The Social Problem Of Homelessness

Homelessness exists as a prominent issue that plagues society in various ways. It brings about hardship and controversy as individuals struggle to survive on a daily basis. Additionally, this complication tears families apart and ostracizes individuals from a society where they once belonged. A specific problem regarding homelessness consists of lack of interest from bystanders; some of these spectators refuse to even acknowledge homeless individuals sitting at their feet. As homeless people live their lives on street-corners, the more fortunate members of society choose to engulf themselves in their personal problems alone. Displayed by their clothing and accessories, most of these individuals possess the ability to help in some way;

The sun rises, birds are chirping, and everyone is ready for their day at work. Some people take their cars, some, carpool. Others, take buses, trams, and ride sharing. Some however, find their method of transport less desirable, next to a homeless person who hitched a ride on the 24/7 bus. Everyone in the Bay Area has seen the increasing amount of haggard, limping, sleeping people on the streets. Groups of people trying to survive on what they can Over the past few years, the problem has been worsening. If anyone goes to San Francisco, Oakland, or some of the bigger cities, they will see crowds of people sleeping on the sidewalks. Cluttering the streets as they try to walk to their destination.

Homelessness has been a problem in Hawaii, and especially Oahu, for more than two decades. The homeless have overrun the islands but it is no surprise as the circum- stances allow for it. Multiple factors contribute to the ongoing dilemma including the high cost of living, Hawaii being an island state, and the expensive housing. The prob- lems that cause homelessness are not going to go away by themselves. Although the problem is not increasing, the numbers show that it isn’t decreasing and shouldn’t be unless the state and community acts.

Just by walking down the streets of Portland, it is obvious from the roadside tents, cardboard signs begging for spare change and shopping carts overflowing with possessions that the housing crisis in America is not going to resolve itself. For hundreds of years, homelessness has been a frowned upon and ignored issue by those who have never experienced it. Overlooking and ignoring homelessness has not done anything to help the growing issue, but allowed it to continue for even longer. In the article “Homelessness” on Opposing Viewpoints.com, it explains how the homeless face discrimination and treated as outcasts, “During the colonial period, homelessness was caused by varying economic and social factors; however, this condition was widely

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.

Over half of a million people within the United States are homeless, the largest part of that group belonging to the famed and familiar city: Los Angeles. But why is it that the majority of Americans seem so unaffected by the penniless, impoverished souls harboring the areas they often visit? It was once delivered by the famed businessman and religious leader, Joseph B. Wirthlin, in an address named "Live in Thanksgiving Daily" that "The more often we the see things around us -- even the beautiful and wonderful -- the more they become invisible to us" (Wirthlin 11). The essence of Wirthlin’s wise words is that because we see certain things so often, we become desensitized and accustomed to them, leading us to acknowledge them less and less. This however, serves as a poor excuse when explaining our lack of effort in attacking and solving the social issues present in homelessness. In today’s day and age, individuals often adapt the mindset of: “Your problem, you deal with it.” But how are these human beings, who have aspirations and dreams just like you and me (that are now crushed), are supposed to just “deal” with living without a penny to their names with no possibility of finding any source of income? How are these people supposed to just “deal” with the paralyzing fear and helplessness they experience every night before they lie down on the cold, hard concrete floor of a dingy alley that they’re forced to call home for the night? Of course, they don’t. Well, more

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.

Many people have gotten to experience what life is like in big cities or small rural communities. Often times, these places have a population of wealthier people and an area of poorer families. What many do not experience is what it is like to be homeless in these places. Homeless men, women and children can be seen under bridges, on front stoops, in cars, and several other locations of “shelter”. This problem is more common and local than a lot of us believe. Whether we know it or not, we have people that are struggling with homelessness in our own communities today. This epidemic is more real than we may ever know. It is very sad to imagine these people living in these conditions but things can be done to help. Homelessness is a reality in local communities and can be improved through schools, educational programs, charity, and helping them overcome barriers or stressors.

When the issue of homelessness is brought forth in a conversation, many individuals think of drug addicts who are dirty and begging for change on a sidewalk to buy more drugs for their next fix. In some situations, that is not the case. Homelessness is a major issue in America today. Job lost and grieving of a loved one, mental illness and addiction, and domestic violence are recurring factors that can result to homelessness. If we all educate ourselves on the factors that lead to homelessness, as a nation, we would be able to decrease the percentage drastically.

Scholar For Caplow, defined homelessness as a practice of alienating someone from society as a result of loss of the relational bond with family, employment and home, which connects one to society (Ravenhill, 2016). Homelessness is a social issue in the United States, which does not discriminate against age, ethnicity, professional background or gender. In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau shared that there is an estimate 43.3 million people in the U.S. struggling with poverty, which means this people were experiencing homelessness and were out on the street homeless sleeping or in a transitional housing program or shelter (National Health Care for the Homeless Council, 2016). This has been an issue for a long time in our country, and it is still

Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located between the two larger cities in central Florida those being Tampa to the west and Orlando to the east. While interventions to interrupt and end homelessness may vary across groups, ending homelessness permanently requires housing combined with the types of services supported by programs operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This paper will address demographics for the area, identify the social issue of homelessness, and address using a social action model for community change, and the strengths and weaknesses of the model.

At some point in one’s life, a person has seen or heard of an individual who lives on the streets. An individual who lives on the streets and holds a sign that says they need money for food is considered homeless. Sadly, these individuals are everywhere and the amount of people currently homeless in the United States is 564,708 according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. However, in this nation, everyone has the ability to decrease this massive number. Necessary assistance from agencies, local funding, churches, and volunteers will place these homeless individuals in permanent housing. With this assistance, the number of homeless individuals will begin to decrease.

The current social welfare issue that I chose to explore is homelessness within Canada. First, this essay will give a brief description of homelessness. Secondly, it will describe how homelessness relates to some concepts and theories that we learned in this course Introduction to Social Welfare, it will also look at what may have happened to people facing homelessness one hundred years ago, next we will explore a possible solution to this social issue and where this fits within the political ideologies. Finally, I will give a brief explanation on whether social media is an effective tool for bringing about awareness regarding social issues.

Currently, the rates of homelessness in America continue to drastically increase. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2012) depicted how many people are homeless in a single night in America. The findings revealed that there were approximately 633,782 people who are homeless in America or 20 out of every 10,000. Approximately 394,379 are single individuals and 239,403 are people in families with 77,157 homeless families in a single night, and approximately 162, 246 are children. Veterans are more likely to be homeless than those who are non-veterans, approximately 29 out of every 10,000 veterans are homeless. Unfortunately, 38 percent of those who are homeless are unsheltered, either living on the streets or in places that are not suitable for human inhabitation. Most states account of for less than 1% of homeless population, whereas Texas contains approximately 5.4% of America’s homeless population. In San Antonio, there are approximately 2,981 people who are homeless each day, and 1,243 are unsheltered. Through a sociological perspective, the social problems of homelessness can be analyzed through the concept of sociological imagination, the comparison of the person-blame approach and the system-blame approach, and through the analysis of one’s own community’s effort in helping those who are homeless.

Theories of homelessness can extend from many things like natural disasters, domestic violence, loss of a job, loss of a loved one, mental illness, and sometimes even depression. There