Summary: The Epidemic Of 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.

To begin, lets define the term homeless. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, homelessness is defined as “People who are living in a place not meant for human habitation, in emergency shelter, in transitional housing, or are exiting an institution where they

“One diverse population that has continued to increase over the quarter of a century is composed of people who are homeless” (Baggerly & Zalaquett, 2006, p.155). Homelessness has become a growing problem in society because more and more people are finding themselves to be homeless and not knowing where to turn. Many people do not

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

Homelessness has always been a problem for the United States. Since its birth as a nation, there have consistently been individuals who find themselves without a place to live, looking for shelter with family, friends, or simply anywhere they can find it. These individuals have been targeted as candidates for social aid, but this was primarily provided by churches and other care organizations. However, in the past thirty years the homeless population has increased almost exponentially in numbers. While the cause of this is undetermined, it is quite certain that while the

Homelessness in America has existed for some time now, but has grown and changed majorly over the years since the 1980’s. According to Mary Hombs, “the prevailing stereotype of a homeless person was that of a middle-aged white urban male alcoholic” (6). But now there is no stereotype because homelessness could happen to anyone at any moment, so that is why it important to be aware. Millions of people in this country do not have a place to live including whole families, children, veterans, and even the mentally ill. Going day after day without food or shelter. Throughout this paper the main focus will be answering the questions: What is homelessness?; What are the main causes of homelessness?: Who is the homeless?; and How do the people of this country assist the homeless?

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.

Today, Homelessness in the US is becoming one of the top challenging issues to fix. Recent available data shows an increase the number of the homeless between 2014 and 2015. On a single night in January 2014, 578,424 people were experiencing Homelessness — meaning they were sleeping outside or in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program. From 2014 to 2015, a period of ongoing recovery from the Great Recession, overall homelessness decreased by 2.3 percent and Homelessness decreased among every major subpopulation: unsheltered persons (10 percent), families (2.7 percent), chronically Homeless individuals (2.5 percent), and veterans (10.5 percent). Yet a recent report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, says homelessness decreased by nearly 4% over the past year.. The reports shows:

Last month, the Obama administration released a plan designed to end homelessness in 10 years. The goal reflects new optimism among academics and advocates that homelessness is not an intractable feature of urban life, as it has sometimes seemed, but a problem that can be solved. This belief is fueled by recent research debunking a number of long-standing myths about homelessness in America -- and showing that many of our old policies were unwittingly making the problem worse.

Cities increasingly grapple with homelessness, while facing budget cuts to various services, but the failure to tackle homelessness creates more problems. While there are homeless people who are on drugs, some are there because housing is expensive and they have no reliable sources of income. Homelessness may result in the city spending more on welfare in a never ending cycle without finding a solution to homelessness. There are various factors associated with the risk of homelessness, including individual factors like those fleeing domestic abuse, and even those who can longer earn a living because of health conditions and disabilities. The problem of homelessness is further compounded when the homeless suffer mental health issues and alcohol or drug dependence (Benston, 2015). Homelessness is a problem that affects even the youth, and stakeholders ought to work together to tackle the problem, as city officials, and residents are the audience who should be concerned with the problem at the local level.

There is no doubt that being homeless has always been a problem in America. It is a problem for everybody, no one ever wants to be deemed homeless. Recent studies reveal that being homeless has now turned into an epidemic in some cities across the country. The homeless population has increased this year for the first time since the Great Recession and I think it is utterly ridiculous when the top two prominent cities in the United States (New York City and Los Angeles) are among the top three homeless cities in the world. The increase has been so disturbing that some state governments decided to call for a state of emergency. The reason behind the homeless population increase is due to the West Coasts flourishing economy. Rent wages increased

Because of the weak economy and high unemployment rates homelessness is on the rise at an alarming rate. Homelessness is worse in some areas of the United States compared to other areas because of incomes that are drastically falling, jobs that are no longer very secure which offer fewer benefits to the worker and their family members. The United States is experiencing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Necessary wages made by the hour only improved by one-sixth of the rate from 2007 for employees in production work. Workers in the workforce were given a cut in hours and lowered weekly earnings. As the growth of wages goes down and the consumption growth increases it makes the economic recovery farther out

Walking through a major city or metropolitan area there are a countless number of people who are wearing old and ripped clothing, carrying bags or pushing grocery carts full of junk, looking like they have not bathed in weeks and most of them holding signs begging for change just so they can eat something that day. Over the past eight years the amount of homeless individuals has continuously decreased throughout the country. Homelessness in America is a serious problem, especially with higher rates in unemployment happening. Americans

According to Social Solutions there are 564,708 people in the United States that are homeless as of 2016. 15% of the homeless are chronically homeless, which means an individual who has disability and has experienced homelessness for a year or longer. 35% are families who can’t afford housing, 8% of the homeless are veterans due to poverty and overcrowding in government housing, and the rest of the homeless are single young adults who either got rejected for being who they are or there was conflict and they ran away.( Social Solutions) The National Alliance to End Homelessness explains,

Every year approximately 2.3 to 3.5 million people go homeless in the United States of America. Twelve million adults in the US were homeless in the year 2001, or are still currently without a permanent home (“Homelessness in the U.S.”). How does this happen in “the land of opportunity?” We think of ourselves as one of the greatest nations in the world, yet citizens are living a life of poverty, often without food, clothing, and shelter. When most people think of fighting homelessness, they think of providing medical assistance, showers, and counseling services for those who suffer mental illness, trauma, and substance abuse. Although these necessities are imperative in helping a significant