Preview

Homelessness in America: Bad Luck

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1100 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Homelessness in America: Bad Luck
Imagine traveling during the day having nothing to your name, carrying bags everywhere you go and not knowing where your next meal is going to come from. Now picture thousands of homeless people living on the streets in America and many of them do not choose to live this way. Unfortunately, for some people they are victims of bad luck that leads to homelessness in America. Although, many will argue that being homeless has something to do with a personal choice also, but according to thousands of homeless people, bad luck was present too. Homeless Americans are those people who do not live in a home at all and is often the cause of being victims of bad luck. There are many reasons why homelessness is related to having bad luck like: the lost of employment, having the problem of finding employment and having to worry about paying bills on time. Everyday in America many people are encounter with the problem with lost of employment, whether it is from being fired or laid off by an employer, both reasons can lead to financial problems. What about the people with the problem of not finding a job in America at all, the financial worries they face are extraordinary. Many people relate laziness with homelessness, but it is hard for people to find a job. People with no jobs clearly do not have any money, which leads to the last reason of having to worry about not being able to pay bills on time that can cause bills to become overdue. The arguments concerning that homelessness is a personal choice also having reasons to persuade individuals like: they have an incredible amount of proud; and they are drug and alcoholic addicts. Usually, the homeless people who process proud, refuses help from local shelters and close family members. It should come by no surprise that many homeless people are drug and alcoholic addicts and spend all their money on purchasing these vindictive products. Therefore, many Americans do not feel any compassion towards the homeless for these reasons.


Cited: Lee, A. Barrett et al. “Public Beliefs About the Causes of Homelessness.” Positions on Homelessness in America. (1990): 253-265. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. UHD, Dykes Lib. 14 April 2007. Osborne, E. Randall. “I May be Homeless, But I’m Not Helpless”: The Costs and Benefits of Identifying with Homelessness.” Positions on Homelessness in America. (2002): 43-52. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. UHD, Dykes Lib. 14 April 2007. U.S Census Bureau. 2007. Internet Public Library. 16 April 2007 <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty05/pov05hi.html
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Capstone: Foster Care and Amp
    • 13475 Words
    • 54 Pages

    Capstone: Foster Care and Amp

    Today, experiencing homelessness has nothing to do with a person’s intrinsic worth. Homelessness is a complex social issue with many variables.…

    • 13475 Words
    • 54 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Homelessness In America Research Paper
    • 4484 Words
    • 18 Pages

    Homelessness In America Research Paper

    Homeless refers to the people who do not have an adequate and permanent residence. They live and sleep in the streets or in impoverished shelters, under bridges, or on street curbs. Although homelessness, which is a construct of poverty, is an important issue in all countries, it is particularly if interest within the United States because it is wealthier that many other nations; yet, a much higher share of its population has income near or below the poverty line, resulting in millions homeless citizens. The social phenomenon has increased since the 1980s and many state officials and social aid organizations and institutions are addressing the issue head on. This policy analysis will use empirical research to reveal how poverty has a negative effect on communities and inevitably, the thriving of poor oppressed people, leaving millions homeless, when systems fail them. Also, this paper will discuss the current issues that America has with homelessness and also the history of this social woe. Additionally, you will read the social structural sources that are responsible for this social problem such as lack of employment, under education, institutional racism, which are just a few of the factors…

    • 4484 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Misconceptions About Homelessness
    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Misconceptions About Homelessness

    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…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Criminalization of the Homeless Community
    • 2622 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Criminalization of the Homeless Community

    Two trends are largely responsible for the rise in homelessness over the past 20-25 years: a growing shortage of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in poverty. Persons living in poverty are most at risk of becoming homeless, and demographic groups who are more likely to experience poverty are also more likely to experience homelessness (National Coalition for the Homelessness, 2009). The lack of affordable housing is the primary cause of homelessness in the United States. Due to the combination of stagnant incomes and rising housing costs, affordable housing has become unobtainable for an increasing portion of the population, and as the disparity between wages and housing costs increases, more individuals are at risk of homelessness. In the current national market, even a one- bedroom…

    • 2622 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Homeless Veterans Research Paper
    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Homeless Veterans Research Paper

    “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.…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    What America Is Doing About the Homeless
    • 4088 Words
    • 17 Pages

    What America Is Doing About the Homeless

    There are many things in life that can strike one when they least expect it. The situation could either be winning the lotto or something bad like catching a fatal sickness, but no matter what it is, both will have a huge effect on ones life. Homelessness can happen to anyone at any given moment in their life for over a hundred different reasons. It does not even have to be their fault. For this reason exactly is why Americans should consider this a major crisis today. The amount of people becoming homeless in America is constantly growing. Although some people can get out of being homeless pretty quickly, more and more people are becoming homeless every day, and the more people that become homeless, the more people crowd the streets we live on. There is many different views on where these people should live such as on the street or in permanent housing fund by the government. The only thing that makes sense is to help them by providing shelter. This is proven by psychological facts and also tied with statistical data. No matter what the economy is like, poverty will always been there, the only ting we can do about it is make it easier.…

    • 4088 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Causes Of Homelessness
    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Causes Of Homelessness

    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.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Homeless in America
    • 1695 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Homeless in America

    Homelessness and poverty are linked. Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, child care, health care, and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some of these necessities. Often it is housing, which absorbs a high proportion of income, which must be dropped. Being poor mean being an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets.…

    • 1695 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Homelessness Statistics
    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Homelessness Statistics

    Today, 564,708 people in the U.S. are homeless (“2016’s Shocking Homelessness Statistics”). As we speak, the rate of homelessness continues to rise. There are many reasons for homelessness: national debt, natural disasters, and unemployment. Although national debt and natural disasters are important factors of homelessness, society mainly focuses on unemployment and limited job opportunities. In fact, society stigmatizes homeless people as lazy and hopeless individuals. For example, many people think that if you don't have a job and are on the line of paying your rent, you are lazy. People don't keep into account the person’s story. Since the person stigmatizing them has never been in that person’s situation before, how can they possibly come…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Homelessness In America
    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Essay On Homelessness In America

    One of the greatest complications currently concerning America is homelessness. The citizens of America must face a world of global conflict, decline in jobs, rising costs for education and an increasing amount of poverty, making it almost impossible for them to earn a living. Children and adults alike are facing life without a warm home and cooked meals. In the past couple of years, the national poverty rate rose to roughly 13.2% of the population. 1 in 7 homeless people are suffering from hunger. In addition, 3.5 million people were forced to sleep in places such as park benches, sidewalks or anywhere that they could possibly inhabit, ignoring the living conditions and the danger surrounding them.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Poverty and Homelessness in the United States
    • 2431 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Poverty and Homelessness in the United States

    Poverty in America is a subject that though everybody recognizes is existent, most do not pay attention to very often. In 2010 the poverty line for a family of four was $22,314.00 and 15.1% of Americans were living off of less than that (Tavernise, 2011). While 15.1% is a high number to begin with, the truth is that many more people are living on the verge of homelessness. Countless families are split up every night with children going to a friend’s house or an extended family member’s house to ensure that everyone has somewhere to sleep. These people are called the “hidden homeless” by the Charlotte Observer (Whitesides, 2011). Even more people are either living in tent cities or in their cars all around the United States. The events that lead to homelessness range from drug abuse to being laid off from a career because of a poor economy; but sadly the former makes it seem as if everyone who is homeless is in their situation because of their own faults. Many people who are approached by someone who is homeless or sees them panhandling for money hesitate to offer money because of the discourse that all homeless people are alcoholics and drug abusers. Unfortunately, the truth is that “many adults panhandle on corners for money to pay for a cheap motel room so that their children can have a warm place to sleep for the night” (Whitesides, 2011). Through this essay, the topic of homelessness and poverty in America will be explored by understanding some of the causes that have contributed to poverty throughout history and how the homeless are coping with their situation.…

    • 2431 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Homelessness In America
    • 3380 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Homelessness In America

    Homelessness has been affecting societies despite of economic stability and the overall wealth of the nation. It is seen as a stigma and directly associated with the concept of marginalization. There are the conventional notions of people sleeping in a cardboard box or addicts concealed between the alleyways of streets. Yet the homeless include those who live in their cars, in temporary shelters, abandoned buildings, and cheap motels. They are individuals who lack sufficient resources and who can not afford adequate housing. But what defines a home? Homelessness is about more than rooflessness. A home is not just a physical…

    • 3380 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Homelessness in America
    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Homelessness in America

    John M. Quigley, Steven Raphael, Eugene Smolensky. (Feb., 2001), Homeless in America, Homeless in California. The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 83, No. 1 pp. 37-51 Retrieved August 20, 2010, from The MIT Press.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Social Injustices of Homelessness
    • 809 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Social Injustices of Homelessness

    Homelessness is a growing social injustice in the United States. The degradation that these people face every day is terrifying. It is a crisis that we too often ignore, hoping it will restore itself. That assumption delivers a widespread lack of understanding about the facts that lead to homelessness. Homelessness exists as a problem that we should acknowledge and treat.…

    • 809 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Homelessness In The United States
    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Homelessness In The United States

    Homelessness is defined as people who are living in places not meant for human inhabitance where they temporarily reside. Among youth in the United States, homelessness dates back as far as the country’s earliest history. Adolescents deviated and went off on their way to seek economic opportunity and adventure while the country was being expanded westward. During the 1800s, a widespread of homelessness among poor immigrant youth who were unwanted and unneeded in the workforce was taking place. Later, another wave of homeless youth was brought by The Great Depression. Because large parts of the overall population were homeless, issues related specifically to youth homelessness were ignored. In the 1960s, a new group of homeless youth were labeled “runaways”.…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics