The Cause Of Homelessness In America

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.

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

The United States of America is the place known to many as the land of the free, home of the brave, and the place to start a better life. With any place that has good qualities, some have not so good qualities. The homeless population in the United States is at a staggering high, and many individuals are suffering because many lack employment/financial resources, housing resources, support from family and friends, and others negligence; such as natural disasters or fires. Homeless individuals may have no other choice than to live on the streets, trains, and alley ways to name a few places where homeless people seek shelter. The history of homelessness, social problems, demographics, common clinical

Homelessness in America has existed for some time now, but has grown and changed majorly over the years since the 1980’s. According to Mary Hombs, “the prevailing stereotype of a homeless person was that of a middle-aged white urban male alcoholic” (6). But now there is no stereotype because homelessness could happen to anyone at any moment, so that is why it important to be aware. Millions of people in this country do not have a place to live including whole families, children, veterans, and even the mentally ill. Going day after day without food or shelter. Throughout this paper the main focus will be answering the questions: What is homelessness?; What are the main causes of homelessness?: Who is the homeless?; and How do the people of this country assist the homeless?

Seeing homelessness develop is a process that the older generation can say they have been apart of. The young generation, on the other hand, cannot say they have seen the development of homelessness. People who are thirty years old or younger have grown up believing that homelessness was always part of the landscape. The younger generation has come to believe that there have always been homeless people sitting on park benches. When an individual is asked what they see most in a large city like Chicago or New York, ‘homeless people’ is a common response. According to the United States Census Bureau, 320.8 million individuals currently live in the United States of America. Imagine the proportion of individuals that do not own a car or even a house to live in. The National Law Center on Homelessness and poverty did studied to conclude that in America more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year. Those concerned with the issue of homelessness are curious as to what events had to have happened that lead to the individuals living on the streets. The reasons are different for each and every person. Some of the more major issues that contribute to this are lack of affordable housing, declining welfare assistance, and most importantly, mental illness. Resolving the issue of homelessness is very possible with new ways of housing and treatment for the mentally ill. The relation between the homeless and the mental illness has risen, and the United States as a whole

Homelessness is something that is happening to many people all around the world. Now when it comes to the United States, homelessness is not a phenomenon, and contrary to popular belief, the problem did not arise in the past few decades with the closer of mental hospitals, the influx of Vietnam veterans, or even the deep cuts into federal housing assistance. Homelessness in America is as old as the country itself, and the responses to the problem have not varied much since the beginning until here recently.

Usually the government wants the best for the people of its nation, and provides for their needs. Shockingly, this is not the case in Yemen, where families with young children are left to defend themselves. Specifically homosexual men are being targeted by their own nation, and terrorist groups. The conflict in Yemen is in the most dire of situations as innocent people are dying, becoming homeless, and getting arrested. This is an urgent problem because many innocent people are being victimized in Yemen, and have nobody on their side.

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.

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.

Many reasons for worsening situation of homelessness in the country have been reported but none has gathered as much support as poverty. Poverty alone accounts for major increase in homeless households while other possible reasons include loss of job, eroding job opportunities, lack of public assistance and lack of affordable housing facilities. Despite these being powerful reasons, they are all linked to one major reason i.e. poverty.

In the past decade, homelessness has become one of the most prevalent issues in society. Homelessness does not discriminate; it affects people and families of all races, gender and religious backgrounds. The number of homeless individuals and families has skyrocketed to epic proportions; not even during the Great Depression were the numbers this large. ("Basic Facts About Homelessness: New York City - Coalition For The Homeless," n.d.). According to Martin (2018), several factors that can contribute to homelessness are unemployment or inadequate employment, substance abuse/use and mental illness (p. 207). Being a New York City resident who takes public transportation, I encounter people affected by homelessness on a daily basis.

Multiple factors can attribute to anyone who is homeless. Homelessness can be caused by one or more personal, social, medical or economic factors. People that are homeless make up a diverse population. They are different in demographics, subgroups and their patterns of homelessness (Boyt Schell, Gillen, & Scaffa, 2014). An individual’s situation can range from mental health issues, substance abuse, domestic violence, and unemployment. Many researchers have identified social issues as a cause while others have placed the blame on the individual themselves. The truth is, however, is that this particular subject remains a multidimensional and complex phenomenon.

Homelessness is the state of people without a stable home. People who are homeless are often unable to obtain a regular and safe living space. There are many causes of homelessness and they affect everyone differently. Some people exit homelessness quickly, but many individuals become homeless every day. There are multiple steps that you can take to help end homelessness or make even a small difference in their lives. Homelessness is expected more than many disasters. People can often see it coming months or even years in advance. But most people prefer to live in denial, ignoring the normal warning signs. Many believe it cannot happen to them. But it has unfortunately already happened to thousands. Anyone has the ability to fall victim to

In addition to that, according to Journal of Housing and Community development another important element which is causing homelessness in the Unites States is lack of affordable housing, the majority of those who are homeless are low income families and studies have shown that low income families spent forty five percent of their income on housing so basically this means that they almost spend have of their income on housing and the reaming half on other daily life expenses. This is an important fact that housing expenses is a huge burden on the shoulders of low income families and most them are living in rental apartments or houses with the fear that if they lose their jobs or if they are unable to pay the rent or mortgage on time soon they might lose their properties or the rental apartment or rental house and they might be homeless with a life with no hope for the future and terrible challenges to deal with. This elements supports the idea that affordable housing has direct effect on the causes of homelessness in the United States and it is the responsibility of the government to look into this issue in depth and present long terms solution for this challenge, and based on the earning of the low income families the government should provide them affordable housing, so that people should be able to continue to their live without any concerns and they should be able to pay attention to education and wellbeing of their offspring to present effective and positive

Everyone who has lived in NYC, most likely, have encountered and had an experience with a homeless person. Well according to New York Posts, the number of homeless in NYC has raised by 39% during 2016. This may not seem like a lot, but, according to Coalition for the Homeless, the number of homeless people sleeping in shelters has raised up to 77% more higher than 10 years ago. Coalition for the Homeless, stated that, in July 17, 2017, a recorded 60,586 people in NYC, including children are homeless and are living in shelters. Research shows that homelessness is caused by not being able to pay for a place it live. In Coalition for the Homeless, it showed us “that Surveys of homeless families have identified the following major, immediate, triggering causes of homelessness: eviction; doubled-up or severely overcrowded housing; domestic violence; job loss; and hazardous housing conditions.” These are just some of the reasons why homeless people become homeless.