The Possibility Of Homelessness In The US

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 the United States can be ended, not just maintained. Allot of cities now have plans to eradicate homelessness. Homelessness and housing instability are large issues that afflict a diverse demographic such as: Families, youth, veterans, and chronically homeless single male adults. Ending homelessness may require specialized solutions that are specific to individual needs. Factors like these make defeating homelessness a difficult task. Although solutions exist for some of the demographics, such as housing for chronically homeless adults, scaling up best practices remains a challenge. For other subpopulations, such as transitional aged youth, evidence-based interventions need to be developed. In this paper we argue that ending homelessness is a Grand Challenge that is big, important, and compelling—one that the profession of social work should be adopt. Meeting this challenge will require a focused, organized response from social work researchers, clinicians, and policymakers. Ending homelessness will require innovation and interdisciplinary or cross-sector collaboration. Key words: Housing First, Permanent Supportive Housing, rapid re-housing, prevention, poverty. The notion that homelessness in the United States can be ended, rather than managed (Mangano, 2002; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2012), represents a fundamental shift in expectations from the 1980s and ’90s. Since the early 2000s, researchers, policymakers, advocates,

A place of safety and security is something that many of us take for granted, until we are confronted in our own neighborhood by someone holding up a sign pleading for help. Homelessness is a problem that has been afflicting hundreds of thousands of people around the world for ages. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, on a single night in 2016, 549,928 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States. That means that there were at least 500,000 individuals suffering without a place to lay their heads at night. In this report I will be discussing the causes of homelessness, who is affected, how it affects people, and homeless mistreatment.

Homelessness in the United States is a serious problem that can be helped by giving homeless people opportunities to thrive in better conditions and/or communities. Although getting them off the streets is a huge step in the right direction, other actions need to be taken. Making sure they have somebody in their corner is a huge step in that process. There are 1,750,000 homeless people on the streets at this very moment. 1 in 30 children in the US, 40% of the homeless population are also Veterans. Some people wonder how someone even becomes homeless, there are multiple reasons, such as physical or mental impairments, living in poverty, and tragic life occurrences.

Given national recognition, The State of Homelessness in America benefits individuals needlessly suffering from a lack of shelter and a steady income. Efforts such as raising awareness and knowledge about the increase in the homeless population has sparked a number of organizations devoted to lessening the amount of individuals living on the streets in major cities. The state of homelessness is able to provide accurate information and statistics for viewers nationwide.

Homelessness is a social problem that is everywhere. When driving a car or walking down the street, sooner or later, there will be a homeless person. The exact number of homeless in America is difficult to obtain, but it is estimated that 2.3 to 3.5 million people nationwide will experience homelessness every year (Thompson. p. 2). Why are they homeless? While the causes of homelessness vary, there are a few reasons which are always present. Learning some of these reasons can help give a better understanding of the homeless situation. Homelessness is a social problem in America caused by financial difficulties, domestic violence, and substance abuse.

Homelessness is a problem that happens in many different countries around the world. Definitions of homelessness are defined in different meanings by different people. However, the Stewart B. McKinney Act defines a homeless person as “ one who lacks a fixed permanent nighttime residence or whose nighttime residence is a temporary shelter, welfare hotel, or any public or private place not designed as sleeping accommodations for human beings” (McNamara 1025). It is impossible to find out exactly the number of homeless; however, the researchers can do a study to estimate that number. Based on different statistics from different researchers, the homeless population in America has been increasing as “an alarming rate” (Markos and Lima).

Whose responsibility is it to help the homeless in the United States? I believe that it is everyone’s responsibility. As of January 2015 the homeless count in America was 564,708 people (Fluit, 2015). Even though this is a decline in homeless in America this is still unacceptable. As Americans we need to do all that we can to decrease these numbers. There is so much we could do that would go a long way to help our homeless, like donating time or money to the proper organizations.

“On any given night, there are approximately 643,067 people experiencing homelessness in America.” Homelessness in america is becoming a severe crisis a crisis we need to find solutions to. There are not many sound solutions to homelessness unless the government wants to spend millions of taxpayer dollars. Some of the solutions to homelessness can be government housing for the homeless, increasing employment and Income, and creating a crisis response plan.

In the United States of America where it is considered as one of the wealthiest countries in the world, many people are still experiencing homelessness. In the year 2015, 564,708 people were recorded to be homeless in just one night (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2016). On the other hand, in the year 2014, there were 578,424 homeless people. Of that number, 216,197 were family members, and 362,163 were individuals. 15 percent of that number was homeless because of having chronic disabilities, while 9 percent were veterans.

Homelessness has always been growing across communities in the United States, and many struggle from it as they are people who are lacking in funds, causing them to be without a home. Today, homelessness among individuals is becoming more common and is unfortunately spreading all over the world. Most home owning people are unaware of the actuality of the conditions that the homeless people reside in and many cannot comprehend the troubles and hardships they face just to keep themselves alive. Most homeless people are known to reside in abandoned buildings, buses, cars, street corners and in many community parks. Most homeless people can barely afford to eat every day and to survive many live on the scraps and leftovers from others. Homelessness is defined as someone who cannot afford to pay for housing without depriving themselves of the essentials needed in life. People who become homeless do not all necessarily live on streets, but many “homeless people in our modern society stay with friends, relatives and even in shelters as they cannot afford to live on their own” (Espejo 28).

As I drove through the streets of New Orleans I constantly see homeless people sleeping in tents under the overpass on Claiborne Avenue commonly named” tent city”. I wondered what were the psychological reasons of those that ended up homeless, the statistics, causes, and consequences of homelessness combined with the effect it has on society. There are various reasons that homelessness exists in the United States, the most common reason is due to a lack of affordable housing. Homelessness is more predominant in urban areas than in rural regions of the U.S. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, approximately 578,424 people were identified as homeless in the United States as of January 2014. Homelessness

Around 1.56 million people in the United States population used emergency shelter or a transitional housing program between October 1st, 2008 and September 30th, 2009. The severity of homelessness is often looked over by different communities. Even here in Charlotte the number of homeless children enrolled in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is 4,700. While 10 percent of people in Charlotte are considered chronically homeless (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2007). America’s homeless population consists of many at-risk groups, including people suffering from untreated mental illnesses, LGBTQ youth, veterans, people who suffer from a substance abuse disorder, unemployment, and women who have suffered from domestic abuse.

In 2015, a total of 564,708 people in the United States were recorded sleeping outside, in homeless shelters, or in transitional housing programs (7). While this statistic does not include the large population of people who are forced to live with friends or relatives as a last resort to homelessness, it does represent a decrease of 4.6 percent from a 2014 study with the same parameters, during which poverty rates have remained relatively steady. The contributing factor is therefore the recent shift in government policy which has transitioned the focus of many different homelessness responses across multiple federal agencies away from emergency housing and towards permanent housing solutions. Subsequently, rapid rehousing initiatives grew 204%

Homelessness is increasing more every year. In fact, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, over 640,000 people experience homelessness every