Name
GEN 499 General Education Capstone
Instructor
September 8, 2012
Homelessness Homelessness is an epidemic that is growing at a rapid pace. Throughout history, homelessness has been a significantly issue but it is now becoming more common. Currently, many people of all ages are experiencing homelessness as the poverty rate is increasing significantly. This paper will describe this issue while focusing on the root causes of homelessness. It will include a literature review of three scholarly sources analyzing the validity of the author’s argument and/or biases. It will describe how academic understanding can influence the social elements and institutions of both local and global communities. I will include a multimedia component in the form of a video that describes homelessness. I will evaluate the relationship to academic knowledge and homelessness and to conclude, it will assess how the principles of active citizenship could impact this issue during the next five to ten years. Homelessness is a devastating social concern that mainly stems from poverty however there are many other contributing factors that can force people onto the streets, which can ultimately lead to chronic homelessness. Every day homeless people roam the streets while many of us pass by them as if they do not exist. Some are seen pushing grocery carts; some may be sleeping under a tree at a park while others may be holding up signs, drinking a beer, or begging for spare change. Some people choose to be homeless while most others are a larger majority of individuals are homeless due to unfortunate circumstances. The question that begs to be answered is, why? Why are so many people homeless? Before we can answer this question, we must first discover the true definition of homelessness. What does being homeless really mean? Everyone has his or her own definition of what it means to be homeless. Many would say that being homeless is not having a roof