Homelessness in America

1213 Words5 Pages
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. The loss of affordable housing puts a great number of people at risk of homelessness. The lack of affordable housing has led to high rent burdens (rents which absorb a high proportion of income), overcrowding, and substandard housing. These phenomena’s, in turn, have not only forced many people to become homeless; they have put a large and growing number of people at risk of becoming homeless. Excessive waiting lists for public housing mean that people must remain in shelters or inadequate housing arrangements longer. For instance, in the mid-1990s in New York, families stayed in a shelter an average of five months before moving on to permanent housing. In a survey of 24 cities, people remain homeless an average of seven months, and 87% of cities reported that the length of time people are homeless has increased in recent years (U.S. Conference of Mayors,2005). Longer stays in homeless shelters results in less shelter space available for other homeless people, who must find shelter elsewhere or live on the streets. 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
Open Document