...of Los Angeles: Homelessness Marqueta Oliver BSBO1ELEG6 10/29/2014 Paul Korzeniowski The True Face of Los Angeles: Homelessness Even though some people believe that tourism is a more important focus in Los Angeles than poverty, Homelessness is a crisis in Los Angeles because it affects everyone and reducing homelessness will improve the economy. Homelessness in our nation affects our, communities, economics and families at large. Being a native Angelino, I grew up not realizing that homelessness is an epidemic. I did not understand why there were so many homeless people, nor did I think of seeing panhandlers asking for money and food as a crisis, but I viewed it as “normal”. I always knew local transients by name and would try to help with spare change or a meal when I could. I had no idea of the staggering statistics of homelessness in my community; I didn’t understand the effects of homelessness on our economy and that the alarming rate of poverty level in my metropolitan city, affects us all. By focusing more attention, resources and time to housing our poverty-stricken communities in the long run it would cost less and would also create a more humane society. In the beautiful city of Los Angeles, tourists from all over world fill the cities top attraction sites daily. What most tourist may not know is that every morning before dawn, Los Angeles has a long history of using police to control public spaces by limiting the appearance of homelessness in the city. While...
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...Carla Hill Speech 108 Teacher – Ms. Margot Williams Homelessness in America To inform To inform the audience about the homeless crisis in America Homelessness in America I. Introduction Individuals nationwide are experiencing homelessness. Even the most educated people have joined the homeless. The major contributing factor of homelessness is the recession that our nation is experiencing. The country’s economical status is in a very critical state, causing numerous corporations and businesses to close. Our economical downturn based on documented statistics show there are high unemployment rates across the country. There are also other contributing factors that play a role in homelessness. II. Body The major reason for the homelessness in America is the recession. According to, The National Alliance to End Homelessness it is estimated that the recession will force another 1.5 million people into homelessness over the next two years. The second reason for the homelessness in America is high unemployment rates worldwide. This is a trickle down effect that has caused the recession. With the nation’s economy in such a critical state of downturn, numerous corporations and businesses around the world have either down-sized in the amount of employees on staff or closed altogether. There are other factors for homelessness in America: 1. Unaffordable housing is the result of individuals who have lost their jobs or simply...
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...Needs of the Needy Homelessness is a substantial problem that America has come to face. Millions of people, including children, families, babies, veterans, and the elderly live day after day without food, water or a roof over their heads. People who are mentally ill have more difficult time while living on the streets, it can be extremely confusing to them, and dangerous to the rest of society. While circumstances can vary for each individual that experiences homelessness, there are a few relevant main causes and consequences that most individuals who have become homeless encounter. This problem must be solved soon, and therefore should be addressed as a major crisis that is affecting our society. The preferable remedy for the homelessness...
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...Homelessness is an ever growing problem for years in the United States, and the debate on if the government should help is question that has been brought to the table. There has been a sharp increase in the homelessness in 2010 from approximately 407,966 to 640,000 since the fall of the economy (endhomelessness.org 2012). This number only represents just the people that have been reported in shelters. If you look closer the number of homeless in the US is amazing. Homelessness is a complex problem, with many challenges and variables. But for all of its complications, the solution to homelessness to some is surprisingly as simple placing them in homeless shelter. For many city officials, community leaders, and even direct service...
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...Homelessness and Its effects on the Community A common social concern talked about often in the United States is homelessness. 610,042 young adults, adolescents, and families can be found living without a place to call their home. The amount of homelessness is increasing at an alarming rate; this resulted fundamentally from America’s present-day economy system and the lack of prevention help. Homelessness has an effect on the community economically, socially, and politically; specifically taking an impact on public safety, local governments, and living costs. Anyone can become homeless; nobody chooses to be put in such position. According to Fargo et al., as stated in their article about the variations of homelessness, “as of a single night...
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...Homelessness in America Homelessness in America is a social problem that we are faced with on a daily basis. Despite the vast number of research done by Americans on homelessness, little is still known about the effect that it has on our society. The overall image that emerges from the effects of homeless people is negative: they’re seen as lazy, drug users, alcoholics, and worthless. This study recovers some of the homelessness perspective for an American audience through research, data, and an interview by a homeless person living in Georgia. This study will allow explanations and will challenge three widely held assumptions of the homeless people living in America: 1) Homeless people are lazy; 2) Homeless people are all drug and alcohol users and abusers; 3) Homeless people brought it on themselves. This research is to add nuance to our understanding about the social problem stated. Homelessness qualifies as a “social problem” because it doesn’t just affect the homeless but the nation as well. This paper will hopefully contribute more knowledge and understanding about the effects of homelessness in America. There has been a plethora of research done on homelessness in America since the 1980’s, but there has been changing quality and has left areas uninvestigated. According to Ravenhill (2011), In 2000 there was a survey done by researchers...
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...Homelessness is a huge social problem that is facing America as a nation today. According to Wikipedia 'Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling' (Wikipedia.(2013). Homelessness. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessnes). Homelessness has become a huge problem that looks us in the face daily and is putting a large number of children, teenagers,women and our elderly at risk daily. It impacts our society negatively. According to National Alliance to end Homelessness, '82 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in the United States.Of that number, 239,403 are people in families, and 394,379 are individuals. Slightly fewer than 16 percent of the homeless population are considered "chronically homeless,"and About 13 percent of homeless adults- 62,619 - are veterans. '(National alliance to End Homelessness.(2013). Snapshot of homelessness. Retrieved from http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/snapshot_of_homelessness)'. Some of the causes of homelessness and the extent homelessness affects our society today are as follows- Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness in the U.S. Statisctics show that in 2008 28% of families where homeless in the united states due to domestic violence.(National Homeless Organization.(2013). Domestic Violence and Homelessness . Retrived from www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/domestic). Over the years our society has seen a surge in violence largely due to media...
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...Economic Crisis in America For the past several years, a declining economy has enslaved thousands of people in a life of hardship. The state of the economy has spurred mass furloughs, financial losses and homelessness. With no end in sight, people are becoming desperate in their attempts to support their families and maintain civility. While the government attempts to combat the depreciating economy, personal securities are increasingly declining. Society’s interconnection with the economy has led to massive personal losses. The economy has entangled governments and businesses all around the world, as if weaving its own web of destruction. The depreciation of the economy has forced business to invoke mass furloughs due to the inability to post profits. The loss of income has had a detrimental effect on society. Furloughs have caused people to sell personal items in order to support their families. People have been inhibited from obtaining savings accounts, loans, and housing. The effects of furloughs have included a rise in medical conditions. As a matter of fact, “The NIH has also documented that people under pressure to meet basic expenses are more likely to put off visits to primary care physicians for routine medical care, especially those who have lost their health insurance due to unemployment. As a result, minor health conditions can become exacerbated further increasing the overall stress level.” Businesses are forcing people to accept...
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...Introduction Homelessness is a critical issue within the United States of America. According to the United States federal law and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, if a person lacks a fixed, regular, or adequate nighttime residence the person is then considered homeless. The National Alliance to End Homelessness reported that on a single night in January 2015 564,708 people in the United States were considered homeless, meaning they had no place to sleep. In the 1870s the issue of homelessness in America emerged causing many homeless people to live in urban cities. In the 1930s this issue worsened due to the Great Depression, causing poverty and more than two million people were homeless and in search of work. The homeless...
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...Homeless Persons Heather Gustafson Axia College of University of Phoenix Homeless Persons A problem that continues to grow in the United States is Homeless people. Millions of people are homeless due to a variety of circumstances and the number still grows daily. History In the United States, de-institutionalization of the mentally ill -- unaccompanied by promised outpatient psychiatric and social services -- led to a large increase in the homeless, mentally ill population in the late 1970s. The number of homeless grew in the 1980s, as housing and social service cuts increased. This was in part a consequence of the transfer of federal dollars to a huge military buildup (including the spectacularly wasteful and unsuccessful "Star Wars" strategic missile defense initiative) and consequent large budget deficits. Fortunately, public compassion soared, and in 1986, 5 million Americans joined hands across the country to raise money for homeless programs (May 25, 1986 Hands Across America). In 1987, the McKinney Act authorized millions of dollars for housing and hunger relief (Donahue, 2007). Nature and Issues of Social Problems Homeless and poverty go together. People are unable to pay for food, clothing, shelter, child care, health care, and education. Choices have to be made to have what they need for their daily life so they have to put other things behind to cover necessities. Domestic violence leads people to become homeless because they are...
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...Homelessness in America seems to happen with alarming frequency. Homelessness affects millions of Americans each year, with approximately one third of the population suffering from severe mental disorders. It is a devastating experience for families. Every year, the United States conduct an enumeration of homeless people around the nation. These reports of homeless people conducted by the National Alliance to End Homelessness are based on the definition set by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in what is commonly known as a “point-in -time” count. Point-in-time counts are the only measure that captures unsheltered persons experiencing homelessness. Last year's point-in-time count is the most recent national estimate of homelessness in the United States. As of January 2013, the national count of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness decreases by 11.6% between 2012 and 2013. There is a common misconception that homelessness is an issue that only pertains to single men and women, but in reality over 600,000 families a year will experience homelessness. The problems of family homelessness are not solely restricted to urban areas; rural area and suburban communities are increasingly plagued by the problem. The three main reasons for the abundance of dispossessed families within America are the following: 1) the lack of affordable housing, 2) poverty, and 3) mental illness. In today's society, these causes are the main contributors towards...
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...Name Instructor Course Date Significance of Homelessness Policy in Atlanta Many people have become homeless in the US cities due to lack of affordable housing. Atlanta city ranks second with a percentage of 1.4 homeless people who do not have a place to call home or live in inadequate housing. Homelessness is an issue which if it continues without authorities checking it, could result into negative effects both socially and economically. Increased number of homeless people in the city results to increased crime rate because these people have to compete for available public space. Homeless people have the capability of doing anything by breaking the law leading to massive incarceration. Many homeless people would be exposed to criminal justice overstretching the incarceration facilities thus pressuring tax payers more (O’Sullivan, 2012). Moreover, homeless people are exposed to illnesses and health complications and this becomes a burden to emergency care and taxpayers. All citizens are entitled to equitable distribution of social services and homeless people are not an exception. Economically homelessness impact both domestic and foreign tourism that contribute more to the economy. Tourists are scared off by panhandlers and many social events could be adversely affected by increased number of homeless people in the city. Consequently, the value of properties is affected by homelessness since they congregate on undesirable conditions which lower the value of properties...
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...and offering the services they need. The policy provides permanent, affordable housing to families and individuals suffering from homelessness (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2014). This policy approach differs from other related strategies in its primary and immediate emphasis on providing accessible and sustainable housing solution. 2. A historical context, explaining the introduction of the social policy. Conventionally, most of the providers of housing to the homeless made it a necessity to show evidence of “housing readiness.” Some of the requirements were to enter treatment or to achieve sobriety before offering permanent housing. To address this problem, the Housing First program needs to provide permanent supportive housing. Being different and separate program from "rapid re-housing", it is a relatively new invention in social policy and human service programs. Being an innovation, this program has not undergone major changes. However, it spanned off from past programs to provide housing to the homeless. It developed as a substitute to emergency shelter/transitional housing progressions system. Major changes in policy have led to the actual implementation of this Housing First program. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed in February 2009 is one of these changes. The act would provide funding for the “Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program” (HPRP). The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act...
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...Homeless in Kentucky Paul Jay Keys HSM/210 - Human Services in the United States February 8th, 2014 Ms. Angelique Spruill University of Phoenix One often thinks of homelessness as an urban problem. You think of a person, maybe wearing ragged clothing, walking down a street pushing an encumbered shopping cart, and living under the bridge or in a shelter. However, in Kentucky, our homeless have a very different face as our homeless are often living with friends or family or living in places that do not have running water or electricity. A person is considered homeless if they do not have access to safe, affordable and stable places to live. People become homeless for a variety of reasons such as health problems, family conflicts, limited life choices and the lack of a support system are common causes of homelessness. Loss of employment or the lack of affordable housing, are some of the economic factors that play a role in becoming homeless. Individually, the effects of homelessness are extensive and severe as homelessness means more than just a loss of self-esteem they face intensely higher rates of infectious disease, mental health problems, physical disorders, disabilities and premature death. They also face intensified risks of becoming imprisoned or institutionalized. Homelessness also has an intense impact on the community as well, taking an incredible toll on family stability by impeding the ability to find and maintain jobs, hindering the learning process of children...
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...explanation of fiscal policy is when the government uses taxes, government transfers and government purchases of goods and services to shift aggregate demand curve to the right to help heal the economy. (Reem Heakal 2010) describes it in simpler terms as the means by which the government adjusts its levels of spending in order to monitor and influence a nation’s economy. It is the sister strategy to monetary policy with which a central bank influences a nation’s money supply. Reem Heakal 2010 explains that Keynesian economics in theory can influence the macro economy by influencing productivity levels by increasing or decreasing taxes and public spending. This fiscal policy is set in place to get the economy back on track by increasing consumer spending and lowering unemployment. There are tools in the fiscal policy. Ex.: Is an investment tax credit which is a tax break to consumers. (Finishing the Job 2010) talks about the economic crisis was aided with swift stimulus packages to 130 million Americans and continued to find creative ways to unfreeze the credit markets. To summarize fiscal policy is too used to: Stimulate the economy, return to full employment, stabilize prices and combat inflation. Expansionary and contractionary means what it sounds like. We want to expand the economy and aggregate demand (A shift to the right in the demand curve) with government spending thus balancing it with contractionary policy ( A shift to the left in the demand curve to combat inflation)...
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