Persuasive Essay On Homelessness In America

Homelessness is an issue in American society today that affects anywhere from 800,000 to 3.5 million people. There are a substantial amount of people that are without shelter, food, or employment, and there are numerous other people affected by poverty and homelessness. People living in nearly every city in the United States are affected by homelessness due to the large amounts of homeless individuals living on the streets and begging for money, food, and other necessities. The issue of homelessness has been a constant problem since the conquering of the New World, and soup kitchens and homeless shelters have not been able to fully end homelessness. Especially today, with a lack of affordable housing and high unemployment rates, homelessness is prevalent.

Homelessness in America could be considered a major issue considering that over five hundred thousand people are currently homeless in America.We see it everywhere yet it is not talked about.In the interest of finding a solution to homelessness in America we must learn the history behind it, take a look at all of it's contributors, and lastly see what exactly are we doing in order to avoid it as much as possible. Something must to be done to aid the situation before it spirals out of control.

magine feeling lost and misplaced in this huge world around you. Each night you end up on a bench or in a dark alley; a place you call your bed. You wake up each morning deciding which public place you’ll go in to clean up. When you get hungry, you’ll have to beg people for cash. For the rest of the day, you sit in the city hoping people will notice you and help out. Knowing that you are not judged by who you are but what you are, you realize that most people in society don 't understand homelessness, and wonder if the circumstances in homelessness will ever change. Being homeless is a shock to many. It depicts someone just like us that lack the minimum necessities that we take for granted.

Have you ever wondered how many Americans in the United States are homeless? There are thousands of Americans that are living on the streets, under bridges, or sleeping on a cold park bench every night. There are several ways they can escape lining out on the streets; they could move in with a family member or friends. Some reasons why Americans have become homeless is because the monthly income they have coming in is not enough to cover the monthly bills they would have if they were renting a house or apartment. There are so many people that have tried to get assistance by living in homeless shelters, but the homeless shelters are running out of room.

“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

Throughout New York or even the United States, there are many people who are homeless and without jobs to help them survive. Many mothers and fathers are struggling to keep their homes while others are already out in New York streets trying to seek help. Those who are already on the streets are seeking charity from others as the walk by them. And to stop this from ever happening there should be more shelters, jobs, and help/supporters.

Homelessness. A growing concern not only in the United States of America but around the whole world. Many people are familiar with the topic homelessness. We may see them walking through different areas of many neighborhoods asking for a dollar or two with light cardboard pieces and cups. This is a growing issue in many different cities and states that don't receive as much awareness as it should. Over “564,708 people in the U.S. are homeless.” That’s half of a million people living in either cars, shelters, or streets. “Of that number, 206,286 were people in families, 358,422 were individuals, and a quarter of the entire group were children.” (Solutions). Those statistics can be very startling to realize that there are thousands of people not being able to have someplace to call home or sleep comfortably. “The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty currently estimates that each year at least 2.5 to 3.5 million Americans sleep in shelters, transitional housing, and public places not meant for human habitation. At least an additional 7.4 million have lost their own homes and are doubled-up with others due to economic necessity.” (Poverty) These facts can be very sorrowful because these are people like everyone else that were just directed on a wrong path to a very miserable and hopeless lifestyle.

The Students Against Hunger Organization has stated, “as many as 3.5 million people are homeless each year [and] more than 1 million are children” (SAH). This is just within the U.S. alone. Unfortunately, other countries see a much larger percentage of

Homelessness is an unfortunate epidemic that has plagued communities across the United States for decades. Although a homeless population has existed in our society throughout history, this social issue came to a head only a few decades ago in the early 1980’s. What defines homelessness varies from source to source, however a concise definition, stated by the McKinney-Vento Act, specifies that a homeless individual is typically one that lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night time residence (McKinney-Vento Act, 2001). Approximately 3.5 million people experience homelessness at some point each year in the United States. The homeless population is presently declining across the country. The National Alliance to End Homelessness reported a seventeen percent decrease in the homeless population between the years 2005 and 2012. However this trend is really only a mirage, that is certain to end and revert itself in the opposite direction. The increasing population, scarce resources and the surging number of individuals living at or below the poverty line indicate that the number of people without adequate shelter will eventually increase.

The lack of affordable housing has been an issue in this country for many years. Affordable housing in short is housing that does not exceed over 30% of a person or families income. Unfortunately there are several thousand individuals and families that do not have housing at all. On any given night in the United States there are roughly 564,708 people that experience homelessness (National Alliance to End Homelessness). In my opinion this number is low. I believe that the Point In Time (PIT) count is the primary means by which these numbers are calculated. The PIT has been conducted once every two years up until this year, which will now be done annually. During the PIT count several agencies and volunteers from across the country go

On Nov. 17, L.A city officials approved a campaign that would help the homeless this winter by allow them to sleep in vehicles and allowing openings of public buildings to be used as a shelter for them. An estimated amount of over 26,000 people around the L.A. community call the streets their home since the homeless population has multiplied all over the region. The reason for the approval of this campaign is due to Southern California being expected to be hit by severe rainstorms and possible floodings, which could mean the unsheltered residents could be at risk.

Image being homeless, and not having a stable dwelling to call home. For a majority of people throughout the United States reality is true for these Americans. For example, waking up every day, not knowing where your next meal will come from; having to asking strangers for a few dollars, to get something to eat and drink. For instance, Crisis, the homeless charity, Perhaps this week has been active for 50 years says 114,780 people were homeless in England during two-thousand fifth-teen and two-thousand six-teen. Perhaps as many as 34,500 people sleep rough in England in any year around 4,000 a night. Crisis says that for every rough sleeper, there are 100 people in hotels, and 1,100 households in bed and breakfast and over- crowded accommodations. (" Financial Times, 22 April 2017). So what is the right reaction when someone in need asks for money on the street? In an interview last month, Pope Francis suggested the answer was to give without hesitation; but many charities beg to differ. Thames Reach, which supports homeless people and rough sleepers in London through the Street Rescue service and hotels. Thames Reach is adamant that people should not give cash to beggars. Providing cities with overwhelming evidence" that shows eighty percent of people begging do so to support a drug habit. Being homelessness has an emotional appeal to consider, simply because as society we don't know what paths of problems arise through -out our lives. ( Thames Reach).

Imagine being a child and escaping your harsh home life to then be left to face the dangers of the streets. Think about what it would be like to have to wonder where you would sleep each night for protection or when you could find food next. While this is only a brief thought for most people, for some children this is their life. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, “Homeless youth, sometimes referred to as ‘unaccompanied’ youth, are individuals under the age of 18 who lack parental, foster, or institutional care” (“Youth Homelessness”). Youth homelessness can stem from multiple issues such as physical or sexual abuse from families, parental neglect and drug addictions, or even economic issues. When most people see these children they believe there is no hope for them. However, this was not the case for Penny Reynolds.

Many solutions are presented and are currently in use by various organizations. There is help for people who need it.

There are people that we meet on the streets that are praying for better times and seek a helping hand from fellow citizens like us just, so they can get food so they won’t starve to death. In high hopes of obtaining a roof over their heads again that they lost from the state that provides a high income to make a decent living. They are struggling to have clothes on their back, just to keep warm. These are our homeless people of Florida in a long-term battle with the state government. Today we want to address the problem that is failed to be spoken about and constantly ignored. Our state claims that they don’t want to see our own people on the streets, but don’t even have the audacity to make time or an effort to resolve the matter. The same people that we know who as well are complaining about them having difficulties from whether they are sick or unfortunately veterans aren’t trying to bring the conversation to the table. The state government of Florida should allocate enough money to those suffering in poverty because there are too many houses empty for so many of our own citizens to be shelterless, wages aren’t sufficient to maintain a decent living standard, the inflation on necessities and utilities have gone up to the point where it’s hard to pay, and the amount of compensation given to those that are unemployed doesn’t aid in any way for a car or mortgage payment.