HIV, skin blemishes, and much more. It is very difficult for homeless people to fix their health issues due to the difficulty of accessing health care possibly because of missing health cards, or simply because of the stigma placed on them when they enter a public facility. Whatever the problem may be that is forcing more people to become homeless, it must be solved, and quickly before our world turns into a travesty.

Homelessness is an aspect of society, which most people chose not to acknowledge. With the increasing amount of issues the United States faces, homelessness tends to be forgotten when the time comes for the government to establish what issues they should assist. Due to the substantial amount of issues the government concerns itself with, homelessness does not receive the necessary attention required and is improperly handled. In today’s society poverty-stricken individuals or families is too much of a common occurrence to be treated as lightly as it is. Additional government intervention is necessary in order to supply the needed resources, which can prevent the further spread of homelessness. The United States government is obligated to protect its citizens and should care about the constant growth of homelessness. Through economic policies and community advertisements, the government can control the issue of individuals who are facing poverty.

Everywhere you turn in the United States people are sitting on the corners of streets asking for assistance or digging in trash cans for meals. The epidemic of homelessness in the United States has reached an all-time high since the 1990’s. Unfortunately, the adage of people chose to be homeless was not accounting for families that live paycheck to paycheck and lose their job and therefore their housing because it is unavoidable. Alternatively, many individuals that are homeless have some type of mental illness or substance abuse problem thus creating a barrier to maintaining housing. Many of these individuals are incapable to preserve stable employment and have limited support to get off the streets. However, there are several programs that the federal government fund to assist with combating the problem of homelessness in America.

Homelessness will always be a very hard battle to fight. Prior to 2008, things were looking good for homeless advocates. In 2005 to 2007, the number of the chronically homeless dropped about 30 percent (Fagan 1). This shows improvement in the prevention of homelessness, along with the assistance to get people out of homelessness. Although this does show improvement, this report was conducted prior to the economic down fall of the U.S. economy in 2008, which completely changed these statistics.

In order to combat homelessness and restore the people of the united states to their fullest capabilities, the government has to take the initiative to provide more funding for the homeless. This includes providing shelters for the homeless, while also building jobs for the unemployed ,and raising awareness to all that homelessness is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Homelessness is a social problem that is everywhere. When driving a car or walking down the street, sooner or later, there will be a homeless person. The exact number of homeless in America is difficult to obtain, but it is estimated that 2.3 to 3.5 million people nationwide will experience homelessness every year (Thompson. p. 2). Why are they homeless? While the causes of homelessness vary, there are a few reasons which are always present. Learning some of these reasons can help give a better understanding of the homeless situation. Homelessness is a social problem in America caused by financial difficulties, domestic violence, and substance abuse.

Homelessness is a huge issue worldwide that not only affects the person experiencing it, but it also affects society. Homeless individuals specifically those laying in the street are everywhere around the world, yet they are invisible. Most homeless individuals do not have access to healthcare and live in poverty, which means they

People drive or walk past a homeless person almost every day without thinking twice about the plight of that person or they may even unconsciously turn their heads the other way in disgust. Homelessness simply put, means without a home - therefore homelessness is an equal opportunity state that can happen to anyone. Even though we have seen some economic prosperity over the years, statistics show that the number of homeless remains very high. With this in mind, communities need to come together at the state, city, and individual level to come up with solutions to mitigate the spreading of this problem.

Solutions I propose would include building housing for the homeless, as well as providing them with the necessary support, such as financial advisors and councilors, as well as the education and training to obtain a job. Building houses may sound expensive and unobtainable

According to C. J. Carnacchio’s article, there are only around 300,000-600,000 homeless people in America, compared to the total population of 325.5 million. Only 15 percent of the homeless are homeless because of circumstances they could not control (Carnacchio, 2002). Carnacchio’s article also states that one of the most common reasons for homelessness is that

About 1.7 million youth in America will encounter homelessness each year (Tompsett, Domoff, & Toro, 2013). Homelessness within the youth population in America is a serious problem and there are many associated risks and hazards identified with being homeless as a youth. For this research youth has been established to be any person between the ages of 12 and 18; in the process of maturing through adolescent stages of growth (Oliveira & Burke, 2013, p. 154). Youth whom become homeless are at risk of developing a lifestyle or acculturation to street living. Researchers are exploring the causes of homelessness in the youth population and the consequences of homelessness.

You mentioned that your community lacks support or services for the homeless. The federal government created two programs in 2004 on order to reduce the homeless population. They are the Continuum of Care concept and the Homeless Information Management System. The Continuum of Care Concept provides housing for the homeless (Nies & McEwen, 2015). These programs are not able to provide housing for all the homeless, but it helps decrease the amount of homelessness. Do you know if your community uses these federal programs?

“Homeless men and women who didn't qualify for insurance in the past now have the chance to sign up, and Mack — that was once homeless himself — is there to help.”(UsaToday) Many people that weren’t covered under insurance because of their mental illness are now covered thanks to the affordable care act that was passed by the Obama administration. This helps them out and can help some get off the streets because they can now treat their illness and have help paying for it. Also if before someone wasn’t cover for insurance because their employer didn't provide it also have health insurance which prevents more people from losing their house because they can't afford to pay due to the price of medications being too high. “Another proven solution developed in New York City and replicated nationwide is the “housing first” approach to street homelessness, which builds on the success of permanent supportive housing.”(Solutions) Another solution to help end homelessness is providing housing to them. Although it isn't a permanent solution it can be the helping hand that many need. For example if someone can actually get a job but aren't confident that they will do well because they don't a house to go back too. Another thing is that it helps relieve some stress that people might have because they don't have a home to go back to. Like I said it isn't a permanent solution to solve the problem but it is step in the right

To help the homeless we need to know the root causes of homelessness. Some ideas put forth that cause homelessness include, epidemic of drugs, deinstitutionalized mentally illness, increased costs of low-quality housing and not enough affordable housing. Although all of these mentioned may have some effect on homelessness more needs to be implemented to drastically reduce homelessness and its recidivism (Quigley & Raphael, 2001). When compared to other countries the United States (US) has a lower public housing support rates. Example, some European countries such as Austria and the Netherlands contribute as much as 20% towards the total housing ((Haber & Toro,

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