The Causes and Effects of Homelessness Essay

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 has become an evolving epidemic of our time, and the health implications associated with being homeless makes it that much worse. Homeless people are at major risk for premature death and a wide range of health problems such as HIV, skin blemishes, and much more. It is very difficult for homeless people to fix their health issues due to the difficulty of accessing health care possibly because of missing health cards, or simply because of the stigma placed on them when they enter a public facility. Whatever the problem may be that is forcing more people to become homeless, it must be solved, and quickly before our world turns into a travesty.

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 most recent survey of homeless individuals conducted January 29, 2014 revealed 958 homeless adults with no dependants, 70 of which were completely unsheltered, and an additional 130 homeless adults who also had dependent children with them. 208 of these homeless adults are chronically homeless (HUD’s 2014 Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs, Populations, and Subpopulations, 2014).Wayside Christian Mission reaches approximately 7,000 homeless individuals annually (Wayside Christian Mission, 2007). In the Journal of General Internal Medicine, a majority of homeless individuals surveyed stated that they felt discriminated against or that they received lesser care because of their poverty or homelessness (Wen, Hudak, & Hwang, 2007). Homeless and impoverished individuals suffer from high rates of depression, psychiatric illness, alcohol and or substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, TB, Trauma, preterm birth, COPD, low birth weight, musculoskeletal problems, decreased access to care, foot problems, malnutrition, and high Emergency Room utilization (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). Not only do homeless persons have a high rate of illness, but they are also less able to appropriately treat health problems. Many homeless individuals have limited access to care, cannot afford medications or nutritious food, and may have difficulty with managing a strict

The United States of America is the place known to many as the land of the free, home of the brave, and the place to start a better life. With any place that has good qualities, some have not so good qualities. The homeless population in the United States is at a staggering high, and many individuals are suffering because many lack employment/financial resources, housing resources, support from family and friends, and others negligence; such as natural disasters or fires. Homeless individuals may have no other choice than to live on the streets, trains, and alley ways to name a few places where homeless people seek shelter. The history of homelessness, social problems, demographics, common clinical

Seeing homelessness develop is a process that the older generation can say they have been apart of. The young generation, on the other hand, cannot say they have seen the development of homelessness. People who are thirty years old or younger have grown up believing that homelessness was always part of the landscape. The younger generation has come to believe that there have always been homeless people sitting on park benches. When an individual is asked what they see most in a large city like Chicago or New York, ‘homeless people’ is a common response. According to the United States Census Bureau, 320.8 million individuals currently live in the United States of America. Imagine the proportion of individuals that do not own a car or even a house to live in. The National Law Center on Homelessness and poverty did studied to conclude that in America more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year. Those concerned with the issue of homelessness are curious as to what events had to have happened that lead to the individuals living on the streets. The reasons are different for each and every person. Some of the more major issues that contribute to this are lack of affordable housing, declining welfare assistance, and most importantly, mental illness. Resolving the issue of homelessness is very possible with new ways of housing and treatment for the mentally ill. The relation between the homeless and the mental illness has risen, and the United States as a whole

Homelessness became a huge problem in everywhere especially in the USA. Most people heard homeless people, and they saw homeless people in the streets, markets, or bridges. Most people never try to understand why there is much homelessness. Most people do not know any facts about them seem the truth of homelessness, the state of homelessness in the United States, and the effect on people from homelessness.

Ever noticed the people outside, asking you for money on the train or in the streets? Most have a funny smell, or are barely dressed when it is freezing outside? Those people are more than likely homeless. Being homeless is the state of a person living on the streets, if they have no home. Homelessness occurs because many people cannot afford housing, do not have a job, receive low income, are mentally ill or have a drug addiction (Coalition for the Homeless). Homelessness affects society in a variety of ways making it a social issue. It causes economic downturn, increases poverty, and also causes family dysfunction.

Homelessness is a condition that negatively affects a large number of people in our society, it is an issue that is undesirable for the entire community. A homeless person is a human being without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-permanent situation. An individual may be considered to be homeless if that person is “doubled up,” a term that refers to a situation where individuals are unable to maintain their housing situation and are forced to stay with a series of friends and/or extended family members. Those who are “doubled up” or “couch surfing” are also considered homeless if their housing arrangement is for economic reasons and is unstable to where a disagreement or other scenario could result in being asked to leave. In addition, Homelessness is a problem for the general population, previously homeless individuals who are to be released from a prison or a hospital may be considered homeless if they do not have a stable housing to which they can return. There are groups of people who experience homelessness in different ways, but all homelessness is characterized by extreme poverty coupled with a

In The United States of America, Homelessness is a challenge that affects all citizens different but it affects us all. How one may ask? If you have never been homeless then every single decision a person makes during every single day will ultimately be a preventive homeless measure. Those who are affected by homelessness; fight a war every single day on multiple war fronts. When one is homeless as an adult; there are many different reasons that may have contributed to that adult being homeless. The ultimate homeless preventive resource is money. After all, you have never seen a person who has wealth with no place to go because even if that person did become displaced the monetary resources that they have will hide that situation very well or counteract them even coming close to being homeless. How would Society accept hearing that a person of financial prominence is homeless? Actually, they wouldn't. In the United States of America; the face of a homeless person is a child because unfortunately children bear the weight of not having financial resources because unless they are employed which most kids aren't there is nothing they can do to change the situation. In 2016 the State of New York had 19.75 million residents spread across 62 Counties.The City of Buffalo has a population of 256,902, The City of Rochester has a population of 208,880, Albany The State Capital has a population of 98,111. New York City which is comprised of 5 boroughs which they are governed and served by one collective government and one City Mayor has a population of 8.54 million. 47.5 % percent of people live below the poverty line in the western part of the State of New York which is the estimated minimum level of income to secure the necessities of life. 2.9 Million live below the poverty line in the State of New York which according to the 2015 Census is ranked 34th in the country. Buffalo has a homeless population of 5,500. In New York City 19.9 % of residents live below the poverty line and 24.3% of residents live near the poverty line around 44% live in or near the poverty line in total. As of Sunday, October 15th,2017 the New York City Shelter system had a population of 60,335 clients 23,138 of those clients are

The history of homelessness dates as far back to the American Civil War, but the most noticeable is the 1930s Great Depression. During this time a lot of families were not able to afford their homes so they traveled a migrant working trail to find work. “the effects of the Great Depression threw many families out of their homes and into parks and temporary encampments in the countryside, homelessness became a national problem” (Jimenez, A., J., Pasztor, Mayers, E., Chambers, (McDonald), R. M. (03/2014). Over 2 million people were considered homeless at this time who suffered from hunger and poverty. Today The National Alliance to End Homelessness reports that 564,708 people were experiencing homelessness in 2015. Which is down “from 18.3 in 2014 to 17.7 homeless people per 10,000 people in the general population” (NAEH, 2016).

Homelessness is an epidemic that affects millions of people all over the world. These people have no place to live, are rarely able to bathe, and they have little to no food to eat. There are many reasons why people become homeless, but they can be broken down into three categories; Structural factors, systematic failures, and individual and relational factors.

Homelessness has become a serious problem in today’s society. Despite the organizations that help multitudes of homeless people, homelessness is continually increasing. In recent years, America’s culture has been changing due to economic, political, and social issues. These issues have caused a lot of stress on America resulting in abject poverty in several cities. Poverty is not nationwide, but if dealt with lightly, the affects can be catastrophic. Homelessness is increasing more than ever, and research proves that changing culture contributes to rising amount of homelessness.

Many reasons for worsening situation of homelessness in the country have been reported but none has gathered as much support as poverty. Poverty alone accounts for major increase in homeless households while other possible reasons include loss of job, eroding job opportunities, lack of public assistance and lack of affordable housing facilities. Despite these being powerful reasons, they are all linked to one major reason i.e. poverty.

To be homeless is to be living in shelters or on the streets. The causes for people to become homeless, is a mixture of reason that leads to being homelessness for an individual. Homelessness can be for any one, young, old, and families due to limited assistance and personal choices. This effect are communities, businesses, other people and the homeless themselves. Here are some of the effects of homelessness are health, personal, families, and abuse.