“Homelessness is the condition of people without a permanent dwelling, such as a house or apartment.” In the United States over 500,000 people, almost a quarter of them children, were homeless this year. That’s over half a million-people living on streets, cars and or homeless shelters. 49,933 people, veterans to be specific, were identified across the United States as homeless, 51% of these homeless veterans have disabilities, 50% have serious mental issues, 70% have a substance abuse problem. Nearly one-quarter, 23% of the homeless are children under the age of 18. 10% are between the ages of 18 and 24, and 66% are over the age of 25.
In Texas alone recent reports have identified 19,177 homeless people. 1,499 homeless people …show more content…
A veteran is a former member of the armed forces. Someone who at one point identified themselves as a soldier. Someone who signed a will and all their rights away for their country. 9% of the homeless are veterans. 51% of homeless veterans have some type of disability, 51% have a serious mental illness, 70% have a substance abuse problem.
Why are Americans homeless? One of the reasons people are homeless is because they have some type of addiction. In many situations individuals turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with tough times and or situations. When one falls into a substance attempt to attain temporary relief from their problems, they start to depend on it to take their minds off the problem.
Domestic violence is common with single adults and families, domestic violence is an immediate cause for homelessness. A huge percentage of women because homeless due to some sort of domestic violence, they rather live on the streets then continue to live in abuse and violence. Domestic violence survivors mostly turn to homeless service programs to seek help and temporary place to stay. Recent studies show that just over 12% of homeless individuals have experienced some type of domestic …show more content…
Children usually age out, which means they turn 18. 18 is the age of emancipation in most states, in foster care systems and or homes. Even though you are technically allowed to stay in foster care until you are 21, at the age of 18 you have the option to leave. Once a child turns 18 they are considered an adult, their entire world changes. They are now responsible for themselves, this includes and is limited to: having the responsibility of finding a home to live, getting a job or maybe attending college, having money to buy food and clothing. Among other things. This may become overwhelming for some and they fail and have nowhere to go so they may end up in a shelter, or a street. Many eventually end up homeless. Every year almost 300,000 kids age out of the foster system.
Panhandling is defined as begging. There have been many cases where people have committed panhandling scams. Which is when a person dresses and portrays to be a homeless person in order to get empathy from people in order to obtain money. Depending on the location of where the person is panhandling some folks can make up to $40-$100 per hour in earnings. 3% of panhandlers