Another big cause of homelessness is people not having health care. They could have a job, but not given the benefit of free health care, so therefore if a poor family or individual were to be seriously ill they would not have enough money to pay for their health as well as to have a home. A high percentage of homeless people also are known to have a mental illness which could make it difficult to even impossible for them to get a job. As many as 3.5 million people in the United States has been reported of experiencing homelessness in a given year, even though most were temporarily. Some statistics of reported homeless Americans show 40% are families with children—the fastest growing segment, 41% are single males, 14% are single females, 5% are minors unaccompanied by adults, 49%
Clearly homelessness is a problem in America. The statistics show more and more people are sleeping in shelters or on the streets. Is homelessness a problem or the effect of another problem? Some might argue that there will always be homeless people because it is the result of the human condition and biases we have in our society. On the other hand, some would disagree and argue that the cause of homelessness is because the economy is bad.
1 in 4 people who experience homelessness on any given night are under the age of 18"[iii]. Newspapers report that the charities which provide support services to the homeless are helping more and more families being plunged into homelessness. Mums and Dads with school aged children, or younger, who used to work and pay all their bills have lost their jobs in tough economic times. The rising cost of living can take the roof from over their heads and they too are left wondering where to go next. Homelessness is not a simple problem.
Running Head: Homelessness Homelessness Porsha Taylor GE265 Wed Mornings Homelessness Homelessness is extreme poverty in U.S society. My opinion is that our society sees it from a Moral Relativism point, which I believe it shouldn’t be seen from. I identify myself as Moral Pluralism. On any given night in America, anywhere from 700,000 to 2 million people are homeless, according to estimates of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. A count in January, 2007, found 745 homeless people in Lucas County, with 200 of those classified as "chronically" homeless, according to HUD data.
Structural factors: Our infrastructure has not succeeded in supporting the most susceptible in our society. Among structural factors the major cause of homelessness is high housing costs and lack of affordable housing. Other causes are increased poverty, rising unemployment, social exclusion, and harmful effects of de-institutionalization. Individual factors: Among individual factors, homelessness is commonly caused by a crisis in one’s life. This crisis could be leaving the parental home after arguments, marital or relationship breakdown, widowhood, leaving care, Leaving prison, a sharp deterioration of mental health, increased drug or alcohol misuse, a financial crisis or mounting debts or Eviction.
Media reports of a growing economy and low unemployment mask a number of important reasons why homelessness persists, and, in some areas of the country, is worsening. These reasons include stagnant or falling incomes and less secure jobs which offer fewer benefits. Declining wages, in turn, have put housing out
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.
Foreclosures have hit an all time high, and unfortunately some people were allowed to finance beyond their means and now have become homeless too. According to The National Coalition for the Homeless, “Housing assistance can make the difference between stable housing, precarious housing, or no housing at all. However, the demand for assisted housing clearly exceeds the supply: only about one-third of poor renter households receive a housing subsidy from the federal, state, or a local government. The limited level of housing assistance Campbell - 2 means that most poor families and individuals seeking housing assistance are placed on long waiting lists.” Not being able to afford housing does not mean that they are completely without a source of income. Many people that become homeless have jobs;
“There is a lot that happens around the world we cannot control. We cannot stop financial crisis, natural disasters, and we cannot prevent conflict, but when we know where the hungry , the homeless and the sick exist, then we can help”(Camillus House). Camillus House concluded that there are several causes of homelessness in America. Some causes of homelessness are poverty, decline in public assistance, domestic violence, and mental illness. Most of these causes are obvious and some have been overlooked in the process of expected judging of the homeless.
Today, they are called homeless. B. Reason to Listen: Chronic homelessness is societal issue that may have a partial solution, by helping the homeless get the help they need through government/community programs. C. Thesis Statement: Chronic homelessness is a serious problem for the taxpayers in the U.S. There are government programs that can greatly diminish the costs incurred by chronic homelessness and, sometimes, even help the hopeless find hope.