Homelessness in the United States: Causes and Possible Solutions - Essay Example

Homelessness in the United s: causes and possible solutions Introduction and definition Homelessness represents one of the most important social issues the United States faces these days. According to the Stewart B. McKinney Act, 42 U.S.C. 11301 (1994) "An individual is considered homeless when he "lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence; and...has a primary night time residency that is: (A) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations... (B) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or (C) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings". The recent increase in the homeless population has negatively affected the quality of life and has lowered down the economic growth. Due to this burning social issue thousands of people have got excluded from the status of being equal in participating in the economic growth of the country. Facts about homelessness According to the NCH fact sheet, "The ongoing crisis of homelessness has been caused by economic recession in the 1980s. Such factors as lack of affordable rental housing, larger numbers of persons with poverty and near poverty income levels (including the unemployed and those who work full-time), increased incidence of domestic violence, and reductions in federally funded programs also contributed to the growth of homeless population" One major fact that causes homelessness is joblessness. Joblessness can be attributed to a frail economy. The number of unemployed workers is escalating. As a result of this they go bankrupt and have no choice but to live either with their relatives or on the streets. Some homeless people, in hope of a job are leading their lives in their cars along with their families. Often the homeless who once used to live in their own homes until they lost everything are blamed for their condition but the authorities should be equally blamed for these people's pathetic lives. Many homeless people become substance abusers in frustration but they are blamed that it is their habits that is the main culprit of their condition. However in many situations the story is other way round i.e. homelessness is not the result but the cause of substance abuse and other disregarded habits. Though it is unfortunate, but the fact is that those families, which have children, top the category of homeless people. The numbers of homeless families are increasing day by day. This gives rise to another issue i.e. failure of the authorities to provide proper care and protection to children. There is an upsurge in home prices and there are many people who are underpaid in their current jobs. These two factors are responsible for homelessness to a great extent. Apart from lack of jobs and rising home prices there is one cruel aspect of humanity. Many physically and mentally disabled people are forced to leave their homes by their own family members who are unwilling to take care of them. Many old people too, are made homeless by their own family members. Their family members either dump these old people on the streets or leave them in the community care centers. There are a number of private and government organizations, which aim to bring this problem to an end. But the magnitude of this problem is greater than the number of institutions providing shelter to the homeless. The authorities do not have exact idea of total number of homeless people to be able to successfully combat this problem. The urban homeless population gets counted in the census but a number of rural homeless populations remain uncounted all the time. Also there are many homeless people especially children who due to lack of home are living with their relatives or neighbors. They too remain uncounted during the census for homeless. If the government has no idea about the extent of homelessness then how can we expect to remove this problem completely Positive / Negative sides of the issue Burt, Aron and Valente stated "Absence of housing is the common characteristic of all homeless people in the U.S. and abroad. Logically, more housing should be made available for homeless, and the problem is likely to be over. The government has several options to create affordable housing: creating various incentives to motivate construction of affordable housing by the private sector; stimulating public support for affordable housing construction; stimulating community and non-profit organizations, etc" These options can be considered the positive side of the issue and might help the government in solving this crisis. As mentioned in the website of CUHP certain theories like the theory of marginalization and theory of social exclusion has been related to the issue of homelessness to understand this concept thoroughly. The linking of these theories to one of the most important global concern would be positive for this issue and would help in understanding and solving this problem. There are certain facts like lack of a correct figure of the number of homeless. This is proving to be a major deterrent to this issue. Until and unless facts are clear the corrective measures cannot be taken. Lack of resources in the organizations that provide shelter to the homeless result in turning down many homeless people in need of shelter. Those who do not have any home of their home go to the houses or centers meant for homeless people. But these centers are already packed and therefore there is no option for the authorities of these centers but to deny any further admission. Hence in this condition the homeless people have only one option and that is to lead their lives on the streets. This factor is negative for this issue. Solutions Each of the major causes of homelessness embraces a range of smaller factors and circumstances that vary from individual to individual. People who become homeless do not fit one common description. Therefore, fighting homelessness implies identifying the full range of causes that contribute to the growth of this condition. The following solutions would be definitely helpful: Creating more affordable housing, Increasing the level of income, Helping homeless overcome problems that forced them to become homeless. While availability of affordable housing and increasing income addresses the overt causes of homelessness - absence of housing - establishing community and government programs to fight drug and alcohol abuse deals with the covert factors of this issue. I think if the government and other social organizations focus on these three areas then the problem of homelessness can be solved successfully. Conclusions and recommendations Based on my solutions, I would like to highlight that though the issue of homelessness is being discussed everywhere and many efforts are being made to eradicate this menace, still no concrete development in this sphere is evident until now. So I would like to recommend that it's high time now and something worthwhile has to be done to solve this problem in totality. A number of tools are available to the government to increase the incomes: job development, revised benefits program, employment training programs, and others. Unfortunately there are certain sections of homeless people who seem totally comfortable with their homelessness. They do not want to bail them out of their condition but in order to make this country a healthy and flourishing place to be in, the government should take the responsibility and initiative of rehabilitating these people. According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse "..finally, there is enough evidence that even under condition of availability of affordable housing and sufficient income level, a number of people do not change their status of homelessness. The key reasons for that are alcohol abuse, drug addiction, and psychological trauma." The government should try to use effective tools to help such people. These tools may be: Introduction of various specialized follow-up programmmes Creation of community support networks Provision of professional treatment to these people Propagation of the idea that all should work for his/her own betterment by cooperating with the government programmes directed towards them. However, none of the recommendations is likely to be highly effective if they are implemented separately. All the above-mentioned solutions and recommendations must be systematically and jointly used to effectively fight homelessness. Implementing these solutions separately will bring only minimal changes, which may not be even worthwhile when compared to the amount of time, effort and money spent for their implementation. Unfortunately, there are several serious constraints, which make such approach difficult to implement. The most important of them are high expenditures and unavailability of effective coordinating efforts. There is a great complexity associated with finding a really effective solution to the problem. Hence to sort it out the efforts must also consist of a series of complex and interrelated corrective actions. No effort can get wasted if it is done with full dedication and proper planning. The government and other social organizations that are already engaged in the betterment of the homeless people should join hands to achieve the desired results. Works Cited Burt, M, L. Aron, E. Lee, and J. Valente. Helping America's Homeless: Emergency Shelter or Affordable Housing Washington D.C.: Urban Institute Press, 2001. Koegel P., Burnam M.A. and Baumohl J. "The causes of homelessness". In: Baumohl J. (ed.), Homelessness in America, Oryx, Phoenix, Arizona, 1996: pp. 24-33 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U. S. 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, Washington D.C., 2002 The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 11301 (1994) National Coalition for the Homeless. 2002 NCH fact sheet #1 Why are people homeless 10 Feb.2007 < www.nationalhomeless.org/why.pdf> CUHP. Theories of homelessness. 21 Feb. 2007 Read More