Essay on Homelessness

Hiking through Rocky Mountain National Park the beauty was overwhelming, the next day our team was serving in downtown Denver in a Street reach meal service to people suffering from homelessness. The beauty of the mountains was overwhelming but then we surrounded by this vast issue of homelessness. Both of these moving experiences, along with many other moments during the week, that made this trip personally impactful and helped me to see the world in a more vivid light.

Homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. This terrible misfortune has led to many unsuspecting people leading impoverished lifestyles, and facing the horrific and heart-wrenching tragedy of abandonment. The purpose of this essay is to not only persuade the readers to get involved in ending homelessness on local and national efforts, but to embrace new and creative ways of helping to end this rapidly growing problem, by taking action to end this catastrophic situation. Also, I will demonstrate the causes and effects of the homeless resorting to violence, by using comparison and contrast to examine the views and standpoints on helping the forgotten, so that we might end this calamity once and for all. In an increasingly

There are so many people homeless that it leads to poverty. Poverty plays a big role in homelessness, because it’s the simple fact that there are people out there struggling, starving, some even near death, and people have the nerve to say it’s a lifestyle, it is a unhealthy lifestyle, and I know that the middle class and wealthy high class citizens of America would never want to be in a homeless person’s shoes. Homelessness is in fact caused by depression, someone can just lose a loved one and completely lose all type of humanity. “ People living in poverty or close to the poverty line and everyday life issues that may be manageable for individuals with a higher income can be the final factor in placing them on the street”. ( Homaid 1).

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

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;

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.

Statistics show people living in poverty are most at risk of becoming homeless. Economically they are at a higher risk of losing what little they already have.

As a matter of fact,“[m]ost people are not aware of other realities different [from] their own and think it is a ‘social norm’ to have [basic necessities] and a ‘social abnormality’ to live in the streets” (Source A). These people fail to realize there could be a situation in which the homeless could not avoid the cause. For example, some homeless people are born to a family in poverty. According to research, poverty is the largest contributor to homelessness, and “the World Bank, as of August 2008, [estimates] 1.4 billion people live on $1.25 per day or less, and 2.7 billion people live on less than $2 per day” (Source B). Although poverty is the largest cause of homelessness and is often called ‘the silent killer’, natural disasters, in extreme measures, could cause a person to lose their life along with their home. Homelessness can become a reality also when people become evicted when their bills become high and are not paid on time. The government lacks public assistance for people who are homeless because “[e]ven though the government has provided some shelters for homeless people, overcrowding forces many [people] to live in the streets” (Source

Homelessness affects millions of Americans each year, with approximately one third of this population suffering from severe mental disorders. In Las Cruces we have a number of homeless people that have a mental disorder. Las Cruces does not provide the homeless mentally ill with sufficient services. it is necessary to provide them with support, protection, treatment, and rehabilitation.

Homelessness is a noteworthy issue in America. There are a large number of individuals who experience this epidemic each and every day without a rooftop over their head, water, or sustenance and even some with no garments on their backs. It is so difficult to acknowledge the way that even youthful children are living on the streets. One issue that America faces every day from homelessness are the unlawful acts. Just because some is living on the streets does not mean they are terrible individuals. The issue is that they need to survive yet they can’t bear the cost of any nourishment or water. This is the exactly why they look like culprits. Homelessness is a problem in America because it put people’s lives at risk and can be solved by quickly adding more affordable houses across the country, helping people transition from the streets to a house, and provide shelters to keep people safe.

     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

Even though having the “poor class” is a necessary evil needed for society to function, most Americans, at some point in time, will experience what it is like to live in poverty or live below the poverty line. One main reason for having a high percentage of people living in poverty is because the U.S. policy makers have ignored the poor and have given tax breaks to those with a much higher income. Funding for welfare was slashed and extended unemployment benefits were ended. With little success with the economic reform the United States has been going through for the past five years, about 14.5 percent of Americans are still living under the poverty line.

As many as 3.5 million Americans are considered homeless each year. Often, people believe that homelessness is a complication only caused by the poor choices of a single person when they are typically the result of multiple uncontrollable factors. For some, the line between being homeless and not can be very thin, with several obstacles preventing stability. These individuals and families commonly come from more deprived areas. Those who are homeless can be very different to each other in how and why they came to be in their situation, but they all have in common their desire to find a way back to a normal and healthy lifestyle. Homelessness is an issue created by poor physical and mental health, a lack of money, and relationship complications.

Throughout the United States, homelessness and poverty have become an overwhelming issue. From people losing their jobs to others having to give up their homes, nearly 14.5 percent of Americans experience some type of poverty. This could look like a small percentage to some but in reality, it's more than 45 million people. While this number may be decreasing, the stereotype of those who are in poverty still remains. It is often thought that those in poverty are non-educated addicts and are generally criminal people. This, however, fails to be proven true. In my personal experiences, it was believed that the homeless and impoverished were of a lower social level and it was easy to assume the poor were in their walk of life for more reasons than simply not having money. Drugs, crime, and poverty all seemed to have the same definition.

Throughout the entire history of human civilization, the prevalence of homelessness has been a challenge to every nation.  It might be depressing to learn that no countries today have eradicated homelessness, but the human race is never stopped from trying harder than before to tackle this prolonged issue. As the two leading economic powers, America and China have to face the challenge of reducing homelessness. According to a report written by Nation Coalition for the Homeless, “a study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty which states that approximately 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year” in America alone (National Coalition for the Homeless, July