Global Homelessness

According to statistics, there are over 1 billion homeless people on our planet who are either directly homeless or do not have adequate access to housing or shelter.

Today, the world's cities are filled with up to 100 million street children and people living in sprawling slum settlements without water, sewage, garbage collection, heating/cooling or electricity.

The global urban population is expected to double in this generation from 2.5 billion to 5 billion as a result of rapid overpopulation and globalization. People who are homeless or who are living in poor housing are constantly threatened by illness and insecurity and have a much lower life expectancy than other portions of the population.

In the United States, there are an estimated 700,000 to 2 million men, women and children who are homeless on any given night- living in public places or in emergency shelters. In Europe, that figure is 2.5 million.

The majority of the global homeless are women and children. According to the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, women are doubly disadvantaged by their need to earn a living while providing care for family members and running households.

The growth of mass homelessness is greatest in Africa, Asia and Latin America, since this is where the global population rate is growing the fastest. It is estimated that by 2015, the 10 largest cities in the world will be located on these 3 continents.

According to Shelter Now International, there are over 20 million displaced refugees worldwide who can also be catagorized as being "homeless".

UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, states that providing fleeing civilians with emergency food and shelter is often the first step towards meeting their immediate needs for protection and survival. However, major long-term moral, ethical and institutional re-structuring is what is needed the most amongst the nations and peoples of the world to help eliminate the scourges of global poverty, displacement and homelessness.

The basic human right to adequate shelter/housing is stated in Article 25 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and should become the universal standard by which the poor, homeless and destitute are treated and upheld in dignity by others in our world.

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Steve Jones
P.O. Box 927
Pacific Grove, California
93950
USA

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SOURCES:

1. World Homeless Union
Website: http://members.tripod.com/~sananda/homeless/welcome.html

2. National Alliance to End Homelessness
1518 'K' St- Suite 206- NW, Washington, DC 20005 USA
Website: http://www.naeh.org

3. National Coalition for the Homeless
1012 14th St-Suite 600- NW, Washington DC 20005 USA
Website: http://www.nationalhomeless.org

4. Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
13421 Antlers St, Broomfield, Colorado 80020 USA
Website: http://www.coloradocoalition.org

5. Shelter Now International
502 E New York Ave, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 USA
Website: http://www.shelter.org

6. United Nations Human Settlements Program
Habitat Agenda
P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi Kenya
Website: http://www.unhabitat.org

7. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Website: http://www.geocities.com/dreadlocks2021/udhr.html