Homelessness And The Homeless Council Website

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 is a major social crisis in the United States of America. From 2014 to 2015, homelessness in America increased by 2 percent. The major sub-populations which comprise homeless people in America are unsheltered persons, families, chronically homeless people, and veterans (National Alliance to End Homelessness 3). In America, 15 percent of homeless people are defined as being chronically homeless, while 2 percent of homeless families are chronically homeless (ibid. 7). A person is defined as chronically homeless by the United States Government if they have been continually homeless for a year or more, or have experienced more than twelve months of homelessness in the last three years (Office

Heading home from a long day’s work. The traffic light turns red. Waiting for the light to turn green, to the left a man with a sign walking up and down the curb. “Homeless and Hungry,” “Will Work for Shelter,” or “Homeless Need Help” are just a few notes jotted on cardboard to get drivers attention. Homelessness has the ability to affect a number of people on a daily basis. According to National Health Care of the Homeless Council, n.d. (NHCHC), “there is more than one official definition of homelessness”. Needless-to-say, those who lack a fixed and adequate residence can become homelessness. These situations can make the social problem bigger than it should be in conjunction with structural factors, affordable house, and traumatic actions will help miss the mark.

     Here in Tahoe, we are lucky enough to experience a great quality of life, and only a few have to face the horrible life of poverty and homelessness. However, nationwide, even right outside the basin, homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. There are many ways one can become homeless; for the most part poverty. There are also different concentrations of homeless in different types of terrain, such as urban or suburban areas. Last, there is the ever- growing homeless population, and how much money it costs us for others to live in poverty. These are the questions we ask ourselves about homelessness, and the only way we can help is to know the facts about this lingering

On any given night there are over 600,000 individuals experiencing homelessness across America (State of Homelessness, 2014). Some may be in transitional housing, others in shelters. Some may be completely on their own or with a companion of sorts, others are entire families lacking shelter, food, and basic everyday essentials more fortunate people take for granted. It is hard for anyone to believe that living on the streets could be a reality. The majority of homeless people have been driven into their unfortunate situation by sudden, unplanned events. Contrary to the popular belief that homelessness stems from some sort of mental or physical incapacity; there are plenty of other reasons that individuals end up without a home. Homelessness is a social problem, owed majorly to structural imbalance and the misdistribution of resources. Homelessness in America, specifically in California and our nation’s capitol, Washington D.C., can be compared to or even perceived as an epidemic. With the rapid, unanticipated loss of jobs and subsequent foreclosures, anyone living anywhere near the poverty line is in danger of losing the roof over their head.

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

Each country in the world is faced with various social issues that attract the interests of society and the government. Homelessness is an enormous issue that America has been dealing with for years. There are millions of people, including children, families, veterans, and the elderly who go day to day without food, water or any form of shelter. Mentally ill people also have a rough time out on the streets due to their state of confusion, which makes it dangerous for them, as well as others to be on the streets. Many of these people have had no choice but to become homeless. Economic problems such as being laid off work, or the rise in the cost of housing have lead people to live on the streets.

Homelessness is one of the oldest problems that exist, fast forward almost 40 years since it’s been recognized as one and still there has been no avail to finding a real solution. The definition of homelessness under the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act is defined as an individual: “who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and a person who has a nighttime residence that is supervised publicly or privately operated shelter, and c) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or a private or public place not designed for, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.”

Did you know that Applied Survey Research counted a total of 4,539 homeless people last year in Sonoma County alone? I can vouch for the authenticity and methods used in this survey because I assisted as a counter. I am passionate about the social issue of homelessness, mainly because I was part of this population a decade ago. Applied Survey Research defines homelessness in part as, “An individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence…” The sad fact is that there are not enough resources to adequately shelter America’s most vulnerable citizens. Many cities have passed ordinances that have criminalized homelessness. These so called quality of life ordinances are meant to protect the society at large. Homeless people

A homeless person is an individual without a permanent, stable housing situation who either spends his or her nights on the streets or in temporary facilities, such as shelters and abandoned buildings. Throughout history, society has been “holding the poor, rape or incest victims, minorities, or the handicapped responsible for their misfortunes” (Zur). Society has been blaming the homeless for being in the position they are in. However, upon closer inspection, it must be noted that “children under the age of 18 accounts for 39% of the homeless population…battered women who live in poverty are often forced to choose between abusive relationships and homelessness…[and] 40% of homeless men have served in the armed forces” (Who Is Homeless?). It is clear that those who are homeless are not

The issue of homelessness has been called as one that is "highly ambiguous and intangible" (Neale, 1997, p.7). Wright defines the homeless a "diverse, heterogeneous lot. No single catch phrase or easy myth can possibly describe them all" (p.46)

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.

Although the numbers of homelessness in the States have decreased in the past 10 years, more than 3.5 million people each year experience homelessness, with 578,424 individuals experience homelessness each night (endhomelessness.org). Many poverty-stricken people are consistently at the risk of homelessness; there is a lack of affordable housing, many jobs provide low income, and destitute people cannot afford medical care for support. However, homelessness does not only extend to the penniless - it also affects a standard citizen. It can be a result of natural disasters, family death, unemployment, domestic violence, divorce, family affairs, and mental disabilities (homeaid.org). The challenge for America is to reduce the number of those who continue to experience homelessness drastically by rehabilitating the homeless back to normal, ordinary lives. Homeless or emergency shelters and temporary homes allow the homeless to seize a chance at economic stability and reorganize their current situation. Many organizations such as Volunteers of America and Salvation Army were formed to address problems with homelessness in our society; their mission is to provide services like job and social skill training for the homeless in order to support their rehabilitation. Even with everything that is being done, many homeless refuse to associate themselves with outside help. With this issue at hand, homelessness will always remain an issue in America.

Homelessness in the United States is considered a social problem that has many causes. These causes often stem from poverty, unemployment, lack of affordable housing, and mental illnesses (De Venanzi 2008). The most commonly used definition of homelessness involves defining a homeless person as an individual who does not have a consistent residence throughout the night or an individual who resides in shelters or places that would not be considered said person’s permanent residence (De Venanzi 2008). Due to the large population of homeless individuals within the United States, many programs have been introduced in order to reintegrate them back into the social society. The topic of homelessness is important to society due to the estimates of over 100 million homeless men, women, and children. Additionally, due to the relationship between homelessness and poverty, many sociologists have determined that the

Homelessness remains an exasperating and intricate issue that has been plaguing cities and towns well before the dawn of civilization. In a utopian world, homelessness dilemma will never cease to exist and prevail. In today’s reality, society would not be balanced if countless poverty-stricken people did not exist. Homelessness has forever been a perpetuating problem that continues to exacerbate due to public ignorance who reject the fact that homelessness is impacting the broader community. It has always been a growing epidemic that never seems to get adequate exposure. For many homeless people, it can turn into a very arduous journey to get the support they desperately need. However, in many cases, to succeed is rare. Although some homeless people willfully chose this lifestyle upon themselves, a great deal of them still deserve to be helped and accommodated considering a lot of the homeless actually do have jobs, many suffer from mental disorders and addictions, a good percentage of them are veterans, and outreach programs have been known to produce immense success.