Causes and Effects of Homelessness Essay

legal residenceless soulfulnessness is living without a home, be it on the streets or in shelters. in that respect ar any(prenominal)(prenominal) causes for slew nice unsettled, and the combination of factors that go bad to roofless mortal nearlyoneness be different for every individual. Some of the factors that identification number over to dispossessedness for youth, single adults, and families ar poverty, domestic power, substance abuse and mental fed up(p)ness, special(a) t finis services, and personal choice. The set up be as well as varied and derriere pertain to communities, businesses, other people and the dispossessed themselves. Some of the effects of dispossessedness are health, personal, families, abuse, and the society. Although thither are some reasons why people befit unsettled, this constitution impart only include the top five causes. Poverty is the take one leading cause of people befitting unsettled, according to the issue com pression for the homeless person. Poverty is best know as that state of be poor. When people lack income to meet all of their needs, they are forced to take up between housing, utilities, transportation, childcare, healthcare, and food. subject fieldly, homeless who present been surveyed by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, high proportions of homeless individuals were found to be employed. However, wages are practically non adequate to ensure housing stability and many people do not baffle rent outs that provide living wages, health insurance, or high job security. Roughly half of homeless adults nourish incomes of less than $300 per month, ( content Coalition for the Homeless). A lack of educational opportunities limits price of admission to living-wage jobs and contri plainlyes to poverty. Another issue think to poverty is high cost and shortage of housing. It is difficult, if not impossible, for low-income individuals and families to find low-priced housing. Its no wonde r with the control scale of housing assistance programs, and other services of aid. With growing poverty levels and more(prenominal)(prenominal) people becoming homeless, earthly c erstrn assistance services are un sufficient tokeep up with the demand. Public assistance can be described as authorities aid (publicly funded) or hole-and-corner(a)ly funded agencies (churches, and/or other charities) to needy, aged, or change persons and to dependent children.Assistance programs do exist, but many have regulations and requirements that many people wear upont qualify for. there are also the issues of waiting lists that might be as long as half-dozen months or a year. Shelters are available, but may have limited space and are only temporary (usually measured by weeks, some only lasting two weeks). Even with the programs out there, most dont have adequate funding for prevention of homeless. Whether people are abused, mentally ill, or have disabilities, assistance is becoming more merely and strict including health care necessities. While homeless people populate of mentally ill people and addicts, this only corrects up a piffling portion of the entire homeless population. Mentally illness is foreseen as unlike psychiatric conditions, usually characterized by impairment of an individuals blueprint cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by physiological or psychosocial factors.Addicts consist of alcohol and drug users/abusers, which are considered of having habits of consuming either or both. According the U.S. assembly of Mayors (2005), to the highest degree 16% of single adults are mentally ill homeless, and addicts make up less than this (addicts are more complex). It is difficult for either (mentally ill or addicts) to keep a job and often have fretfulness finding housing and treatment. Both, mentally ill and addicts, have a sternly age finding services when living on the streets, thereby creating a cycle of homelessne ss and addiction from which its almost impossible to escape. Other homeless who need escape are the people of domestic violence. Domestic violence will consist of women and/or children whom are or have been physically, mentally, and/or emotionally abused ( batter). Nationally, studies indicate that up to half of homeless women with children have experienced domestic violence, including children who are homeless. With specific shelters available for battered women, more women are fleeing their abusers, thus creating more homeless.Children, too, run away because of be battered and end up homeless. Children often encounter more abuse turn on the streets to acquire food, shelter or clothing. Both, battered women and children are often forced with choosing between beingness abused or becoming homeless From discourses that I have conducted over the years,there are still homeless people that just choose to become/stay homeless. I interviewed a homeless old hand back in 2009 whose name is Jim, and again in 2011. Jim informed me that he became homeless shortly by and by the Vietnam War because he chose to. He didnt have family waiting for him, and had no desire of get a job after serving his country. After being homeless for more than 15 years, he states that it is easier. He doesnt have the hardships of remunerative bills such as rent, utilities, insurance, car fuel, and other bills. He also doesnt have the responsibilities of caring for dependents, but living only for himself.Because of this advantage, he is able to survive on very little money. Jim says that I focus on only the fundamentals of food and hygiene. With charities providing free food, soup kitchens, camping equipment, clothing and restroom facilities (including showers), Jim is able to survive without much begging. He claims that being homeless gives me freedom because he lives for the today and only planning for tomorrow. though hard at times, simplicity can be blissful. Homelessness has a im mense effect on an individuals physical and emotional health. Homeless men and women suffer from colds that they cannot get rid of because they have no access to medicine. They suffer from vitamin deficiencies and often dont get adequate sleep. moving-picture show to the elements and unsanitary living conditions can lead to frostbite, leg ulcers and upper respiratory infections. Serious illnesses like HIV/AIDS, diabetes and tuberculosis are more leafy vegetable in homeless people than among the general population.They also are more at risk for dependency on drugs and alcohol. Homeless individuals have no housing to protect them from physical violence and even rape. At the time when a homeless person realizes that he/she wont have a roof to live under, it is hard for them to believe. It is this fact of not transaction with reality that makes homeless people less able to take actions, but they suffer psychologically as a result. Being without a home takes a terrible toll on children as well. Homeless children have higher rates of ear infections, stomach problems and asthma than other children their age. These children are also more likely to be depressed, anxious, or withdrawn, and have more difficulty in school than their peers. Homelessness tears families apart because some shelters wont take boys and others wont accept children. A let may have to watch helplessly as her children are taken from her and placed with relatives or in foster care,which highly impinge ons the children.These can lead to emotional breakdowns that lead them to become institutionalized or they can lead off to develop behavioral problems that land them in front of a judge. There is also the economic impact that homelessness has on society. Operating and maintaining homeless detain services programs are costly ventures. The funding for these programs comes in the form of tax wageser dollars and private donations. Yet, most of these programs are generally unfunded, which instrument that only the most basic of services can be offered. This in turn means that many homeless are forced to seek alternate methods of getting their basic needs met. Subsequently, those homeless who cannot find employment will turn to recycle or panhandling as a means of putting money in their pockets. As the numbers of homeless who dig through garbage cans and dumpsters in search of recyclable items and as the number of homeless who panhandle increases there are the inevitable complaints to the communitys government to do something intimately the homeless.This usually causes the city to adopt stricter laws concerning and in some instances, prohibiting these activities. Then, because of the need to utilise these ordinances, local law enforcement must be on the look-out for violators. For those homeless who are caught, the officer must because take the time to stop, check the persons ID, and write the person a ticket. Which costs more money, because then it has to go through the l ocal coquet system. Paperwork has to be filled out, court appearances must be set, and for those homeless who either dont pay the fine or show up in court, additional subject work is created. If a warrant is issued, then the next time the person is caught, there is a possibility that they will be given a trip to the local jail at taxpayers expense, of course which means more paperwork.There is also an environmental impact that homelessness has on a society. Since most communities do not have anywhere near the aggregate of supportive resources essential for the numbers of homeless in their areas, the homeless will be forced to find alternate places to live and sleep. In more urbanized areas, this could be in the doorways of businesses after closing hours, behind buildings, public benches, bus shelters, building hallways and the like. In other, less urbanized communities, the homeless may seek shelter in green belt areas. Since every person has a need to heed the call of nature, and because many businesses deny the homeless the use of bathroom facilities,the homeless are forced to use whatever convenient location they may find to tend to those needs. The cost of clean-up, once again comes out of taxpayer dollars.Since the 1940s, the issue of homelessness has remained a growing concern indoors the U.S. Factors contributing to the problems are varied and deep-set within the make-up of our economy, and affect the economy as a whole. Not all homeless people chose to live in the streets or shelters. If a person believes this, then their perceptions are ignorant and unaware. Whatever the causes of an individuals homeless, the consequences can be brutal. There is no one cause of homelessness and as a result there is no one solution. The solutions needed to eliminate homelessness are the same ones needed to prevent its occurrence. An understanding of the population and the causes of homelessness provides the background necessary to begin growth a strategy to en d homelessness.ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHYAbout the Homeless Snapshot of homelessness. National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2011. Web. 2011 October 3.www.endhomelessness.org/section/ astir(predicate)_homelessness/snapshot_of_homelessnessOn this web page, I accessed several(prenominal) inner links to gain additional information for more specifications. The National Alliance to End Homelessness gives lots of points pertaining to homelessness. There are statistics, characteristics and reasons of homelessness. This spot focuses on educating people about homeless and offers homeless people resources. It gives reciprocal geographical areas of homeless, the types of people who are homeless, how often people become homeless and the reoccurrences. The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a non-profit organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness with updated and current information. This source helps emphasize the causes of my papers main topic, and reinforces the effects of homelessness based on facts.Jim. Personal interview. May 2009.Jim was a homeless veteran at the time of interview and has been homeless for more than 15 years. He was actually part of a camp community, consisting of seven other homeless people. I talked with several of them, but he is the one with the most to say. This interview is about some people choosingto be homeless for no particular reason, other than it being easier. Jim talked about when he became homeless shortly after the Vietnam War. He hadnt had family before the war, and didnt have anyone/anywhere to turn to afterward. Society didnt offer much support and government didnt offer any help. So he became homeless. Now, its his way of behavior and he has no desire to change it. He has adapted to being homeless and finds that its easier (the others agreeing that its an easier way of life).Jim is still homeless as of August 2011, when I ran into him this summer. He mentioned that as a veteran and Obamas help with veteran services, he now receives some assistance (food, cash, and underground bus tickets for transportation). Even with new veterans laws passed to help homeless veterans, he remains homeless and claims to be too old to go back to work. This information supports my theory on some people choosing to be and stay homeless. USHUD 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress abstract OF KEY FINDINGS and STATISTICS. National Coalition for the Homeless, 2011 June 20. Web. 2011 October 1. www.nationalhomeless.orgWhy Are People Homeless? National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009. Web.2011 October 1. www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html The National Coalition for the Homeless gives statistics and information about homeless people. Both web sites talk about what types of people become homeless and reasons why they become homeless. The main reasons described in detail pertain to poverty and housing statistics, but also give some examples of other factors. Information also includ es characteristics of homeless persons. The information provided is factual and is as accurate as can be expected (homelessness cannot be known precisely). The National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network that is working(a) toward ending homelessness with current and updated information. The organization consists of many services that all difference for the rights of homeless people and report to congress. These sources give factual information about the causes and effects of homeless people, and support the topic of my paper.