HOMELESSNESS

Homelessness

Homelessness

Introduction

After studying the topic 'Homelessness' I have discovered that being homeless does not just mean you do not have a house to live in, it could mean that someone does not have a secure and well established home. Maybe that someone doesn't feel like they have a loving family and would be better off else. Before studying this topic I also did not realise some of the many reasons why people live on the streets. I always thought stereotypically that homeless people were either drug abusers or just didn't earn money so therefore couldn't afford a home. I discovered by studying this topic that it is probably much worse than what I first thought. People can become homeless for a number of reasons such as: the break up of families, loss of jobs, alcoholism, drug use, physical or/and emotional abuse at home.

Analysis

The United States of America is often referred to as “the land of the free” or “the greatest country in the world.” But for people who actually live here and see tens of thousands of men, women, and children walking the streets everyday with no home to go to it is hard to believe that people could even categorized this country with a name so impressive. Imagine traveling during the day having nothing to your name, carrying bags everywhere you go and not knowing where your next meal is going to come from. Now picture thousands of homeless people living on the streets in America and many of them do not choose to live this way. Homelessness is a devastating social issue of the United States which is becoming more severe and has very few solutions (Stephen, 1996).

Homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. There are many ways one can become homeless but the biggest reason is poverty. There are also different concentrations of homeless in different types of terrain, such as urban or suburban areas. There is an ever- growing homeless population, and one way it can be resolved is to know the facts about this lingering subject. Excluding the time during the Great Depression, women and children have never before been on our nation's streets in such significant numbers (Sean Purdy, 2003). During the 1980s, cutbacks in government benefits attached with rapidly increasing rents and a scarcity of low-income housing jeopardized the stability of all people on reduced or fixed incomes (Alpha Project). As a result, the nation's population of homeless families swelled from almost minor numbers to nearly 1.4 million. In the United States, 3.5 million people experience homelessness during the course of a year. Families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, accounting for almost 40 percent of the nation's total population (Paula, 2000).

Statistics show between twenty and thirty percent of homeless families surveyed said they had gone without food. The homeless also face persistent deprivation and constant threat of harm. They spend a lot time in the hospital and in ...