Homelessness And Poverty

Homelessness affects three and a half million people living in the United States each year. Unfortunately, families with children are the fastest growing variable of the homeless population (“Helping the Homeless” 1). Within these families, there are many different variables that resulted into them falling into poverty. These families or individuals are often forgotten or ignored, typically resulting in them dropping out of their schooling to search for an employment opportunity. While some believe that these individuals should use their own resources to find their way out of extreme poverty, others find that programs should be provided within the community to aid these individuals in finding their way out of poverty. These individuals should
There are many factors why a person may end up in poverty or to the level of poverty they find themselves in. There are some causes that have remained the same, such as paying for basic necessities such as food, shelter, and medical care. However, as of recent, a new factor has disabled the poverty ridden even further. The American recession of 2008 weakened the United States economy, and because of this, many Americans lost their jobs. Wages remained the same, while the cost of living went up. Many hoping to sell their homes were crushed when the housing market crashed, reducing the value of their property. Mortgages and rents increased, many Americans could not keep up on these crumbling bills with their stagnant wages, some were pushed to the extreme, homelessness (“Helping the Homeless” 1). The United States Census Bureau determines poverty as one adult and a single related child living in a household with a $15,030 or less annual income. Extreme poverty is depicted as those whose income is 50% less than that of the poverty rate (“Poverty facts and figures” 1). This income is not entirely at the disposal of the individual. This income must first go through income taxes and must then be split to accommodate other aspects of the person's life, such as debts and expenses that they may have accumulated. After all these needs are met, there is not much left,
However, there is a sizable population that misuse these benefits. To counteract this, government aid in the form of programs or monetary benefits should be suspended until there is proper means of determining the needs of these people. Despite that, these benefits should not be completely cut off. The scale of these benefits should be simply lowered to the lowest amount the person could successfully function on. Therefore, if there is still misuse in the system it is only with the minimal amount of funds. Furthermore, the individual will be more inclined to use their own natural set of skills to improve their financial situation if they are not being handed money. If an individual believes that they require more funds to carry out their necessities for life, while still attempting to improve their situation by their own set of skills, they will be allowed to submit a paper request to a board that will review their specific case and deem if they are fit to receive those funds. This new method would limit the people wrongfully playing the system, while still attending to those using the welfare system