With the current recession, it is a very real possibility that more than 1.5 million will be forced into homelessness in the next two years alone (PBS: Public Broadcasting Services, 2011). Imagine, that number of people do not have a permanent and safe home in which to live. Why? Why do we have so many homeless in one of the wealthiest countries in the world? Clearly homelessness is a problem in America.
“During the 1990’s, the nation’s prison population increased by 50 percent, the number of children who had a parent in prison increased by the same proportion, from 1 million to 1.5 million children, these children represent 2 percent of all minor children in America” (Travis & Waul, 2003, p. 3). Overall, imprisonment places an indescribable burden on the relationships between parents and their children. Incarcerated parents must learn how to cope with the loss of normal contact with their children, infrequent visits in inhospitable surroundings, and lost opportunities to contribute to their children’s development. The children must come to terms with the harsh reality of an absent parent, and the stigma of parental imprisonment, as well as the altered support of the family system that may include grandparents, foster care, or a new adult in the home. Children whose parents have been arrested and incarcerated face unique difficulties.
Child poverty is still one of the biggest barriers to children and young people attaining a decent standard of living. It’s predicted and acknowledged by various organisations that the number of children living in poverty will increase further over the foreseeable future due to the current economic climate and the continuing cuts to welfare and services. The causes of child poverty are all intricately woven into each other. Firstly and unsurprisingly one of the major factors that causes this is those families without work. In 2009/2010, 42% of families below the perceived poverty line were out of work.
This year snap shot shows an increase in homeless veterans, domestic violence victims, and homeless children, with a 55% increase in the number of Veterans living on the street or in emergency shelters, a 31% increase in the number of domestic violence victims who are experiencing homelessness (with 40% of those victims being male), and an 8% rise in the number of homeless children. It is not easy to determine the exact number of homeless since estimates differ according to the
Episodic homelessness refers to persons that have recurring housing problems. And, chronic homelessness is when a person is without a permanent residence for more than one year. One of the problems with homelessness is that it’s numbers have been increasing ever year. For example, in the report “State of Homelessness in America 2011” it reveals the number of homeless people in 2008 was 636,324, and the number in 2009 was 656,129, that is an increase of 20,000 people (3 percent increase) in just one year. One of the effects that
Even outside urban communities, this has become a common sight at busy intersections and freeway off-ramps. As many as 3.5 million Americans are homeless each year and of these, more than 1 million are children, which on any given night can total more than 300,000. Homelessness has so permeated the American landscape that it may seem that the social conundrum has always been a part of our society. However, homelessness is a thoroughly modern phenomenon and primarily an economic problem. It is affected by a number of factors such as people not wanting to help the poor, lack of or limited income and those affected by disabilities.
Homeless People in America “As many as 3.5 million Americans are homeless each year. Of these, more than 1 million are children and on any given night, more than 300,000 children are homeless,” reports Jeff Maide (Top Causes of Homelessness in America.) On any day or evening you can see homeless people, with the majority of them being families with children. The families that are homeless are more susceptible to sickness and diseases. Families are experiencing traumatic events that cause homelessness.
Homelessness in America and the causes Homelessness in America makes up 1% of the United States population. It can unfortunately happen to many people in the lower class due to several reasons. I believe the majority of the time people can control whether or not they are with a home, but not always. Although it might be easy for me to say, but I always believed that most homeless people are homeless because of their own choices in life such as drug/alcohol abuse, criminal records, low self determination etc. However, after doing a little research about what causes homelessness in America, my opinion has somewhat changed.
According to The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, homelessness has increased for the first time in seven years; in 2017, almost 554,000 people were homeless (The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 2018, 1). The population for America in 2017 was over 324,459,000 people (Worldometers 2018). This means for every 10,000 people there are 20 who are homeless. Out of the homeless people in the United States, 40,000 were homeless veterans, and 35% of them are living in “places not suitable for human habitation” (The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 2018, 52). This essay will illustrate the sociological perspectives – symbolic interaction, functionalism, and conflict theory; as well was, considering how they apply to homelessness in our veterans.
The Office of National Statistics, interviewed parents, teachers, and children themselves, and found that many suffer from emotional problems such as depression, anxiety and aggression. Statistics show that over a 3 year period, children whose parents were split up were 4.53 more likely to develop emotional problems than those whose parents were still in one household, and were 2.87 times more likely to demonstrate the start of behavioral disorders. Edmondson, Brad/Waldrop, Judith “Single Parents Statistics” American Demographics, Dec93, Vol. 15 Issue 12, p36, 2p, 2 Charts, 1 Graph. Per the US Census Bureau single parents consist of “other families” which are households of unmarried couples.