Dictionary. com defines homelessness as the state or condition of having no home (especially the state of living in the streets), people without homes considered as a group, having no home or haven. The homeless are the most noticeable of America’s social tribulations. You can see homeless individuals everywhere in cities, town, suburbs, and rural areas.
Believe it or not everyone has a reason to why they are homeless. Well if that is the case, why do many individuals choose to be homeless is the question? Who are the homeless? Are they comfortable with their living situation? Do they have any family? What are wrong with shelters? Who actually goes to shelters? These are many questions you ask yourself. As issue homelessness first really hit the public consciousness in the early 1980s. By 1987, the federal government had decided to help, passing the McKinney Act, which directed federal money to support homeless shelters. Yet 15 years later, the cycle continues. “It has been suggested that newly homeless people are more likely to bypass the shelters and use their homeless assistance money to stay in a motel.
Because the government assistance is not sufficient to help the neediest” (Seltser ; Miller, pg 48). Again you ask yourself what is the meaning of being homeless? Just think about people who sleep on a park bench thinking warm thoughts, while you’re sleeping in a bed as comfortable as a cloud. Talley, Eitzen, & Timmer stated that, public welfare fails to supply adequate levels of wages and housing support that would avoid them from becoming homeless. People might lose their homes due to loss of employment, overwhelming medical expenses and debt, or domestic violence. Homelessness can affect people of any age or gender, but the majority of homeless people are elderly men, single women with young children, and teens who have run away from home. You can categorize homelessness as a social class.
Race also plays an important role, since people of color are among the extremely poor. There are people with many different problems that force then to become homeless. They do however all have one thing in common they have nowhere to live. Some factors that contribute to homelessness in America that make it unpreventable are the lack of education, economic factors and mental illness.
Lack of education is something that is looked down upon in today’s society. The more education, the better a person will be in the work force. Children are taught from a very young age to stay in school, however, a good number of them will not finish. From making that one decision children lives will be changed forever. Some will make it and some will end up with nowhere to turn.
Nearly twenty six percent of our homeless population are people under the age on eighteen years old. These young kids have no education and in return no way to provide for themselves. Many people choose to be homeless mainly because they have no family or don’t want to be recognized as a failure in their families’ eyes. More or less it is a pride issue.
To be considered homeless a person must have a primary nighttime residency that is a publicly operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations. It is impossible to know exactly how many people are homeless in the United States. The numbers change everyday because some find homes, some lose their homes, and most of the time the homeless are in places that aren’t counted. The only thing that is known is that homelessness is increasing.
A growing shortage of affordable housing has made climbing out of homelessness nearly impossible for someone who lives in extreme povertyIn conclusion, I believe people who choose to be homeless are just stubborn. Family loves you no matter what you go through. I also feel that the homeless are the social class that receive the most judgment passed upon them. People saying get a job, but don’t realize why they are homeless.
