ARGUMENTATION-PERSUAISON ESSAY “HOMELESS IN AMERICA” CHRIS RIECH SOUTH UNIVERSITY ONLINE “HOMELESS IN AMERICA” The reason people are homeless in America today is due to the lack of support from out government. Economic problems such as being laid off work or the rise in the cost of housing have lead people to live on the streets. They have no family to help them and they are left with no other choice. People with mental illnesses and addictions also become homeless quite often. A lack of affordable housing has contributed to homelessness.
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.
The people who beg are often those with mental illnesses or addiction issues, making the face of homelessness a very disturbing one. Having a mental health disability can make it very difficult to work enough to
Cities often find themselves unable to sustain the shelter needs of the homeless population, primarily due to financial constraints. City management tries to implement policies best for traditional and homeless residents, but it is difficult to achieve a mix that accommodates both. Cities usually offer some form of shelters. However, availabilities are temporary and not guaranteed. Often city policies are against loitering, panhandling, sleeping in public or in cars.
Sometimes people with jobs are one tragedy away from being homeless. Homelessness is very stressful, causing many problems such as depression, low self-esteem, and drug and alcohol abuse. Everyone is different and responds to homelessness in different ways. Children who have to deal with extreme poverty and homelessness might have trouble learning, emotional and physical problems, and bad behavior to name a few. Children find this confusing and upsetting.
Poverty is not only a lack of sufficient income or material possessions. It is also a condition in which people lack prestige and have less access to resources. The poor often have different lifestyles and different values from those of people not living in poverty. The conditions that poor people often cope with may include: unemployment or off-and-on employment, low-status and low-skill jobs, unstable family and relationships, low involvement in the community, a sense of being isolated from society, low ambition, and feelings of helplessness. Many people living in poverty are divorced, are single parents, or have unhappy marriages.
Vulnerable Population University of Phoenix Health Assessment and Promotion for Vulnerable Population NUR 440 Abstract According to Fitzpatrick-Lewis, Ganann, and Krishnaratne (2011) “Being homeless negatively impacts health as people who are homeless or marginally housed have less access to healthcare and poorer health outcomes than those living in stable condition” (p. 2). In America, people are becoming homeless for a variety of reasons. Some homeless people have addiction problems, some are illiterate, mentally ill, and they are veterans as well. On the other hand, others have experienced a string of bad luck and joblessness. At the end of the day, having no roof over their head is a hard reality that homeless people faced.
People who have material problems that don’t have medical insurance, so they cannot go to the doctor are in poverty. These are just a few things that are part of who is poverty stricken. In conclusion I think that the government and the general public have two different ways of what is defined as what being poor really is. Being poor don’t necessarily mean that someone doesn’t have food,
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%
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.