According to the Council to Homeless People, a homeless person is defined as someone who "is without a conventional home and lacks the economic and social supports that a home normally affords. She / he is often cut off from the support of relatives and friends, she / he has few independent resources and often has no immediate means and, in some cases, little prospect of self-support." Unlike you and me, these people are less fortunate and have suffered as a result. To allow you to better understand what it is to be a homeless, I will discuss the four biggest causes of homelessness, offer statistics and facts on homelessness, and finally give some of my own thoughts in the subject of homelessness.
There is no simple answer as to what causes homelessness. A range of factors may contribute to homelessness, but the most common cause is when people lack sufficient income to meet their housing needs. Aside from financial burdens, there is the possibility of violence, particularly domestic violence, which may cause a person to be homeless. A family where the father is very abusive to either his kids or to his wife may have no where else to go except into the streets where they live until they are able to make a living to move into an apartment or other type of housing.
Unemployment, particularly long-term, is always a devastating factor in homeless people. This is especially difficult for single parents who need all the money he or she can get to support both themselves and their children. Also it is difficult for the poor who lose their jobs; the people who share an apartment with others to split the cost of the apartment. If this individual who is in that financial circumstance loses his / her job, then it is imminent that he / she will be forced to live in the streets.
The third factor that is surely going to force a person onto the streets is loss of social support. A person who has no contact with others, will not care for themselves and most likely will do whatever he/ she wants. Sometimes, it is their belief that life is not worth living because nobody cares about them. This is particularly true when it is the family that does not care for this individual anymore. Either he / she is ignored or there is unhappiness in the household. Often, these people end up abusing alcohol or drugs because it serves as their "way out."
Lastly, the lack of education, which also ties into the financial issue, is also a problem to homeless people. If a person does not have skills to obtain a well-paying job, usually, he / she ends up with a minimum-wage paying job. Some are even illiterate and cannot even get a job. Living in poverty is very difficult indeed. So in my opinion, better education can solve the problem and thus would eliminate thousands of people off our streets.
If the information presented to you did not attract your attention, perhaps these statistics and facts will shock you and will better inform you of the growing problem of homelessness in the United States. According to the Homes for Homeless organization:
· The typical homeless family is a 20-year-old mother with children under the age of 6.
· Today's homeless mother has probably never been married, has an incomplete education, and has never been employed.
· 22% reported they lived in shelters as a child.
· Families with children represent approximately 37% of the homeless population and have become the fastest growing segment.
· 24% of all homeless people were victims of domestic violence.
· An estimated 32% of requests for shelter by homeless families were denied in 1998 due to lack of resources.
As for my take on this matter, I would strongly encourage everyone to help these people. Not helping them by donating money, food, and housing to these people, but rather to encourage and enable homeless people, as much as possible, to take responsibility for their own destinies. To help them get better education, make affordable shelters, and create programs to help those who are mentally ill so that they can do whatever is necessary to get themselves off the street and to achieve a better future.
