Homelessness

Demographics Factors

A report by the Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership estimated that 1.3 to 2.1 million youth experience homelessness each year in the United States. Hollywood has become a hub for homeless youth both from the Los Angeles area and outside. The study in particular reveals how homelessness drastically affects oppressed sectors in society. Although they only make up 9.3 percent of the Los Angeles County population, African Americans make up a shocking 42 percent of the homeless youth population in Hollywood. The same report also found that Latinos made up 24 percent of homeless youth. In addition, a striking 40 percent were LGBT youth. Every two years in Los Angeles County, a census of the homeless population. As a result, of the 2009 census revealed that each night on the street is about 48 000 homeless.

The Role of Mental Illness

Homelessness is an important problem, not just because it is a social problem, but also because it poses drastic mental health problems to individuals, especially women. In the past, the researchers failed to assess the significance of the issue, this lack of interest or, we can say, lack of information about the mental health problems faced by homeless has hampered the authenticity of the already available research. Consequently, although there is not groundless opinion that the number of homeless has increased by extrapolation, we can assume that among them also increased the number of mentally ill, changing demographic changes in this population is likely to lead to changes in the profile of mental disorders compared with that described in previous studies of homeless. In recent studies often report on drug abuse, mood and personality disorders. The combination of mental illness and disorders due to psychoactive substances, is now the rule rather than the exception, and it creates major difficulties in treatment and rehabilitation (Wood, 3).

Ethics

A Human Rights Violation

Unfortunately, we are reluctant even to consider such aid as a right, so a social responsibility. Why? Maybe because we did not manage to, completely clear our opinion the bottom of intolerance and stigma attached to people deeply hurt and marginal, and beliefs in this respect are deeply ingrained and difficult to change. When someone falling into poverty, he enters to the combat with the disqualification which reaches its social esteem and threatens to upset the delicate balance on which his mental health.

The Seriousness of the Problem

We understand better the scope of this growth when it becomes aware of the seriousness of the problems encountered. 40 to 60 percent of people Hosted suffer from serious mental illness. A significant number of them have substance abuse problems more or less severe. Many have serious problems of physical health. All are blocked under conditions of miserable, often without the other way street. For even the shelters in many cases, cannot accommodate them. When they do, they cannot even not allow them to regain sufficient safety consider stability.

Dealing With the Social Emergency

The failure of housing, feeding, caring for oneself, in short, be confined the ...