The, The Land Of Opportunity

Homelessness affects upwards of 3.5 million Americans annually and has been a historical problem since the 1700’s (Cronley, 2010). People who are homeless do not always choose the situation they find themselves in, but to be more precise, are the victims of a social system that neglects to help them with they first become at-risk of becoming homeless (Edison-Brown). According to the Joint Studies for Housing Studies (2017), almost thirty-nine million American households are living in homes that they have difficulty meeting the required funds to pay for monthly. To illustrate, a person who has a rental home, on average, needs to earn $21.21 per hour to afford a two-bedroom home in the United States (Family Promise, 2016). The poverty line for a family of four is at $24,300, and for someone to achieve that line, they need to be earning at least $11.70 per hour

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

First, government provides housing assistance to low-income families. Low-income families just need pay 30% of their total income for rent. Second, mainstream programs provide a safety net for homelessness. This net makes mainstream programs like housing assistance, welfare, and substance support could provide what homelessness need quickly. Third, Communities created a data system to record information about homelessness. These information could be analyzed to help people know the cause of people become homeless, how long people become homeless, what exactly homeless people need, and the effect of mainstream’s support. Government already saw some positive influence of these programs. The number of family homelessness decreased 43 percent in Hennepin Country. New York creased 11 percent of homeless families was placed by a permanent housing. (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2010)

Homelessness in America has gone un-noticed for so long. For America to be the “land of opportunity” there is a large amount of people who have been deprived of what they were promised. There is so much this country offers, but at the same time there are so many qualifications. Not everyone can meet these standards that are sometimes required. This results in homelessness and poverty. Homelessness has become a hidden aspect in life. The government wants people to continue seeing America’s beauty. In order for that to be successful they would have to get rid of the flaws.

Homelessness is an aspect of society, which most people chose not to acknowledge. With the increasing amount of issues the United States faces, homelessness tends to be forgotten when the time comes for the government to establish what issues they should assist. Due to the substantial amount of issues the government concerns itself with, homelessness does not receive the necessary attention required and is improperly handled. In today’s society poverty-stricken individuals or families is too much of a common occurrence to be treated as lightly as it is. Additional government intervention is necessary in order to supply the needed resources, which can prevent the further spread of homelessness. The United States government is obligated to protect its citizens and should care about the constant growth of homelessness. Through economic policies and community advertisements, the government can control the issue of individuals who are facing poverty.

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.

Sadly though, In the United States alone 549,928 people were homeless in January 2016 (“Snapshot of Homelessness”). Even though this number is so high a lot of cities do nothing about the homelessness in their area. One reason people do not help is they believe the homeless individual caused their issue. That is not always correct, though. The most frequent cause of homelessness is property destroying disasters (Griffiths 18). With housing being the main issue it makes sense Housing First would be the most successful. Another reason people are homeless is divorce and abusive relationship (Griffiths 18). Which again show housing programs would be beneficial. It makes people wonder why more states do not start housing

The issue of homelessness is one that I can relate to all too well. About twenty five years ago I found myself among the homeless. My story is simple, I had no formal education and was working a job making minimum wage. I couldn’t keep up with my rent and other living expenses and was finally evicted from my overpriced apartment. At the time I was on a waiting list for public housing for which there was at least a two year waiting period. The fact that I was single, with no children did not help me either. For a while I lived on the streets and in shelters, too ashamed to approach what family members I had with my problems knowing that they were

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

People drive or walk past a homeless person almost every day without thinking twice about the plight of that person or they may even unconsciously turn their heads the other way in disgust. Homelessness simply put, means without a home - therefore homelessness is an equal opportunity state that can happen to anyone. Even though we have seen some economic prosperity over the years, statistics show that the number of homeless remains very high. With this in mind, communities need to come together at the state, city, and individual level to come up with solutions to mitigate the spreading of this problem.

Homelessness has been an ongoing problem in the United States and it cannot be decreased until each state comes up with a plan that is affective. However, in order for this to work the economy needs to recover to the point where no one is without a job and is paid a wage that is manageable. The negative stereotypes of judging the homeless needs to be stopped and people need to be educated that homelessness can affect anyone. Although there are many services available to assist the homeless it is not enough. Big corporations can play a major role in assisting the homeless by training and hiring as well as donating goods to monetary funds. Homelessness is not only affecting those that are homeless, it is affecting every city and community in every state. People make the choice of looking the other way and refuse to acknowledge the hardships most of the homeless have and has to endure. Our government officials need to look into the welfare system and try to move some of those recipients who have no disabilities and not elderly, but those who have made a career utilizing the system because it is easier than trying to find a job. The welfare system has offered many services to their recipients from daycare to job training. Nevertheless, while some states and even cities have managed to decrease the amount of people facing and experiencing homelessness there is still work to be done. When you see major companies leaving the states for cheaper labor, what does this say

Homelessness has always been a problem in major cities across the United States and even the world. This problem also affects out local community and even all of us individually. (Daily) A majority of the American people lives paycheck to paycheck, and according to statistics, we are only one or two paychecks away from becoming homeless. While there are many reasons a person or family can become homeless, a majority of those problems come from a lack of income. The job market of today is quickly dwindling and shows no signs of improvement. This market mixed with new government policies is becoming an issue for struggling American’s on the poverty line. Homelessness is becoming a vast problem

Countries around the world have always had a keen eye on the economy and events that occur in the United States of America. Many inhabitants of under developed countries seek sovereignty in the foreign land of America. Authors such as Cox and Alm’s established arguments that envelopes readers in the very agreeable idea that the present U.S. economy reflects the classic phrase “Land of Opportunity” (Cox and Alm’s 62). Alternatively, in the past the US suffered from severe prejudices of racial discrimination, which civil rights activist such as Martin Luther King focused on eradicating. Since the mid nineteenth century America has lived up to the phrase “Land of Opportunity”, because time has done away with segregation, and general discrimination among the people. The stature of the economy in the terms of equal opportunity has very much changed over the decades, and the issues

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

The most common thing that comes to mind when someone mentions living in the United States is the “American Dream”. This dream including a family living in a house with a white picket fence around it. The grass is nice and green and everything seems simple and dandy; however, this is rarely seen. In cities there are often people on the street corners holding up signs that say “will work for food”, or something along those lines. The people holding these signs are apart of the growing population of homeless. Shelters that help the homeless are full and running out of resources. This may seem like a simple matter, at first glance, but it is actually quite complex. Communities are continuously struggling with