Social Problem Homelessness

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.

While there are many reasons why the homeless population continues to increase social and economic factors have contributed to this epidemic. The global financial crisis has contributed to the prevalence of homelessness in the United States. The social factors that contribute to homelessness include living in poverty and not enough affordable housing.

Homelessness is a major problem facing many cities. Some people are homeless because of unfortunate situations, and others are homeless by choice. Homelessness has been around since 1640. The cost of housing is on the rise and many become homeless because they that are not making enough money to afford the cost of housing. The cost of health care and insurance has risen dramatically over the past years. For families living low or middle incomes that can be devastating. Families or individuals that lack health insurance, a sudden illness, chronic disease or accident can be financially devastating. Many people don’t understand the problems homeless families are facing and most families are homeless because of finical situations or because

Such as, unpredicted financial crisis, abuse or neglect, mental issues, and physical issues. “National Alliance to End Homelessness.” Endhomelessness.org, 2015. Mon. 16 Nov. 2015.: Families become homeless, “...as a result of some unforeseen financial crisis.” They also become homeless due to “medical emergencies, car accident, or a death in the family.” Youth and children are known for becoming homeless, “due to family conflict, divorce, neglect, or abuse.” Veterans become homeless because of, “physical disability, mental anguish, and p.t.s.d.” “National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness.” StudentsAgainstHunger.org, n.d. Mon. 16 Nov. 2015. : Another reason these groups are homeless is due to, “Economic factors: serve lack of affordable housing and Political factors: cuts in federal assistance.” How can the U.S. focus, and solve, the problem of

Structural factors of homelessness affect people due to circumstances and out of the control of the individual while individual factors are individual apply to the surroundings of a homeless person. Structural factors such as the availability of low-income housing and higher rental of housing exacerbate on the already burdening individual factors. Many researchers contribute homelessness to structural factors but advocates of human rights debunk this and highlights that the main reason for homelessness is due to mostly individual factors, which are health problems, poverty, and family breakdown also the domestic violence of women and child. Addressing the driving causes is the most significant strategy to minimize the homelessness population. Future research must put more attention on individual causes without denying the reality of structural causes (Main, 1998). Based on my research, individual factors are the main cause while the structural factors put more pressure on burdening individual factors that lead to

Homelessness has always been a controversial and complicated issue to understand; but, recent natural disasters, an economic recession, and conflicts among various nations have given homelessness a whole new dimension.

 “In 2010, … the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness issued a comprehensive plan to eradicate homelessness for all people through interagency collaboration and aligning mainstream services. A key goal is to prevent and end homelessness for all families, youth, and children within 10 years” (Bassuk, 2010, P.496). Homelessness is a situation that a person who could not afford a life and decide to beg people for help and money. Why do people become homeless is a complex question and the answer is that each person has a unique story that describes there experience. There are

Homelessness is an arising problem within the United States. Poverty and homelessness are inheritably linked. As children we were raised to believe that through hard work and determination that we could accomplish anything. We all had dreams of having nice cars, a nice home and lots of money, however this is impossible when a person is living pay check to pay check and close to being homeless. Knowing that we live in the “land of opportunity” brings many dreams to anyone’s mind, however, many families are experiencing financial issues that are causing them to become homeless because they cannot afford to live and pay their bills, food, child care, health care and education (National Coalition of the homeless, 2007). Homelessness in

Homelessness is a product of our entire country which is a direct reflection of our economy and there a lack of insight to those who have little to no means of digging themselves out of this rut. The loss of employment, unskilled laborers, lack of education which contributes

Homelessness is a major problem in the United States of America. Homelessness is a state in which people do not have a place to stay in for a period of time and are always spending their time on the streets. From a teenage eluding a bad environment, to an elderly citizen on a fine tuned income that is not enough to cover a rent or the tax increase, to a child whose parents lost their job out of nowhere and became unemployed are what leads to homelessness (“Homelessness Resource Center” 1).

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

When the unemployment rate is so high, it is hard to find a job and get out of poverty.The United States unemployment rate in June 2016 was 4.9%. How can you pay for anything if you have no job? When people are in poverty, they are unable to pay for housing, food, child/health care and education. Since the prices for houses are so high, people are unable to afford them. If you don’t have a job, you won’t have money, if you don’t have money you are unable to pay for rent, if you

Structural causes of homelessness are economic and social in characteristic, and the central or local government can influence them positively or negatively. For instance, the changes in the economy have a positive relationship with an increase in homelessness. In particular, during the start of the 1980s, the economy of the United States experienced a sharp recession. Then, the subsequent government retrenchment increased

Homelessness is a major topic affecting the United States and other parts of the world; it is a very complex issue that affects the community from an economic and a social perspective (Clapham). This paper will focus on how urbanization has played a role in the homeless population and homelessness in general; we will also look at the recent reports that homelessness is on a slight decline. We will propose ideas on what we can do to affect homelessness as well. Defining what exactly it is to be homeless and the difference between homelessness and homeless was very difficult to do as numerous sources gave very difference responses with categories and subcategories. National statistical series contain title to no information on the homeless; the census essentially only takes into consideration those with homes. Based on prior research primarily conducted by Peter H. Rossi and James D. Wright along with several other sources, we are able to propose several ideas to help reduce the amount of homelessness in the United States and other countries along with more empirical data.

Job loss is another large contributor to the increase in homelessness. I think that James Temple of SF Gate in his article titled “Striving to serve growing homeless population”, describes this best when he said “The chronically homeless stand alongside the newly desperate, people whose take-home pay didn’t last, who didn’t get the hours they’d hoped for, who unexpectedly lost homes or jobs”. Massive job losses are changing homeless culture. According to the Ken Homa, Goodwill Director of Housing Services in Traverse County, MN, “There has also been a significant increase in people