A problem that persists through every part of the world is a lack of compassion for the homeless. No matter how many charities are available for people to donate to, they are often careless and forgetful. This problem stems from laziness and a lack of motivation to be involved. This carelessness can account for the lack of resources or the lack of knowledge about resources for the homeless.…
Research shows that the lack of affordable housing is the primary cause of homelessness, where over 5 million homes have already been foreclosed since 2008. The growing gap between wage earnings and the high cost of housing in the United States has left millions unable to make ends meet, increasing the number of people who are now homeless due to foreclosures. According to the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) an estimated 12 million renter and homeowner households spend more than 50 percent of their annual income in order to pay for housing. HUD also notes that an acceptable percentage of monthly income should be no more than 30 percent and anything above 30 percent will prevent people from affording not only housing but…
Homelessness has a profound effect on people. Life for a homeless person is very hard.…
In today’s world, we experience a lot of people that are homeless. Every state has individuals that are living on the street and are lacking resources on shelters, jobs, food pantries, and etc. However, there are many stereotypes about the homeless. There are some that will argue that you chose the life you want to live, but what about the individuals with disabilities without a home because their family did not want them. What about families that previously had a job, got laid off, can not pay their bills, and certain situations brought them to living on the streets? Have you heard the stereotype that the homeless try to just get extra money and that they are not really homeless? As a Social Worker, our job would be leadership, advocating,…
My friends and I left the restaurant, laughing. It was getting dark and the city was beautifully lit. We smiled and chatted as we walked through downtown. Suddenly my eyes fell on a young woman arranging her sleeping quarters in the middle of the sidewalk. She looked barely older than me - she could have easily been a college student. The girl sat down and pulled a few dirty blankets over her body, preparing for the night’s sleep. I was staggered by the similarities between the two of us. Her face stuck in my memory as I got home and climbed into my comfortable bunk bed. People my age weren’t supposed to be homeless, were they? Where was her family, her connections? Why would she be on the streets? Were there more people like her or was she an anomaly? I realized I knew nothing about homelessness and had instead been subconsciously analyzing it with my own preconceptions as a basis. But I wasn’t the only one allowing myself to remain so misinformed. Research shows there are almost ubiquitous misconceptions concerning homelessness and the stigma against it, especially when it comes to the demographics of the homeless population, the amount of crimes…
One was considered chronically homeless if they were “continuously homeless for a year or more, or have had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years” and “have been sleeping in a place not meant for human habitation” or in emergency shelters (Secretariat, 2008, p. 7). Conversely, transient homelessness was explained as a lesser degree of chronic homelessness. Individuals who needed support with finding permanent housing and did not have any significant barriers to employment were considered employable homeless. The Secretariat (2008) noted that homeless families had a high rates of women with children who were fleeing domestic violence and were attempting to find a stable living situation…
“Reasons for homelessness include poverty, lack affordable housing, unemployment, lack or inadequacy of government financial support, crime, violence, lack of kin support, mental illness, substance, and socially stigmatizing infectious diseases”…
Homeless people have the tendency to treat the streets of cities like their personal homes. It’s only natural that they do this because hey, the streets are their homes. But this becomes a problem when you are strolling the streets of your beautiful city and are overwhelmed and distressed by the horrific stench of urine and waste consume the side walk. Like I said before, the sidewalks are homeless people’s homes but when you have to hold your breath, it becomes a problem.…
Homelessness is one of the biggest issues that people face in many counties. The United States faces many homelessness issues. Homelessness issues create many social, economical and security problems which should be dealt with very seriously by the government and the society as well to ensure the well being of all people in the society. Homeless issues differ from a city to another based on the typist of people and opportunities of each city. But let’s face it, what are the major causes of being homeless? There are many causes that could make the normal person living turned into homeless and that based on some causes such as: lack of education, work opportunities, mental, physical problems and social responsibilities.…
Homelessness is caused by certain circumstances that led people without a place to stay. Every person in life is worthy of having a place to live. Housing is one of the three necessities. People who do not have a stable home, are awaiting to face many challenges. Living on the street in a place like New York City is very dangerous. Even during the winter season, the weather is unbearable. It is too risky to have people living on the streets. Recently, there has been a tremendous increase in the amount of homeless people living in New…
Dorothy Day once said, “What we would like to do is change the world-make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended for them to do”; as people living in the United States where homeless can be seen on nearly every street corner, we should take a stand against this issue and do something. Just think if, in 100 years, all American citizens have a desire to help aid in some way the issue of homelessness in America.…
All across America there are many families without homes and even in Bowling Green there are homeless individuals and families The Daily News mentions, that Warren County is the 7th county in Kentucky for the amount of homeless people per capita. Rhodell Miller, Executive Director for Hotel Inc., stated that even couch surfers are considered to be homeless and anyone without a permanent residence. A good reason that Miller gave that lead someone to become homeless is because of the lack affordable housing in our area. The policies and procedures of income based housing just takes too long and most people are looking for housing immediately. Another big cause to homelessness that there isn’t a lot of housing that anyone can afford on just a minimum wage job. It is really surprising in the documentary Tent City, USA, that there is a lot of women living on the streets because it is better than staying in their abusive relationships. One women told her story and she said that she had a nice house, a big…
He walks in the door, tired and weak. He has no car, or home, and he’s walked from the complete other side of town just to get food. Starving, he orders his sandwich with the utmost politeness. His name is Frank, a homeless man that we--at Jimmy John’s--give free food to. Frank comes in very often to get food, because there’s not many other ways for him to get food because he can’t afford it himself. Frank also suffers from mental disabilities, and it is incredibly sad to see him homeless and hungry like he is. Frank can not maintain a stable job because of these mental disabilities. Instead of neglecting the homeless for not getting a job, we should be doing everything we can to help them get back on their feet.…
According to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, "homeless youth are typically defined as unaccompanied youth between the ages of 12 and 24 who are without family support and who are living in shelters, on the streets, in cars or vacant buildings or who are "couch surfing" or living in other unstable circumstances." On any given night in the US, there is about half a million homeless individuals. 40 percent of that are homeless youth. It is important to say that exact numbers of homeless youth are hard to determine because the lack of standard methods and the mobility of the homeless population. The amount of homeless youth is staggering and heartbreaking. There are many factors that lead to homelessness, and many consequences…
The epidemic drawback of poverty and homelessness will not solve itself. There are many different approaches that people can partake in to end homelessness. Firstly, the minimum wage should be increased. In Andre’s case, an increase in the minimum wage from seven dollars and twenty-five cents to at least eleven dollars alone could perhaps house him and his wife. Secondly, more people can contribute to ending homelessness by donating basic necessities. These necessities include food, clothing, household goods, etc. Thirdly, more people need to volunteer for homeless shelters. Volunteering at a homeless shelter will help more people understand what homelessness truly is; this experience will truly humble people. Fourthly, more people should think…