Outside Your World: Analysis of Diversity in Socio-Economic Status

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

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,

People with mental illnesses are at greater risk of homelessness. This is particularly true for people with serious mental illnesses, particularly those that might impact their reality testing, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009). California, like other areas of the country, sees a relationship between mental illness and homelessness. In fact, mental illness may be one of the most significant risk factors for homelessness. Of people with serious mental illness seen by California's public mental health system, approximately 15% of them experienced at least one bout of homelessness in a one-year period (Folsom et al., 2005). Furthermore, "According to the Substance Abuse and Mental

As known the increase of homelessness in America is increasing. Not only that, mental illness within the homeless communities and the homeless in general is around one-third of the percentage of the homeless population. The mental illnesses one can have, has severe consequences. People who are homeless and have a mental illness are not able to carry out daily routines. They may also have trouble building or maintaining stable relationships. The mental illness causes people to misunderstand others guidance which causes them to react mentally. This results in pushing away anyone that cares for them; including family, friends, or even care givers. Mental health could result in poor physical health, especially for homeless people. The mental illness can cause people to neglect necessary precautions against disease. When improper hygiene is added to this, respiratory problems, skin disease, and exposer to tuberculosis or HIV can occur. Half of the homeless who are mentally ill, abuse

Their health gets adverse from time to time because they lack attention from people such as friends, relatives, and doctors. And because of lack of necessities they suffer from different diseases such as, skin diseases, insomnia, disability, mental illness and HIV/AIDS. Adults who had been homeless in the last 10 years were much more likely to report having a disability or long-term health condition (64%) compared with those who had never been homeless (37%). People who had a disability or long-term health condition and had been homeless in the last 10 years were four times as likely to report that they had a disability type or restriction which was psychological (22% compared with 5%)

The homeless are easily ignored, it is fairly simple to turn a blind eye and deaf ears to such a society. Their needs go unheeded by those of us who could afford to part with some of that which we seemingly covet so deeply, until gradually the notion of providing for these unfortunates escapes us altogether. How dare they blight our landscape and draw attention to our neglect. Who are they to paint a picture of hypocrisy by choosing such a life in this land of plenty? How many of us have passed unseeing, the hunched-over or prone bodies of the sleeping homeless in parks, on sidewalks, in alleys, or doorways with nary a thought as to their identities or well-being? After all, some tell themselves, the homeless don’t want to work like the rest of us, they are drug addicts, alcoholics, dangerous ex-cons, or wily con artists looking for an easy dollar. They brought this on themselves, right? “Not true,” says the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness, they come from “all walks of life,” and none chose to be homeless. The organization’s statistics find that, “35% are families with children, 23% are U.S. military veterans, 25% are children under 18 years of age, 30% are victims of domestic violence, and another 20-25% suffer from mental illness.” Homelessness can happen to any one, it can affect anyone’s friends or relatives, homelessness finds members to add to its communities throughout America annually, even

The purpose of this particular article was to explore how discrimination impacts the homeless population. Especially those individuals who have a mental condition. Discrimination is a social issue minority groups have been dealing with for many years. The diversity in the homeless community is much like the military. Individuals of different race, ethnicity and color can all become homeless for one reason or another. The authors wanted to prove to individuals that homelessness isn’t a choice. Therefore, they conducted a national randomized survey in order to prove that discrimination exist in the homeless population and the effects are negative for the individuals who are homeless. The key question they wanted to answer was how the homeless individuals with a mental illness handle the discrimination. Their research involved 231 different diverse cultures in order to answer the previous question. Furthermore, they also

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it has been estimated that 40 percent of adults with Schizophrenia and 51 percent of adults with severe Bipolar disorder receive no treatment within a one year period (2016). These staggering statistics are surmounted by the 20-25 percent of the American population that are homeless (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 2009). These alarming statistics illustrate the need to address the social problem of mental health and homelessness and the need to develop programs to combat this epidemic. There are many factors that contribute to this social problem, such as the lack of funding that is appropriated to assist those with severe mental health diagnosis. Serious mental illnesses

In our society today with a worsening economy and a lack of jobs or affordable housing, homelessness can affect anyone at any time. There are many root causes as to why people are becoming homeless. As outlined by the National Coalition for the Homeless, factors that contribute to the growing numbers of homeless people in communities revolve around poverty, eroding work opportunities, and decline in public assistance. Causes of homelessness are not limited to the stereotypical reasons of addiction and mental health anymore, but have also begun to include effects from the financial

Throughout history there has always been a portion of society living in disadvantaged conditions. With the current high cost of living, global issues, unemployment rate on the rise, and low wages, many Americans are finding themselves homeless. One would think that in this advanced century, there would not be individuals living without the basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter. Unfortunately, there are millions of people with nowhere to sleep. Besides the many problems homeless people face daily, one of the leading problems is health care. Being homeless with limited access to health care or shelter in conjunction with mental illness or exposure to harmful diseases can lead to poor health, or

As rates of homelessness continue to rise across the United States, the overall quality of life for this population is in question as many are victimized on a daily basis (Martin, 2015). Homelessness is a growing problem in nearly every city across the United States and yet it is often overlooked. One of the primary causes of homelessness across the United States is the result of chronic mental health disorders followed by increasing rates of poverty (Martin, 2015). The harmful effects of long-term homelessness are well known and documented as incidents of violence and sexual abuse increase among

The lack of mental health services available to the mentally-ill and the deinstitutionalization of mental health hospitals have created a public health concern. These issues along with failed continuum of care strategies and a lack of community mental health services are major contributing factors to homelessness. In addition, the strict guidelines for psychiatric hospitalization are critical when analyzing homelessness among the mentally-ill. In many cases, only the critically-ill are meeting clinical criteria for hospitalization, leaving those who have significant mental health problems to fend for themselves. The link between homelessness and mental health is acknowledged, but requires reform (Bean Jr., G. J., Stefl, M. E., and Howe, S. R, 1987).

The number one state in America with the highest rate of homeless people is California with a total population of 113,952 homeless individuals with 71,437 of them being unsheltered (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD], 2014, p. 9). In 2014, San Francisco, CA was in the top-ten major cities with the largest numbers of homeless individuals totaling at 6,408 (HUD, 2014, p.11). The 2015 Homeless San Francisco Point-In-Time Count & Survey was conducted to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the experience of the homeless residents in San Francisco. Information from this study was collected from individuals and families sleeping on the street, emergency shelters, transitional housing, cars, abandoned properties, or in other places not meant for human habitation. A face-to-face representative survey was then taken from 1,027 participating homeless individuals to be used to profile and estimate the condition and characteristics of San Francisco’s homeless population (Applied Survey Research, 2015). Respondents were asked basic demographic questions such as age, gender, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity.

While some organizations help the homeless learn skills, get medical treatment, take part in counseling, and find affordable housing, most organizations are only a survival mechanism; providing food, clothing, and shelter for the night. While many people look down on the homeless, saying they should just get a job, it is better said than done. Many homeless people would like to get a job, but most need help getting there and for some a job is not an option due to medical disabilities; six in ten “long-term homeless adults have a serious mental illness and about half have a condition that limits the kind or amount of work they are able to do” (Wilder). Wilder Research and Foundation, a nonprofit social services organization, found in a study on homelessness that “[we] have gotten better at smoothing pathways to housing for those with fewer obstacles … but we still struggle to find feasible exits for those with significant mental health issues” (Wilder). If homeless people with mental illness can find and receive adequate long-term treatment and support, as well as affordable housing programs and corporate with the treatment given to them, they would probably stand a good chance of leaving homelessness permanently. The problem with this idea is that there is not enough support for homeless people with multiple problems, and the ones that are available, and successful, are scarce. “The promise of creating adequate

Methods Participants Participants (270 participants overall) will be recruited at Kern County Homeless Shelters. (Thus, cluster sampling will be used.)The criteria is that the individuals must be 18 years or older, must be homeless (defined as living on the streets or in a shelter for at least 3 weeks). The individual’s eligibility will be determined if the criteria is met.The amount of participants is justified due to the sensitive nature of the subject and due to numerous factors indicating homelessness. It is also a good amount that reflects the ideal homeless population in Kern County and it leaves the margin of error at 5% and 95% confidence level. Procedures Participants will be informed thoroughly of research and its intention