Homelessness and Domestic Violence Awareness

THE MAIN CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF HOMELESSNESS
OUTLINE
THESIS: According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ recent survey of homelessness in twenty-three cities, homelessness is one of the most persistent problems that U.S. citizens have faced in recent times. Many factors have been diagnosed as the causes of homelessness. Advanced research done by many students and organizations have however proven that domestic violence, lack of affordable decent housing, and unemployment are the main causes of homelessness among people. These causes and their corresponding effects tend to make people miserable for most parts of their lives.

I. Homelessness
A. Increased rate in this problem
B. Examples of situations of homelessness
C. Main causes of this dilemma

II. Domestic violence as one of the main causes of homelessness
A. Various forms of domestic violence
B. Main victims of this demeaning act
C. Effects on domestic violence on victims

III. Lack of decent, affordable housing as a contributing factor
A. Continuous increase in rent as a main reason for this situation
B. Eviction of tenants due to inability to afford rent
C. The Impact of unaffordable housing on citizens

IV. Unemployment as a major cause of homelessness.
A. Rate of unemployment in our society
B. The contribution of unemployment to the problem of homelessness
C. Consequences of natural disasters on victims

V. Conclusion
A. Consequences of homelessness in the lives of people
B. Possible solutions to the problem of homelessness
C. Other options to choose if the situation persist

THE MAIN CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF HOMELESSNESS
In recent times, most people have encountered many problems in life. Poverty, drug abuse and ill-health are some of the numerous problems that some people in the world face on a daily basis. Homelessness is a major problem that some people have recently faced. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), homelessness is the “lack of a fixed regular and adequate nighttime residence.” Homeless people basically lack housing and food because they cannot afford regular, safe and adequate shelter to live in. The problem of homelessness has been rising for over two decades (Warnes and Crane 3). While some people think of homelessness in terms of single men, roughly a third of the homeless population is made up of families, most of which are headed by single parents. According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ recent survey of homelessness in twenty-three cities, homelessness is one of the most persistent problems that U.S. citizens have faced in recent times. Many factors have been found as the causes of homelessness. Advanced research done by many students and organizations, however, have proven that domestic violence, lack of affordable housing, and unemployment are the main causes of homelessness among people. These causes and their corresponding effects tend to make people miserable for most parts of their lives.
Domestic violence is one of the main causes of homelessness. According to the Domestic Violence Awareness Handbook, domestic violence occurs when a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another, mainly by assaulting and violating the other’s person’s rights and priorities. Children and women are usually the victims of domestic violence, and most of them experience these violent acts by members of their families. Each year, an estimated 3.3 million children witness domestic violence, and the emotional effects of witnessing domestic violence are similar to the psychological traumas associated with being a victim of child abuse (Get The Facts 60). According to Get The Facts, some of the various forms of domestic violence include: physical assault which involves hitting, shoving or pushing; sexual abuse which involves unwanted or forced sexual activity; intimidation and economic deprivation, or threats of violence. Most victims of these dehumanizing acts, in attempt to escape the bad treatment they receive from partners or family, leave home, and having nowhere else to go, they end up making the streets and other unsafe places their new “homes.” They try as much as possible to flee from their “oppressors,” and as a result, become homeless. According to an issue of the New York Times in July 2007, most women, who leave their abusers along with their children, are “propelled into an endless collision course with the limited mercies of the social welfare and legal systems.” Most of these women struggle to cater for the needs of their children as well as themselves, and as a result of the state of homelessness they may find themselves in, some of the victims may be compelled to partake in social vices, such as armed robbery and prostitution, as means of survival, and may end up being nuisance to society due to their involvement in social vices (Newton 53). Some child victims of domestic violence may also grow up being very bitter and unfriendly people, since most of them find it difficult to trust people again, considering the fact that they have been betrayed by people they love most, such as their fathers (Duckett and Hussain 59). With numerous memories of their bad experiences, most victims of domestic violence tend to be isolated from people for most parts of their lives, and hence fail to contribute to the success of their communities and the society at large.
As much as domestic violence is a main cause of homelessness in our society, lack of affordable housing is equally a major cause of this persistent problem. According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ survey on homelessness in twenty-three cities, about seventy-eight percent of the cities surveyed reported increase in request for emergency shelter. This request for emergency shelter is a result of unaffordable housing for most people. According to an article on rent control, a landlord is free to increase rent as much as he sees fit, unless he lives in a rent-controlled city; the landlord is however expected to give tenants a thirty-day notice to prepare them for the change (Free Advice 1). In view of this law on rent control, some landlords take great advantage and increase rent as often as they want to, in their quest to make more money faster. Some of these landlords are inconsiderate of the financial hardships some of their tenants may be going through, and when rents are constantly increased, some tenants may not be able to pay their rents because they earn low wages which may not even be sufficient to satisfy all their needs, including paying rent. According to the Tenant-Landlord Handbook, a landlord has the right to evict a tenant or tenants who do not pay their rent on time, unless the tenants have a proper and lawful agreement with the landlord. In view of this law, some landlords evict tenants who do not pay their rent on time. Most tenants who are evicted from their premises because of their inability to afford rent are forced to find other places to live, and some of them may have no other options but to live on the streets or in shelters not worthy to be called homes (Warnes and Crane 5). They are consequently rendered homeless due to their inability to afford rent, and in their state of homelessness, some of these tenants may engage in social vices such as armed robbery to take care of themselves and provide homes for themselves again. If they end up living on the streets, they are subjected to the mercy of harsh weather conditions such as the cold, which may eventually make them sick and unfit to work (Warnes and Crane 5).
Unemployment is also one of the major causes of homelessness. While some people earn low wages, others have no jobs at all. According to a scholarly journal article “Down but Hardly Out,” the rate of unemployment increases by five percent every year. Some people are unemployed because they may not have adequate qualifications to work in well-paying work places, or simply unavailability of jobs for them to exhibit their various skills. Due to their unemployment, some of these people are not capable of affording a home to live in and are therefore homeless (Schenck 7). To make ends meet, some of them may take up begging on the streets for money to afford three square meals and cater for their basic need. Begging may become a “job” for them, and they may end up being a nuisance to society as they constantly harass passers-by on the streets for money (Schenck 10). Some may also engage in illegal businesses such as the sale of drugs or guns, and internet scams, all in the name of survival. Due to unavailability of jobs for them to work, unemployed people are unable to contribute their share of labor to their country, and the country tends to lose some of its human resources who are capable of contributing to the growth of the nation. Homelessness has been noted, by research conducted by many organizations, such as the United Nations, to be one of the roots of social vices in the world. Domestic violence, lack of affordable decent housing, and natural disasters have been found to be the three main causes of homelessness in the world, and measures must be taken by governments and other human resource agencies, to reduce the rate of these causes, and consequently reduce the rate of homelessness. Perpetuators of domestic violence must be sanctioned by governments and human rights agencies, and these organizations should implement stringent policies and laws to discourage domestic violence in the society. Governments and human rights agencies should also cater for children who are victims of domestic violence by providing decent homes for them to stay in and giving them the opportunity to continue pursuing their education. Rent control agencies must also change some rules in their systems, such as allowing landlords to increase rent as often as they want to, to discourage landlords from increasing rent unnecessarily. Landlords should learn to be considerate of the needs of their tenants as well, and avoid being extremely selfish by increasing rent unnecessarily. In addition, governments and private sectors should provide more job opportunities to give unemployed people the chance to put their skills to work and consequently reduce the rate of begging and social vices in our society. When these important measures are taken by governments, the rate of homelessness would greatly reduce, and the world would be safe from all the negative effects that result from homelessness.

Works Cited
Get The Facts. "Prevalence of Domestic Violence." Violence Analysis. 2000: 56-90
Warnes, Anthony M and Crane, Maureen. "The Causes of Homelessness Among Older People." (2006): 3-5.
Free Advice. "Real Estate Law: Rent Control and Increase." Free Advice (2008): 1-2.
Schenck, Robert. "The Unemployment Rate." (2006): 7-12.
Newton, C J. "Domestic Violence: An Overview." Find Counselling (2001): 50-62.

Cited: Get The Facts. "Prevalence of Domestic Violence." Violence Analysis. 2000: 56-90 Warnes, Anthony M and Crane, Maureen. "The Causes of Homelessness Among Older People." (2006): 3-5. Free Advice. "Real Estate Law: Rent Control and Increase." Free Advice (2008): 1-2. Schenck, Robert. "The Unemployment Rate." (2006): 7-12. Newton, C J. "Domestic Violence: An Overview." Find Counselling (2001): 50-62.