For instance, many homeless individuals struggle with substance abuse. A person could infer that a homeless individual turns to substance abuse because he or she wants to numb the feelings of pain and failure he or she has because he or she cannot provide adequate housing or perhaps because they are feeling isolated from their friends and family. To make this inference one would have to assume that being homeless makes an individual believe they are inadequate and causes distance between the homeless individual and his or her family and friends. This may be true for some people, but not all homeless people believe that being homeless is a bad thing. Many of these homeless individuals may have had a pre existing substance abuse problem and became homeless because family members were no longer willing to enable self-destructive behavior.
How to Fix the Epidemic of the Homeless There is an epidemic of social and moral values in the United States. One that goes unnoticed mostly until it affects someone close to us or directly impacts us when we least expect it. There are many causes to this epidemic, there is no one root cause, which makes this difficult to address and fight. What I am referring to is the plight of those that are homeless. To be homeless is difficult to measure because so many different people have different opinions on what it means to be homeless.
Homeless on Campus Homelessness is one of the social issues that have been a problem in America and other countries for many years. As years go on, it has gotten worse. Sometimes, people get the wrong definition of what homeless really means. The true definition of being homeless is not the lack of having a house and living on the streets. Homelessness is defined as what is known as a person or family who lacks housing or is forced to live on the streets or in a shelter.
One of the most important things a person works for in today’s world is getting a place to live, a house. And when we see a person without a house, they are often referred to as “homeless”. But the definition of being homeless is often taken wrong. Some ‘homeless’ once had a home or still have one, while others get shelter but don’t have a home. These definitions of being homeless are being described by Anna Quindlen in her essay “homeless”.
Where the homeless reside is solely determined by them and wherever they wish to stop their journey. “ The “new” homeless could be seen sleeping in doorways, in cardboard boxes, in abandoned cars, or resting in railroad bus stations or in other public places, indications of a resurgent homelessness to which hardly anyone could remain oblivious. Some of the homeless also behaved in bizarre ways, muttering, shouting, panhandling, carrying bulky packages, or pushing supermarket carts filled with junk and old clothes. The immediate impression was that there were persons in our society who had no shelter and who therefore lived and relied literally on the streets”. Due to the fact that homeless individuals don’t own many valuables, what they do own they must carry around and keep on the street somewhere where it is safe.
My best educated guess as to how society may feel is that the homeless are categorized into a state of being: dirty, unkempt, ragged, alcoholics able wash themselves, unable to clean their teeth, and that they live on streets; and my opinions are perhaps validated by the comments of others. To further explain, society views homeless people as being unkempt, that their ability to keep themselves groomed and presentable has neglected them. Also we see them living on the street in which many may feel sorry or remorse towards them because many look young and we tend to ask ourselves they should be capable of finding a job. Although in contrast, society does not see or truly understand what it feels like to live a life of poverty or most importantly does not take into consideration the harmful effects it has on the homeless. Poverty attacks your own self-worth or self-esteem and your personal belief system about who you are and questions your value to society.
Many homeless people who have jobs and can't avoid homelessness, escaping homelessness is virtually impossible for those without a job. Limited skills, experience and education may be are very apparently personal reasons. An essay called “Employment and Homeless” shows another two objective realities: “Wages and Income” and “Job Security and Underemployment”. Workers faced several factors which affected wages and income. The erosion in the value of the minimum wage probably was the most important reason.
A substantial percentage of the U.S. homeless population are individuals who are chronically unemployed or have difficulty managing their lives effectively due to prolonged and severe drug and/or alcohol abuse. Substance abuse can cause homelessness from behavioral patterns associated with addiction that alienate an addicted individual's family and friends who could otherwise provide support during difficult economic times.Major reasons and causes for homelessness as documented by many reports and studies include: Poverty, caused by many factors including unemployment/underemployment. Lack of accessible health care. People who have some kind of chronic and weakening disease but cannot get health care either because they don't have money to afford it or because they are simply too weak to go and work every day.The basic problem of homelessness is the need for personal shelter, warmth and safety. Other difficulties include: personal security, quiet, and privacy, especially for
The Causes Related to Homelessness; Draft The Causes Related to Homelessness Capella University Scope of human Services HS- 5318 Professor M. Martin By Sandra Wright 2 Abstract The geographical divide that separates the rich from the poor is that some people are privileged and some are not. Homelessness is not a privilege but it is an experience that many people stumble upon. furthermore many people have , since the beginning of time gone through one step after the other through some type of trajectory in their lives experiencing , evictions, financial difficulties , job loss, and mental illnesses before and after becoming homeless . in this report homelessness will be used through different levels of some people’s trajectory in their lives through events that may be the causes related to homelessness. Through recent research and examination of different areas in our nation researchers explored the domains of material , physical and mental health and safety wellbeing of homeless people life chances that has increased for many individuals young and old through different pathways .
There are many social problems that are associated with homelessness in Pinellas County. Financial problems such as: job loss, not making enough money and not being to afford rent/mortgage is related to the homelessness in Pinellas County (PIT, 2011). Criminal behavior is another social problem related to homelessness. According to Chamard (2010) persons who are homeless involves themselves in criminal activity for survival such as stealing, panhandling and peddling. The criminal activity stems from the homeless person basic needs not being met such as: shelter, food and clothes (Charmard, 2010).