Homelessness in America

Homelessness is a condition where a family or an individual does not have permanent shelter. This is a societal issue that has existed throughout human history. In America, homelessness rose during the initial phases of American colonial settlement. After the Civil War, homelessness declined, but in the 1870s, it became a national issue. During the early 90s, the country saw jobs as the solution to homelessness, as homelessness was seen as the issue of transients moving around the country in search of a job. Homelessness was caused by mobility, leading to the wandering of tramps looking for employment and urbanization. The solution to the issue today is perceived as the availability of affordable and proper housing. The period that homeless people stay without permanent housing varies from one person to another. Researchers identified three types of individuals experiencing different amounts of time homelessness. Episodic, transient, and chronic. Since homelessness in America is increasingly becoming a critical crisis, there is a need to find a solution. Some solutions to the issues include creating a crisis response plan, increasing employment and income, and establishing affordable housing. Formulating solutions to homelessness in America requires a clear understanding of its courses so that every action is directed to address these causes. As such, homelessness in America has various reasons.

The issue of homelessness is more prevalent in urban centers compared to rural areas. This implies that urbanization has contributed to homelessness for a large number of individuals. A large number of people live in urban areas. This has exerted pressure on the existing houses, which made it difficult for some individuals to afford and find a decent place and shelter to meet their needs. The population increase experienced has made it hard for urban authorities to establish affordable and decent homes for vast numbers of individuals requiring accommodation. Many people who do not afford a decent house choose to go to the streets. As a result, the number of individuals living in America who cannot afford permanent housing increased. Research shows among the large number of people who live in American urban centers, approximately 71% of them are homeless. The homeless lack dignity due to the poor living conditions on the streets (National Law Center). This exerts pressure on them as they think of the fact that they have to survive. Therefore, the federal and state governments must develop strong participatory solutions to these challenges.

The issue of mental illness seems to cause more societal issues. Most people with mental illness have been found homeless as the mentally ill cannot find the appropriate care for their problems. Mentally ill people are vulnerable to the main factors which cause homeless, such as poverty. A mentally ill person cannot sustain employment, which makes they have little income to afford permanent housing. Behavioral problems such as the difficulty of social interaction can cause mentally unstable people to avoid friends and family who might help them get decent housing hence fewer resources to cope in times of problems (National Law Center). Mental disorders also reduce one’s ability to be resourceful as they can even turn to drug and substance abuse causing them to fail to plan for housing. Homelessness has been found as an amplifier of poor mental health. When one becomes homeless, their previous mental illness could be magnified. For instance, if a person has depression which causes withdrawal from family and friends, the stress that they are reminded of coping with homelessness can increase mental issues such as anxiety ad substance use to lift the tiredness and stress. Research shows that chronic homelessness in America constitutes 30% of the people with mental issues. According to the National Coalition for Homeless, 38% of the homeless population use alcohol (National Law Center). Therefore, it is important for the government to deal with the issues of mental illness to reduce the issue of homelessness in America.

Homelessness is associated with poverty. Poverty causes homelessness among individuals and families. When families of a person cannot get enough income to pay for food, housing, or education, they can become homeless. Although the cost of housing has been rising, wages have not been rising. Therefore, when the income is lower than the family’s needs, particularly housing, families or individuals can be thrown out of houses due to their inability to pay rent. Poverty, therefore, can make people unable to access decent houses, and even if they did, they could not sustain them. Poor people living in rural areas might have houses but not in good condition. Most people in rural areas lack employment, leading to low income for saving and keeping up with the rising cost of living. Those who lose their job are also at risk of becoming homeless. Research shows that a number of homeless people today were previously employed (National Law Center). To deal with homelessness, the government should address poverty so that people live above the poverty threshold and meet living standards.

Domestic violence is another cause of homelessness in America. Women and children are more susceptible to domestic violence. People have to leave their homes without a plan of where to go to avoid homelessness (National Law Center). Domestic violence causes trauma to the victims, which can lead to mental disorders. For this reason, those who experience domestic violence are at risk of homelessness. Poor women have limited choices, which makes it more difficult to escape violence. This makes them more vulnerable to domestic violence. Whenever they choose to leave their homes, they might face bias from landlords who are unwilling to rent those houses just because they experienced violence (O’Flaherty). If domestic violence occurs within rented houses, the residents might be chased out of different rental houses until they cannot afford better and permanent ones.

The leading cause of homelessness in America is the lack of affordable housing. Research how that approximately 90% of polled cities were not affordable. On average, the housing process has been found to be three times more than the median income. Without enough income, people cannot afford decent houses or accommodations near their places of work, making it hard to reside near work (National Law Center). The government should therefore ensure affordable prices for houses.

According to research, the number of homeless people rose by approximately 3% between 2008 and 209. This implies that if the number of homeless people in America is not addressed, there could be bigger issues in the society to deal with. Majority of American states have witnessed an increasingly high number of homeless people, with Louisiana leading in the rate of homelessness (National Law Center). The problem of homelessness is a social problem in America that the government and organizations cannot ignore. The condition deprives Americans of their dignity and value.

The number of homeless family households has increased over the years, and this has become a worrying trend. Between 2008 and 2009, homeless family households rose by more than 3200, with Mississippi recording the largest number of family households. It is worrying that 40% of homeless people in the country live in places unfit for habitation by a human because they cannot afford decent or permanent housing. These people are not secure and are vulnerable to health issues. The cold weather, rain, and sun can make them ill. They are also not in the capacity to access healthcare services due to their conditions. They are exposed to dangers as they can be easily attacked by criminals or can be easily lured to join criminal activities. This can increase the risk of social problems in the country (National Law Center). That is why failure to deal with homelessness can increase the number of issues that the government should deal with. Economic hardship experienced in the country contributed to higher cases of homelessness. The majority of citizens cannot afford proper housing, cannot access healthcare services or even education. Without education, the chances of employment are low hence lower income which might be lower than the high living standards in the country. Homeless people cannot go for routine checkups or find effective prevention for the risk of the diseases they can get in the unfit environment. The healthcare system also does not give people ways of accessing health services at a relatively lower cost. The homeless are at a risk of having chronic illness and being admitted in emergency rooms which can make them stay more in hospitals compared to people with low income as they are unable to pay for hospital bills (O’Flaherty). Their inability to attend medical checkups and get preventive care makes them take long to recover from acute diseases. There are higher mortality rate among the homeless population.

Homelessness can also force children to leave their homes due to the horrifying lifestyles they face within the family. Parents can also neglect children where these children can go to live in the streets. These children are vulnerable to depression and violence which can impact their lives as adults. Children are exposed to higher risks of violence with girls getting raped, or killed. Such girls can get pregnant which makes it impossible for them to secure jobs. Hence they are unable to care for their children and the number of children living in the streets continually rises. Children can join criminal activities making the justice system to be burdened with criminal offenses of minors. Victims of sexual harassment and violence are more likely to be violent (National Law Center). As such, there is need for social support for homeless children and families to reduce criminal cases. The government should check into the issue of homelessness as it comes along with other social issues.

Some homeless people suffer from serious substance use and alcoholism and they need counselling. Since counselling alone cannot help them stop their destructive behaviors, there is the need to provide them with shelter where they can be given the necessary health services. A combination of housing plan and health services is necessary for addicts to recover quickly. Chronic homeless individuals therefore need to be supported as soon as possible to protect them from the hazardous environment. The government should formulate homeless policies across the nation to first address the issues of homeless people so they can settle and rebuild their lives.

There are various ways of addressing the issue of homelessness. Community based organizations can assist people to accomplish their personal goals. A personality policy can be developed where the people can develop ideas on how to change and better their lives. Political policies which involve actions of the government are important in establishing policies that can eliminate the homelessness problem. The government must formulate policies and procedures which guarantee citizens a proper and affordable housing system. There should be quick re-housing plans and a mental health services which are inclusive. There is a need to develop social help as political policies alone cannot assist people to recover. State agencies have a role of creating key policies and laws with the objective of homelessness eradication (O’Flaherty). The U.S. Interagency Council of Homelessness (USICH) assessed the effectiveness of the housing programs for individual. This executive branch developed Chronic Homelessness initiative requesting governments and local authorities to formulate a 10-year plan to eradicate chronic homelessness. In 2001, the federal created a policy aiming at alleviation of homelessness through permanent house. Through collaborative efforts, the government and USICH was able to reduce homelessness in America.

The aim of homelessness policies and regulations is the elimination of homelessness. For example, the ‘No Child Left behind Act’ accepted in 2001, was to ensure no discrimination of homeless children in schools through segregation of classes. This makes it a criminal offense to discriminate against homelessness. President George Bush established the Chronic Homelessness Initiative Act with the objective of eradicating homelessness in America. To achieve the objective, the head of state in collaboration with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Labor, formulated a plan to assist the homeless access employment and shelter though in few communities (O’Flaherty). The government, therefore, should formulate policies directed to eradicating poverty, employment and increase affordable houses.

Homelessness is a social issue that has been increasingly rising over the years. Its causes include poverty, lack of employment with low wages, mental health issues and lack of affordable housing. It is an issue that has had negative impacts on children, individuals and families. The government also struggle to deal with issues of crime rising due to homelessness. Children and families are exposed to hazardous environment without the ability to attend hospitals for checkups. As such there should be effective policies to address the issue and eradicate it. Although policy makers have tried to address the issue over the years, the cases of homelessness are still rising with issues of mental illness being magnified by these issues. As such there is need for government and other relevant authorities to collaborate and formulate policies which promise cheaper housing, social support and health services to support the homeless. Although President’s Bush regime tried to solve the issue of homelessness through prevention of discrimination and segregation, the issue is still rampant. Obama regime of no child left behind was unsuccessful at the beginning. The government should therefore improve on these regimes and take more affirmative action to ensure equality. Policy makers should consider the existing policy frameworks and develop them to solve the issue of poverty eradication.

Works Cited

National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. “Homelessness in America: Overview of Data and Causes.” (2015).

O’Flaherty, Brendan. “Homelessness research: A guide for economists (and friends).” Journal of Housing Economics 44 (2019): 1-25.