The Issue of Homelessness

1304 Words6 Pages
The ethical issue of homelessness is a major problem in our society today. The millions of impoverished individuals who face ridicule, shame and a lack of basic necessities are growing. Many of the homeless population are hard-working citizens who experienced financial instability thus leading to their dreaded state. Others aren’t educated or qualified for the few positions available to them. With the economy faltering, the homeless epidemic has risen amid a lack of funding and resources. Providing information and outlets to the poverty-stricken and homeless are imperative to the reform of these individuals and society as a whole. Oftentimes, we view a person’s predicament with “colored lenses”, not fully analyzing the causes and circumstances that have led to their current state of homelessness. Because a large number of Americans have never been downtrodden or lived below the poverty-line, it is somewhat inconceivable for them to understand how one can fall into such a beleaguered state. This is where the mental health provider or counselor is needed most, providing an empathetic view as well as offering assistance in recovery and re-acclimation into society. There are three classifications of the homeless; chronic, which is defined as “an unaccompanied disabled individual who has been continuously homeless for over one year.” Episodic homelessness is when an individual or a family experience recurring problems with housing because of circumstances such as substance abuse, domestic issues or inadequate wages/salaries. Transitional homelessness occurs when a person loses a job or is displaced because of domestic violence, rendering them and their family temporarily homeless. In January 2009 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimated that there were 643,067 sheltered and unsheltered people nationwide; an additional 1.56 million utilized a
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