Misconceptions Of Being Homeless

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.

Currently, the rates of homelessness in America continue to drastically increase. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2012) depicted how many people are homeless in a single night in America. The findings revealed that there were approximately 633,782 people who are homeless in America or 20 out of every 10,000. Approximately 394,379 are single individuals and 239,403 are people in families with 77,157 homeless families in a single night, and approximately 162, 246 are children. Veterans are more likely to be homeless than those who are non-veterans, approximately 29 out of every 10,000 veterans are homeless. Unfortunately, 38 percent of those who are homeless are unsheltered, either living on the streets or in places that are not suitable for human inhabitation. Most states account of for less than 1% of homeless population, whereas Texas contains approximately 5.4% of America’s homeless population. In San Antonio, there are approximately 2,981 people who are homeless each day, and 1,243 are unsheltered. Through a sociological perspective, the social problems of homelessness can be analyzed through the concept of sociological imagination, the comparison of the person-blame approach and the system-blame approach, and through the analysis of one’s own community’s effort in helping those who are homeless.

There are over 10,000 people that are homeless in Denver (Schrags, 2017). Losing a job, becoming sick or even a lack of affordable housing can cause someone to become homeless. To better understand the dispute on homelessness, we will look at the issue a few different ways. There are many perspectives but the main three perspectives are functionalism, the conflict theory, and symbolic interaction.

Lately one question has been popping in my mind constantly. Before I present it to you, i need to contextualize my daily routine. I live in the downtown of one of the biggest cities of my country, and in the recent turbulent times we, as brazillian population, have seen an incredible raise in economic inequality. Everyday I walk 20 minutes or so to reach my University, and everytime I walk this path seems like there are more homeless, poor people. The look in the eyes of the people that make this same walk appear to be more cautious and reserved. The speed of their steps seems faster. Everything appears to be more turbulent, and everywhere i look, people seem more reserved and expecting the worst of tomorrow.

In the student center on the Marietta campus, I along with a friend of mine, assisted in making sandwiches for the homeless. I observed and 30 fellow students rally together and make 500 sandwiches. This action will help provide food for many homeless citizens.

Also, sexual abuse is often a cause of homelessness. Research has shown that “Each year thousands of children run away from home to escape physical or sexual abuse or neglect…” (The relationship between childhood sexual abuse and sexual health practices of homeless

People become homeless for a number of reasons. These reasons are that create the stereotypes against those who have nothing in life. To judge people by what they do is normal. After all, what better way is there to judge a stranger by his words and his actions. The problem is when the homeless get judged wrongly, they are also treated unfairly. These stereotypes prevent the government and the society from giving the homeless the type of assistance that best suits to them. In order to clarify my thinking of homeless I have read three articles by different authors and they have different cases. These three articles discussed below and provide understanding on how the stereotypes of the homeless could be changed.

Homelessness is an enormous social issue in the United States. Unfortunately, the rate of homelessness in the United States is high, with roughly 549,928 people sleeping on the streets every night. Although the causes of homelessness are widely varied, experiencing episodes of homelessness is an extremely stressful situation which can have physical, psychological, mental, and emotional tolls on an individual. Defining homelessness as individuals not living in traditional housing, such as living in tents or sleeping on the street, homelessness is very dangerous, and the homeless population is the most vulnerable demographic in the country. The situation for women and girls experiencing homelessness, however, is even worse. Homeless women are highly susceptible to violence from sexual predators because of their high level of vulnerability, and their social status in society, combined with the high stress of homelessness places them at an alarmingly high rate of sexual victimization. A study sampling 974 homeless women in Los Angeles found that thirteen percent of the women interviewed reported being raped once in the past year, and half of them reported being raped twice in the past year. In order to reduce the occurrence of sexual and physical violence towards women experiencing homelessness, cities should implement strategies specifically targeting homeless women, helping them temporarily get off the street, and eliminating barriers to homeless women reporting their

Homelessness is an epidemic social problem that faces several individuals and families across the United States, especially in Detroit, Michigan. You may have seen a person or family sleeping on a park bench, under bridges and other public areas. Perhaps you have seen them holding up a sign on a street corner asking for money because of the hunger pains. At some point, we all had taken a look at the person holding up their sign thinking it’s not my problem. Why should I help? They’re probably lying or scamming just to make money to buy drugs and alcohol. However, there is a small part of us who may want to give money, buy some food or we may to choose to ignore the problem. Who are we to decide who’s

Over half of a million people within the United States are homeless, the largest part of that group belonging to the famed and familiar city: Los Angeles. But why is it that the majority of Americans seem so unaffected by the penniless, impoverished souls harboring the areas they often visit? It was once delivered by the famed businessman and religious leader, Joseph B. Wirthlin, in an address named "Live in Thanksgiving Daily" that "The more often we the see things around us -- even the beautiful and wonderful -- the more they become invisible to us" (Wirthlin 11). The essence of Wirthlin’s wise words is that because we see certain things so often, we become desensitized and accustomed to them, leading us to acknowledge them less and less. This however, serves as a poor excuse when explaining our lack of effort in attacking and solving the social issues present in homelessness. In today’s day and age, individuals often adapt the mindset of: “Your problem, you deal with it.” But how are these human beings, who have aspirations and dreams just like you and me (that are now crushed), are supposed to just “deal” with living without a penny to their names with no possibility of finding any source of income? How are these people supposed to just “deal” with the paralyzing fear and helplessness they experience every night before they lie down on the cold, hard concrete floor of a dingy alley that they’re forced to call home for the night? Of course, they don’t. Well, more

Homelessness results from the failure of our system to provide adequate safeguards and economic opportunities to those in society who need them the most. There are no federal benefit programs for those experiencing long-term homelessness until they reach the age of 65—or, in some cases, 62. Federal housing and employment programs for low-income people can be difficult to access for those experiencing homelessness, especially without the support of dedicated and knowledgeable homeless service providers. Short-term interventions provide important relief to individuals and families, but robust, long-term workforce solutions are needed to accomplish the goal of permanently ending homelessness.

Krystain, I agree everyone can become homeless. It does not have to be a male specifically like you said, it can me anyone. Also, I had a stereotype of homeless individuals who walk and want to be picked up. However, the media has made me think that all people are sketchy and would kill you. Although, this is not true at all because some individuals are genuine. So, therefore, I agree that many individuals see homeless people in a negative

Conceptions of homelessness focus on those individuals sleeping rough on parks and streets, men and women who sleep in shelters, sleep from night to night on people’s sofas without having a permanent address.

The land that so many people call the land of opportunity and prosperity still has its downfall, and that is homelessness. According to The Atlantic website, half a million people go to bed homeless every night and about 25% of those people are children. This number has not gone down lately either. From 2016 to 2017, homelessness in the state of Minnesota has risen 4.5 percent according to HUD, and it is our time to do something to change that. This is not a problem that is happening thousands of miles overseas, homelessness is occurring 30 minutes away from us in St. Paul and Minneapolis, and even here, in Hastings. It is our time to take a stand against homelessness.

The homeless, everyday we walk pass them, we see them, but we don’t notice them, we don’t interact with them. They notice us though, moving pass them while we rush off to do our errands or driving pass them as they stand by the streets holding a sign hoping someone will give them money. The thing that we never consider is that, they’re human beings like us, trying to make a living and yet, we have completely shut them out. We have made them feel non-existent in this world, we have made them feel unimportant, we have made them feel like they are failures, and we have made them the forgotten people.