...million children are homeless annually in the United States. As one of the great leading economic countries in the world the United States have challenges reducing homelessness. Children that go to school are one of the most affect it by this problem. However hey not only have to face the problem of not having a home to go to but they also have to face having to meet academic standards...
Words: 1968 - Pages: 8
...Homeless in Prince William County Introduction and background: Homelessness is one of our nation’s most misunderstood and vexing social problems. Many individuals of all races struggle with the devastating effects of homeless including families with children, single adults, teenagers and the elderly. This is an issue that can be defined as living in unsuitable, unsafe and overcrowded environment. “On a single night in January 2013, there were 610,042 people experiencing homelessness in the United States, including 394,698 people who were homeless in sheltered locations and 215,344 people who were living in unsheltered locations” (Henry & Cortes, 2013). This shows homelessness in American is a crisis, many more individuals become homeless everyday. They struggle moving from place to place, night after night, in constant state of fear and survival. People become homeless for a variety of reasons. Homelessness is primarily an economic problem, and is also affected by a number of political and social factors. Economic factors include the lack of affordable housing, “housing costs have risen steadily across the country, and they have skyrocketed in many areas. Further, the inability to afford housing is concentrated among households with incomes below the poverty level, whose members account for the vast majority of people entering homelessness” (Burt, 2001). The growing gap between wage earnings and the cost of housing leaves millions of families and individuals unable...
Words: 3289 - Pages: 14
...The new faces of homelessness is the working poor. In “Nickeled and Dimed”, Ehrenreich highlighted the difficulty of obtaining food and shelter with when the only sources of income is a low wage job. Ehrenreich notes that the poor cannot compete with the rich. Because while food is somewhat inflation-proof, the cost of housing has sky-rocketed but wages have not increased based on demand. This population is also introduced in to us in Gibson’s 2017 New York Magazine's article, where eight individual and families affected by homelessness shares their story. Gibson's article spotlight several families where people that were employed could not afford to meet their basic necessities. Gibson provided a narrative about Abena Walker a 36 year old...
Words: 352 - Pages: 2
...intended to have, and shall have the same validity as my handwritten signature. Student's signature (name typed here is equivalent to a signature): Christopher Holland Introduction The purpose of this paper is to explore the homeless population in the United States while thinking critically. The research for this paper shall detail the history of homeless from its first noticeable conception. The paper will examine the time line of homelessness stating contributing factors as well as detailing the homeless struggle. This paper shall research the nature of the social problems or issues experienced by homeless people meanwhile showing the stereotyping and discrimination of homeless people. This paper will explore the different demographic groups along with common clinical issues and intervention strategies. After the research has explored the many aspects of homelessness then this paper will detail the future intervention to alleviate the the struggle of homelessness. The History of Homelessness The history of homelessness teaches us the epidemic dating back as far as the Middle Ages where most emphasis was put...
Words: 2052 - Pages: 9
...Homelessness: America’s Invisible Numbers As each decade passes there comes to light a new or growing national problem that faces our country. Our nation’s history is blanketed with social problems the American people have encountered, such as civil rights, recessions, political struggles, warfare, and increasing unemployment. Each of these issues has received media attention for the problems, complications, and obstacles they provide for the population. Each of these issues in their own right is important and needs to be addressed because it affects every person in the country. However, there is another problem that poses a challenge to the American people that does not receive the attention it so desperately needs. The issue is American homelessness, a segment of the population that continues to grow with each passing year. Homelessness is caused by a number of factors that differ for each person. The most significant causes of homelessness are the lack of affordable housing coupled with a national increase in poverty, mental illness and addiction disorders. According to the McKinney-Vento Act of 1987, a homeless person is defined as any person who lacks housing. This includes individuals whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary accommodations or an individual who is a resident in transitional housing. This means an individual who lacks fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and an individual...
Words: 1900 - Pages: 8
...Your name? Homelessness is a growing concern in the world we live in. But, how do military veterans end up homeless? The men and women who voluntarily fought for our country and others. Homelessness among military veterans concerns me because I, as a current service member and spouse of a retired veteran, understand some of the things veterans face once they return to civilian life. We need to take steps to save our military men and women from the destructive life on the streets of America. One must fully understand homelessness before anything can be done to correct the problem. People typically turn their heads in disgust when looking at a dirty, smelly, homeless veteran and blame the veteran for letting themselves get into such a situation. Our society needs to take ownership in working with our sState and fFederal gGovernments to come up with successful solutions that will produce positive results in eliminating homelessness among our veterans. Daily they give their all for each of us. The first step in solving a problem is to understand why the problem exists. Veterans have been separated and isolated from society and when they return home they are lost and feel out of place or out of touch. Most are wounded and need help getting back on their feet. Many homeless veterans suffer from health related problems and experience alcohol, drug, or mental problems such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD, the result of current wars, makes...
Words: 957 - Pages: 4
...Issues in Behavioral Science May 25, 2016 GLT1 Task 2 A. Describe the social problem you have chosen. I have chosen homelessness as my social problem. Homelessness is defined as a person whom lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Their primary residence could be a private or public operated shelter to provide temporary living accommodations. It could be an institution that provides temporary residence for individuals needing to be institutionalized. It also could be a public or private place not designed for regular sleeping accommodations for human beings. This could be on the street, park, an abandon building or bus station to name a few. Homelessness has become an epidemic that has tripled since 2000 (Homelessness in the United States, 2016). B. Analyze the extent to which the social problem affects the Untied States. Homelessness affects a range of people. Around 75% of the homeless are adults. The number of children is also climbing but very difficult to collect adequate data. Males make up 60% will a large amount of these being veterans, the number of families is on the rise. Women are usually a result of domestic abuse accounts for 25%. The average age is 30-50 years with 64% of them being one person households. 62% of these people are in minority and 38% have some type of disability. Causes of homelessness include affordable housing, community -based treatment for mental health opposed to institutionalized treatment, veterans...
Words: 547 - Pages: 3
...The effects of transatlantic travel inevitably lead to a sense of homelessness. In Crèvecœur’s Letters from an American Farmer, and Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, the writing revolves around characters who essentially do not have homes, both dealing with transatlantic settings. Equiano is consistently stripped of his home, starting in Africa, and is perpetually forced to adapt in new environments. Crèvecœur’s narrative depicts a new American settler, James, who comes from England, and is in the liminal state of homelessness, from settling into his new land to eventually fleeing his estate. The piece that displays homelessness a lot more overtly is The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, where Equiano immediately gets taken from his home, igniting his life of disarray. In order to convey this theme of homelessness, it is important to outline the various instances leading up to it: “...two men and a woman got over our walls, and in a moment seized us both, and, without giving us time to cry out, or make resistance, they stopped our mouths, and ran off with us into the nearest wood” (The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, p.47). It is in this moment that Equiano will henceforth struggle to maintain some semblance...
Words: 1104 - Pages: 5
...some natives it is a struggle to find food or even a bed for the night. Believe it or not the Aloha state has one of the highest homeless rates for their population among the other fifty states. The governor has signed an emergency proclamation to tackle the problem of homelessness in the state. He said that this should give those individuals and families some hope for the future, and give them a faster route to finding a home. The governor also said that even though emergency proclamations are usually signed for natural disasters or statewide epidemics this should be considered one of those because of all the people it includes. The last things that were mentioned was that this plan is estimated to cost one point three million dollars and intends to provide permeate housing very soon. In Matthew six twenty-five it talks about how we do not need to worry about what we eat, drink, or wear, because God has that all in his hands. In the verses following it says to look at all the good...
Words: 482 - Pages: 2
...Homelessness in America Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation The Topic: Homelessness in America The problem of homelessness in America is a complex issue often vulnerable to the changing demographic dynamics, political shifts as well as seismic cultural events including the ongoing wars in most parts of the world. Policy makers have often debated most of the issues surrounding homelessness, right from the causes of homelessness, the population of the homeless to the possible solutions to the problem (Hodges, 2010). National studies indicate that Americans are at a high risk of becoming homeless. More than 30% of the low incomes earning Americans spend more than 50% of their earnings to paying rent (Surveys/Studies/Stats, 2012). The most common reasons for homelessness are emergency health problems, missed paychecks, and pending bills. However, most cases of homelessness are caused by poverty (Karger & Stoesz, 2010). Although policies to control homelessness have been implemented, there is a need for reforms and further amendments to state laws. Controversies Surrounding Homelessness in America A section of the people argues that it is their morally responsibility to assist the homeless people while others may claim that it is the choice of the people to remain homeless. Those who maintain that it is morally right to help the homeless individuals in the society cite the following critical issues: The Homeless Access to Health Insurance and Critical Medical...
Words: 952 - Pages: 4
...to live a normal life requires having a home to live in. Yet people with no home and unable to afford anything can be found in all countries. The main reason is the individual cannot get the housing loans or welfare accessible to others. The causes of homelessness can be caused by family altercations or tragedy (or prison), or even a natural disaster. The larger proportions of homeless parents who are separated from their children in the US and the larger number of families in the homeless population are both likely because of the US social policy. Higher levels of inequality and lower levels of social benefits are associated with higher rates of homelessness. The Stewart McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 describes a homeless person as any place not meant for regular sleeping accommodation by humans. In 2005, an estimated 744,313 men, women, and children were homeless in the United States (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2007). Adults that are homeless are poor and have high rates and they don’t qualify for health care. There are also a large number of former veterans who become homeless. It is estimated that between 23 percent and 40 percent of homeless adults are veterans (National Alliance to End Homelessness). Poverty is related with higher risk...
Words: 1398 - Pages: 6
...The Empathy Project: The Homeless Introduction We see it every day yet it is so easy for us to ignore it: homelessness. It is more common and a larger problem than we realize but we have accepted it into our society and that it is not easily preventable. Certain people under difficult financial circumstances can easily fall below the poverty level with our highly competitive capitalistic system. A social stigma, as defined by Dalton Conley, author of You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist, is “a negative social label that not only changes others’ behavior toward a person but also alters that person’s own self-concept and social identity” (Dalton 211). Homeless stigmas are so overtly present in our society that we overlook the actual problem and possible solution. It has been ingrained into our society that wealth defines “good” and poverty defines “bad.” Characteristics associated with this understanding of “bad” include deviance, laziness, and lack of capability. Our system has shaped us to believe that everyone has an equal chance at wealth and success, ignoring the underlying cases of the struggling individuals in our society born into their socioeconomic status that prevents them from this “American” opportunity. We have these preconceived notions of homeless people that have been proven to be untrue yet we only pay attention to the fewer examples that support it and pre-judge based on these mere instances. The situation of being homeless...
Words: 2862 - Pages: 12
...compassionate toward those less fortunate because there homeless for numerous amount of circumstances. Helping those less fortunate than us can help us progress as a society and you never it could happen to you without even wanting it to happen. We live in the society that only advanced after we adopted disciplined beliefs in helping others. If we did not, we would decay, ruined by personal rivalry and obsession about our own well being. Those that can't help themselves can receive help and in turn, that can empower them to help others, and so everyone standing and livelihood improves. In the text, it states, “ Homelessness had changed her perception of the world and her place in it” (Author 3). This quote better explains how after being homeless herself Rita now has a motivation to help others that have been in the same situation as her. There’s a time for the struggle for everyone at some...
Words: 556 - Pages: 3
...When i’m riding in a car or walking down the street and spot a homeless man or woman, I begin to have mixed thoughts. Part of me wants to know how they ended up there.The other part of me wants to help. It pains me because sometimes I feel that I am too young to help. In school, teachers are hard on students, tellings us to stay in school or else we will end up on the street. But dropping out of school isn't the only reason people become homeless. Family and relationship problems, drug or alcohol abuse and even eviction can cause homelessness. Homelessness can result to mental illness, hunger and loneliness. Homelessness is a serious problem all communities all over the world need to address. Homelessness affects a person’s health...
Words: 557 - Pages: 3
...There are two sides to every story, as if that explains and justifies everything you know what I say when someone tell me that? I say well of course there are two sides to every story. The two stories there are sides to are the cause of been homelessness in America is not something that was created overnight, it’s been around for a long time; often we choose not to see the homeless, or bother them, so we think it’s alright to look the other way. We frequently falsely accuse homeless people to be existing/former drug abusers or once patients released from mental institutions. Homelessness is not a disease that you can catch if you come in contact with a homeless person, but it certainly has afflicted many of us. Isn’t this the country called the “Land of Opportunity”, while there’s millions of Americans deprived of such success-but why? There has been 4 major trends that are largely responsible for the rise of homelessness over the past 25 years: a growing shortage of affordable rental housing, a rise in the increase of poverty, and an increase in mental illness and chemical dependency. The shortage of low rent housing in the US reached a record high in 1995 when the number of low income renter households exceeded the number of low cost rental units by 4.4 million (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities). The shortage of affordable housing grew extraordinary even in the 1990s despite the strong economic growth. Between 1991-95, when the recession of the early 1990s reached bottom...
Words: 1484 - Pages: 6
