THE PROBLEM OF HOMELESSNESS IN THE US AND SOLUTION PROPOSALS.

THE PROBLEM OF HOMELESSNESS IN THE USAND SOLUTION PROPOSALS

I. IntroductionThe Definition of Homelessness: According to the Federal Government:

“people who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate night time residence”

However there are still disagreements about an exact definition of homelessness. According to Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid

Transition to Housing: “Homelessness include those at imminent risk of losing housing due

to eviction under specific economic circumstances, those in temporary institutional settings who lacked prior stable housing, unaccompanied youths, and victims of domestic violence.”

I. IntroductionDemographics of Homeless Children < 18 are 40%;

majority under age 40 African Americans 40% Caucasians 38% Hispanics 20% 40% of men are veterans 1/3 have severe addictive

disorders

16% have severe mental health disorders

1% of population will be homeless at some point during each year (3,000,000) (Caton et al., 2005)

On any given day between 400,000 and 800,000 are homeless

Facts and Figures Total homeless

estimated around 750k people.

56% Unsheltered 41% with Families 23% Chronic Highest in California

Different Types of Homelessness

Chronic Episodic Transitional

The root causes of homelessness

Economic

Social

Individual

Lack of income, lack of employment, insufficient financial means, poverty, increased cost of housing

Lack of sense of belonging, family or social connectedness

Psychological disorders, drug use and crime

II. Why People Become Homeless?

ECONOMIC CAUSES Poverty: 12.5% of the US

population is living in poverty (37,000,000)

Poverty: not enough money to pay for shelter, food, clothing, utilities, health care, etc. These people have to pick and choose what they can pay for.

Poverty increasing due to: Increasing unemployment Decreasing wages Decreasing Public Assistance Low income


SOCIAL CAUSES Social Problems Lack of sense of belonging Lack of affordable housing Lack of jobs Inadequate levels of

welfare & disability payments

Ethnic & racial discrimination


INDIVIDUAL CAUSES Major individual causes Stress caused by

economic and social pressures

Substance abuse Mental illness Childhood family

environment Lack of job skills

Different levels, different perspectives

PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH HOMELESSNESS

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Levels of Problems associated with homelessness

Macro

Micro

Economical Issues

Health Issues

Societal Issues

Health Issues

Division of Roles by the Government, organizations and individuals

SOLUTION PROPOSALS – WHAT WE CAN DO?


What can we do?

GOVERNMENT’S ROLE What can the Government do to reduce the number of the homeless? Increased Housing and

Social Services Better Social programs Increased counseling

facilities Restriction of layoffs

What can we do?

ORGANIZATIONS’ ROLE What can organizations do to reduce the number of the homeless? Responsible employment Counseling services for

smooth transitions Higher financial

packages for fired employees

What can we do?

OUR ROLE What can we ? Engage in programs Advocate for

legislations that fights against homelessness

Social engagement

CONCLUSION


REFERENCES Baum, A. S., & Burnes, D. W. (1993). A nation in denial: The truth about homelessness. Westview

Press. Carlen, P. (1996). Jigsaw: A political criminology of youth homelessness. Buckingham: Open

University Press. Caton, C.L., Dominguez, B., Schanzer, B., Hasin, D.S., Shrout, P. E., Felix, A., . . . Hsu, E. (2005). Risk

factors for long-term homelessness: Findings from a longitudinal study of first-time homeless single adults. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 1753

1759.Henry M., Cortes, A., Morris., S. (2014). The 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Community Planning and Development. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaa <https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/ahar-2013-part1.pdf >

Link, B. G., Susser, E., Stueve, A., Phelan, J., Moore, R. E., & Struening, E. (1994). Lifetime and five-year prevalence of homelessness in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 84(12), 1907-1912.

McCarthy, B. (1998). Mean streets: Youth crime and homelessness. Cambridge University Press. Morse, G. A. (1992). Causes of homelessness. In Homelessness (pp. 3-17). Springer US. National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2014). The State of Homelessness in America 2014.

Homelessness Research Institute. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa <http://b.3cdn.net/naeh/d1b106237807ab260f_qam6ydz02.pdf>

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