Introduction:
Homelessness is the situation of people who have lost their homes. That kind of person usually is forced to live in the streets. You can find them in the big cities which are capitals of states near shelters, traffic lights, and in the bus stations. They are persons, families, children and old people. I think most of the homeless people had learned in schools before they became a homeless. According to Miller, “their average age is thirty five years old. Forty to fifty percent of them have completed the high school diploma while a quarter has either full time or part time job. Studies indicate that homeless men are four times more than women. Single men account for 51% and women alone account for 12% of the homeless population” (3). This particularly shows that the rate of homeless people who are educated is very huge.
I think the history of homeless in the United States had begun many years ago. In addition, the beginning of detecting the homeless in the United States was in the big cities such as New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. I agree with “Homelessness in the United States” point that “Homelessness in the USA is back in 1879 when it discovered by oldest homeless shelter in New York City, the Rev. and Mrs. A.G. Ruliffson. In the late 1970’s the deinstitutionalization of patients from state psychiatric hospital was a precipitate factor which seeded the homeless population, particularly in urban areas such as New York City” (par. 5). This clarification tells that America discovers the homeless people long time ago so that now the rate of homeless people is being enormous as I noticed from the article.
The question is why are people homeless? How did they become homeless? There are many factors that make people homeless. Poverty, alcohol, drugs, family disintegration, and homeless veterans are the main causes of homelessness for which the U.S. government is trying to find a solution.
Causes:
The first main cause of this problem is poverty. In the USA, poverty and homelessness are inextricably linked. People who are poor often can’t pay for their living, housing, food, health care, child care, and education. Children who grow up in conditions of poverty usually will live and grow up in the streets. Stephen Shames, who wrote Child Poverty, describes proportion of children poverty’s case in America. It is true, as Stephen Shames states, that “the children age thirteen and under are considered a third of the homeless. Statistics show that seventeen percent of the homeless are under age of five and half of the homeless are families” (par. 1). This brief explanation describes the proportion of the poor children’s case in the United States. I think there are some homeless people have their own job, yet almost most of the homeless people do not have a real job. Consequently, a huge number of the homeless people are jobless. Additionally, because of the fact that there are some homeless people lost their jobs, they preferred to go back to their original countries. I think all of these things had happened to the homeless due to financial predicaments. Stephen Shames claims that “Although less than a quarter of the homeless have jobs, forty percent are without work and jobless. Furthermore, they always lose their jobs and studies represent that half of them lost their jobs in the last six months. Twenty two percent are on welfare and many of them aren’t drifters, so many of them turned to their countries for at least one year. More than three quarters of the homeless lost their home because of financial issues” (1).
Also, lack of affordable housing is an issue linked with poverty. Indeed, some of the homeless people who have their own house leave or escape from their dwelling because they do not have adequate money to pay their rent. Therefore, they just decide to go out in the streets and be a homeless people. My own experience has shown that “today, at least thirty percent of people who need housing are getting it. HUD's report in January 2001 shows that the number of units affordable to low-income households dropped by 1.14 million between 1997 and 1999” (“Homelessness and Poverty”: par. 2). What the article says applies with my idea that a number of homeless people who have their own home decide to become a homeless because of the diminution of their money.
Besides the poverty reason, addiction to alcohol and drugs can lead to homelessness. This type of people has great difficulty finding and keeping good jobs. Moreover, without the support of friends, family, or community groups they may find themselves destitute and on the streets. “Homelessness in the United States” says, “Statistics represent sixty two percent of homeless addicted alcohol and fifty eight percent of them addicted drugs” (par. 5).
Usually it is hard to find any solution for homeless people who are addicted to alcohol. According to David Bender and Leone Bruno, “two percent of homeless never drink alcohol and eighty percent reported that they are still drinking. By their own estimates twenty percent of the men reported that they are moderate, heavy, or spree drinkers, respectively; forty nine percent of the men drink every day and thirty three percent drink several days per week” (77-78). What the author mentioned here that just a few of the homeless people drink alcohol even though almost more than half of the homeless drink alcohol.
Family disintegration is another of the main causes which lead to homelessness. Generally, the broken family is one of the biggest problems that happen in the US. However, many of homeless are divorced. The victims of broken families usually are children, so many of them become homeless. According to “Advocates Declare War on Youth Homelessness at the Covenant House International Candlelight Vigil,” “In Denver twenty five percent of homeless are children without parents. As Paticia, the president of Covenant House, explained that thousands of the young are living and dying in the cities between the boulevards. Many of them are victims of community decay and broken families, caught up in a desperate struggle for survival. We have to work hard to save those kids before the violent street battle sweeps them away “(par. 3). This obvious description apprizes that a lot of children and young people dying after becoming homeless due to the broken families.
Additionally, the current status of homeless veterans is an issue in the US these days. Actually, the veterans are one of the most significant concerns that cause a lot of argumentation between the people and the government. I think because of the veterans’ handicap which happened in the latest wars like Vietnam, more of them couldn’t be accepted in a job, so most of them become homeless. The United States has many programs to help veterans who become homeless; nevertheless, most of them are still homeless. “The USA spends six million dollars on programs for them.” as Hombe wrote (68-69). This short clarification tells that some of the homeless people are considered as the veterans who hadn’t found a job because of the old war which they had gone in the past.
Every peaceful night that civilians enjoy, should remind everyone that some veteran has sacrificed to make this peace possible. According to Patrick Markee:
Some 250,000 veterans are homeless. As the Department of the Veterans states: There is a half million veterans facing homelessness. Ninety seven percent of veterans which are homeless are white, while fifty six percent are black or Latino. Forty five percent of them are stricken by mental illness, and above two-thirds are stricken by substance abuse disorders. Two-thirds of the homeless veterans worked in the armed forces for at least three years. Homeless veterans who served in Vietnam War are about forty seven percent. Based on a 1996 nationwide survey of homeless people, thirty three percent of all the homeless are male veterans; and twenty three percent of the whole homeless population is made up of veterans (par. 2).
This shows that most of the veterans who are homeless are white and the others are black or Latino and most of them have a mental illness.
Solution:
One of the solutions proposed for reducing homelessness is for the government to make policy to provide the homeless with housing, food, work and medical treatment, though there are policies dealing with homelessness at this present time. I believe that most of the government will put an end to the homeless problem. I agree with “Homelessness in the United States” point:
By the year 2012 the Bush Administration would like to see chronic homelessness ended. The idea started as a part of a 10 years plan to end homelessness by the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) in 2000. The following year, then-Secretary Martinez announced HUD’s commitment to ending chronic homelessness at the NAEH annual conference. In 2002, as a part of his budget, President Bush made ‘ending chronic homelessness in the next decade a top objective.’ The bi-partisan, congressionally-mandated, Millennial Housing Commission, in its Report to Congress in 2002, included ending chronic homelessness in 10 years among its principal recommendations (“Policies”: par. 12).
This brief, perfect elucidation notifies that the world is trying to resolve this problem, but I believe that the homelessness in the United States will not be solved in ten years because the homeless problem is a complicated phenomenon that cannot find any solution for it in a few years.
Community service groups one of the most important organizations that I believe that it will assist to end the homeless problem. Usually, these organizations try to put together some beneficence from the societies to assist the homeless with food, house, and the most important thing which is job. My own experience has shown that “Moreover, the result of this organization is practical as evidenced by 3.5 million homeless in the United State now living without the shelter or subsidized housing. In 2006, HUD (Housing and Urban Development) collected $28.5 billion for homeless programs. Section 8 housing takes $1 billion and $1.4 billion is allocated to Homeless Assistance Grants” (“Homelessness in the United States”: par. 11). This brief, logical description shows to us that the non-profit organizations can realize many useful things that the government sometimes can’t realize because of the government’s regulations.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, homelessness is a serious problem. There are many causes of homelessness. I've discussed four of them. I think homelessness results from a collection of situations which require people to choose between food, shelter, and other basic needs. Some people don’t care about them. They think the homeless are bad and addicted people. I would say if we leave the homeless alone, poverty, drugs, alcohol, and crime will spread in all states of the USA. In my opinion, the government along with community service groups have to work together to help these people. The government can offer solutions by providing housing, food, work, and medical treatment. On the other hand, the local community organizations and churches should also get involved.
Works Cited
“Advocates Declare War on Youth Homelessness at the Covenant House International Candlelight Vigil.” Covenant House. 16 Nov. 2006. 27 Feb. 2007. <http://www.covenanthouse.org/about_pr_20061116-vigil.html>.
Bender, David, and Bruno Leone. The Homeless. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1990.
Hombs, Mary. American Homeless. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2001.
“Homelessness and Poverty in America.” NLCHP. 27 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.nlchp.org/%20FA_HAPIA/>.
“Homelessness in the United States.” Answers.com. 30 Jan. 2007..
Markee, Patrick. “The Current Status of Homeless Veterans.” Coalition for the Homeless. 19 Mar. 2003. 27 Feb. 2007.
< http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/news/War_and_Homelessness.html>.
Miller, Juanita “Poverty Among the Homeless.” The Ohio State University. 27 Feb. 2007..
Shames, Stephen. “Child Poverty in America: The Homeless Families.” The APF Reporter. 26 Feb. 2007.<http://www.aliciapatterson.org/%20APF0803/Shames/Shames.html>
Homelessness is the situation of people who have lost their homes. That kind of person usually is forced to live in the streets. You can find them in the big cities which are capitals of states near shelters, traffic lights, and in the bus stations. They are persons, families, children and old people. I think most of the homeless people had learned in schools before they became a homeless. According to Miller, “their average age is thirty five years old. Forty to fifty percent of them have completed the high school diploma while a quarter has either full time or part time job. Studies indicate that homeless men are four times more than women. Single men account for 51% and women alone account for 12% of the homeless population” (3). This particularly shows that the rate of homeless people who are educated is very huge.
I think the history of homeless in the United States had begun many years ago. In addition, the beginning of detecting the homeless in the United States was in the big cities such as New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. I agree with “Homelessness in the United States” point that “Homelessness in the USA is back in 1879 when it discovered by oldest homeless shelter in New York City, the Rev. and Mrs. A.G. Ruliffson. In the late 1970’s the deinstitutionalization of patients from state psychiatric hospital was a precipitate factor which seeded the homeless population, particularly in urban areas such as New York City” (par. 5). This clarification tells that America discovers the homeless people long time ago so that now the rate of homeless people is being enormous as I noticed from the article.
The question is why are people homeless? How did they become homeless? There are many factors that make people homeless. Poverty, alcohol, drugs, family disintegration, and homeless veterans are the main causes of homelessness for which the U.S. government is trying to find a solution.
Causes:
The first main cause of this problem is poverty. In the USA, poverty and homelessness are inextricably linked. People who are poor often can’t pay for their living, housing, food, health care, child care, and education. Children who grow up in conditions of poverty usually will live and grow up in the streets. Stephen Shames, who wrote Child Poverty, describes proportion of children poverty’s case in America. It is true, as Stephen Shames states, that “the children age thirteen and under are considered a third of the homeless. Statistics show that seventeen percent of the homeless are under age of five and half of the homeless are families” (par. 1). This brief explanation describes the proportion of the poor children’s case in the United States. I think there are some homeless people have their own job, yet almost most of the homeless people do not have a real job. Consequently, a huge number of the homeless people are jobless. Additionally, because of the fact that there are some homeless people lost their jobs, they preferred to go back to their original countries. I think all of these things had happened to the homeless due to financial predicaments. Stephen Shames claims that “Although less than a quarter of the homeless have jobs, forty percent are without work and jobless. Furthermore, they always lose their jobs and studies represent that half of them lost their jobs in the last six months. Twenty two percent are on welfare and many of them aren’t drifters, so many of them turned to their countries for at least one year. More than three quarters of the homeless lost their home because of financial issues” (1).
Also, lack of affordable housing is an issue linked with poverty. Indeed, some of the homeless people who have their own house leave or escape from their dwelling because they do not have adequate money to pay their rent. Therefore, they just decide to go out in the streets and be a homeless people. My own experience has shown that “today, at least thirty percent of people who need housing are getting it. HUD's report in January 2001 shows that the number of units affordable to low-income households dropped by 1.14 million between 1997 and 1999” (“Homelessness and Poverty”: par. 2). What the article says applies with my idea that a number of homeless people who have their own home decide to become a homeless because of the diminution of their money.
Besides the poverty reason, addiction to alcohol and drugs can lead to homelessness. This type of people has great difficulty finding and keeping good jobs. Moreover, without the support of friends, family, or community groups they may find themselves destitute and on the streets. “Homelessness in the United States” says, “Statistics represent sixty two percent of homeless addicted alcohol and fifty eight percent of them addicted drugs” (par. 5).
Usually it is hard to find any solution for homeless people who are addicted to alcohol. According to David Bender and Leone Bruno, “two percent of homeless never drink alcohol and eighty percent reported that they are still drinking. By their own estimates twenty percent of the men reported that they are moderate, heavy, or spree drinkers, respectively; forty nine percent of the men drink every day and thirty three percent drink several days per week” (77-78). What the author mentioned here that just a few of the homeless people drink alcohol even though almost more than half of the homeless drink alcohol.
Family disintegration is another of the main causes which lead to homelessness. Generally, the broken family is one of the biggest problems that happen in the US. However, many of homeless are divorced. The victims of broken families usually are children, so many of them become homeless. According to “Advocates Declare War on Youth Homelessness at the Covenant House International Candlelight Vigil,” “In Denver twenty five percent of homeless are children without parents. As Paticia, the president of Covenant House, explained that thousands of the young are living and dying in the cities between the boulevards. Many of them are victims of community decay and broken families, caught up in a desperate struggle for survival. We have to work hard to save those kids before the violent street battle sweeps them away “(par. 3). This obvious description apprizes that a lot of children and young people dying after becoming homeless due to the broken families.
Additionally, the current status of homeless veterans is an issue in the US these days. Actually, the veterans are one of the most significant concerns that cause a lot of argumentation between the people and the government. I think because of the veterans’ handicap which happened in the latest wars like Vietnam, more of them couldn’t be accepted in a job, so most of them become homeless. The United States has many programs to help veterans who become homeless; nevertheless, most of them are still homeless. “The USA spends six million dollars on programs for them.” as Hombe wrote (68-69). This short clarification tells that some of the homeless people are considered as the veterans who hadn’t found a job because of the old war which they had gone in the past.Every peaceful night that civilians enjoy, should remind everyone that some veteran has sacrificed to make this peace possible. According to Patrick Markee:
Some 250,000 veterans are homeless. As the Department of the Veterans states: There is a half million veterans facing homelessness. Ninety seven percent of veterans which are homeless are white, while fifty six percent are black or Latino. Forty five percent of them are stricken by mental illness, and above two-thirds are stricken by substance abuse disorders. Two-thirds of the homeless veterans worked in the armed forces for at least three years. Homeless veterans who served in Vietnam War are about forty seven percent. Based on a 1996 nationwide survey of homeless people, thirty three percent of all the homeless are male veterans; and twenty three percent of the whole homeless population is made up of veterans (par. 2).
This shows that most of the veterans who are homeless are white and the others are black or Latino and most of them have a mental illness.
Solution:
One of the solutions proposed for reducing homelessness is for the government to make policy to provide the homeless with housing, food, work and medical treatment, though there are policies dealing with homelessness at this present time. I believe that most of the government will put an end to the homeless problem. I agree with “Homelessness in the United States” point:
By the year 2012 the Bush Administration would like to see chronic homelessness ended. The idea started as a part of a 10 years plan to end homelessness by the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) in 2000. The following year, then-Secretary Martinez announced HUD’s commitment to ending chronic homelessness at the NAEH annual conference. In 2002, as a part of his budget, President Bush made ‘ending chronic homelessness in the next decade a top objective.’ The bi-partisan, congressionally-mandated, Millennial Housing Commission, in its Report to Congress in 2002, included ending chronic homelessness in 10 years among its principal recommendations (“Policies”: par. 12).
This brief, perfect elucidation notifies that the world is trying to resolve this problem, but I believe that the homelessness in the United States will not be solved in ten years because the homeless problem is a complicated phenomenon that cannot find any solution for it in a few years.
Community service groups one of the most important organizations that I believe that it will assist to end the homeless problem. Usually, these organizations try to put together some beneficence from the societies to assist the homeless with food, house, and the most important thing which is job. My own experience has shown that “Moreover, the result of this organization is practical as evidenced by 3.5 million homeless in the United State now living without the shelter or subsidized housing. In 2006, HUD (Housing and Urban Development) collected $28.5 billion for homeless programs. Section 8 housing takes $1 billion and $1.4 billion is allocated to Homeless Assistance Grants” (“Homelessness in the United States”: par. 11). This brief, logical description shows to us that the non-profit organizations can realize many useful things that the government sometimes can’t realize because of the government’s regulations.Conclusion:
In conclusion, homelessness is a serious problem. There are many causes of homelessness. I've discussed four of them. I think homelessness results from a collection of situations which require people to choose between food, shelter, and other basic needs. Some people don’t care about them. They think the homeless are bad and addicted people. I would say if we leave the homeless alone, poverty, drugs, alcohol, and crime will spread in all states of the USA. In my opinion, the government along with community service groups have to work together to help these people. The government can offer solutions by providing housing, food, work, and medical treatment. On the other hand, the local community organizations and churches should also get involved.
Works Cited
“Advocates Declare War on Youth Homelessness at the Covenant House International Candlelight Vigil.” Covenant House. 16 Nov. 2006. 27 Feb. 2007. <http://www.covenanthouse.org/about_pr_20061116-vigil.html>.
Bender, David, and Bruno Leone. The Homeless. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1990.
Hombs, Mary. American Homeless. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2001.
“Homelessness and Poverty in America.” NLCHP. 27 Feb. 2007.
<http://www.nlchp.org/%20FA_HAPIA/>.
“Homelessness in the United States.” Answers.com. 30 Jan. 2007.
Markee, Patrick. “The Current Status of Homeless Veterans.” Coalition for the Homeless. 19 Mar. 2003. 27 Feb. 2007.
< http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/news/War_and_Homelessness.html>.
Miller, Juanita “Poverty Among the Homeless.” The Ohio State University. 27 Feb. 2007.
Shames, Stephen. “Child Poverty in America: The Homeless Families.” The APF Reporter. 26 Feb. 2007.<http://www.aliciapatterson.org/%20APF0803/Shames/Shames.html>
