Social Problems in the UK - Essay Example

Social Problems in the UK by The of the The of the School The and where it is located The Date Social Problems in the UK Introduction It would not be a mistake to point out that the society should be considered to be a significant prerequisite for the development of the inner potential of a human being. Indeed, if it had not been for the support of other people, a tremendous number of features that are regarded as characteristic to our kind would not have emerged. Nevertheless, it must be noted that there are may be situations when some of the citizens are not able to enjoy the same benefits as their counterparts do. Keeping in mind such social problems, one might suggest that those who are free of these difficulties should unite and help those who struggle with basic survival. One of the most nagging social problems is homelessness – a phenomenon when a person is deprived of the ability to satisfy one’s basic need for shelter. This paper will analyze the existence of homelessness in the United Kingdom, provide the current statistical data, give a brief review of the governmental treatment of the problem and carefully examine the factors that contribute to its emergence from a sociological point of view. The statistical evidence of homelessness in the United Kingdom It must be noted that on the state of July 2014 there were 27,970 applications for housing assistance according to the 1996 Housing Act (“Statutory Homelessness”, 2014). In spite of the fact that this figure provides with in the ability to estimate the number of registered homeless people, the number of those who did not apply for assistance could not be much higher. That is why for the purposes of this paper, only those who made an application for housing assistance will be considered. Thus, out of the above mentioned number, 13,985 households were found to be eligible for a main homelessness duty that is owed by the government. Despite the fact that 6713 households made an application, they were not regarded as homeless, so they were denied of governmental assistance; nevertheless, the conditions of living for them could still be harsh. There was another group which consisted of 5035 households that were recognized as homeless, but were not in priority need; so, they had to wait their queue. Furthermore, there was a small number of households, namely 2238 of them, who were regarded as intentionally homeless, but accepted the assistance because of being in priority need group. Main homelessness duty The local authorities in the United Kingdom are obliged to help people who may be facing the risk of homelessness in many different ways. On the one hand, they might provide effective advice so that the citizens would be able to avoid losing their homes. However, if the latter appear to be rough sleeping, the government is able to provide interim accommodation for them (Akrivopoulou, 2013, p. 4). Nevertheless, in order to qualify for such assistance one should fall into priority need category. The latter includes people who are pregnant or have dependent children, those who are recognized as citizens of young age (16-20 years old), those who are care leavers or are vulnerable to numerous factors (such as old age or disability), including personal ones (Bradshaw, 2011, p. 56). In this case, the accommodation is provided in bed and breakfast hotels for a short period of time, while different Housing Association provide people with permanent accommodation. Personal causes of homelessness Now it may be particularly important to examine the factors that contribute to the emergence of the phenomenon in question. To begin with, one should put emphasis on personal causes of homelessness. Thus, there are several individual factors that might be involved in this case. For example, a person may be lacking qualifications in order to find a suitable job and secure a stead source of income. In addition to that, due to various reasons, one might lack social support that is provided by one’s friends and relatives. In addition to that a person may have debts that must be paid, but lack financial funds to do so. In addition to that, there are may be problems with one’s mental or physical health. The family background often plays a leading role in causes of homelessness on an individual level. A family is considered to be a building block of a society; so, when one grows up in a dysfunctional family or starts one, this may lead to homelessness. There are other factors as well that increase the probability of this sad outcome. For example, domestic violence, sexual or physical abuse is able to compel a person to leave one’s house and live on the streets. It must be noted that if a parent abuses a particular substance, this is likely to have a negative impact on the development of the family in general. Other than putting financial prosperity at risk, this also creates a platform for the above mentioned violence and abuse, contributing to formation of unpleasant climate in the family. Surprisingly enough, but engagement of a person in various institutions may have a negative impact on one’s live and predispose an individual to becoming a homeless person. It is suggested that those who have been in care are likely to lose their homes in case they make word choices and are not able to socialize properly. In addition to that, they who served in the armed forces and particularly were engaged in active military actions may find themselves on the street because of various reasons ("What causes homelessness?", 2015). This is, probably, the saddest example of how participation in an institution that is considered to have a positive reputation is able to have a negative impact on one’s future. Furthermore, those who have been in prison often end up living on the streets. This can be explained by the fact that these people are too firm in their deviant behavior and are not able to return to the ways of the majority of the citizens. Structural causes of homelessness In spite of the fact that the above mentioned causes are able to contribute to the increase in the probability of becoming a homeless person, there are several structural factors that should be engaged in the discussion as well. One of the most obvious ones is unemployment. Having a house is inseparably connected to finding and securing a stable source of income that will provide one with in opportunity whether to buy a house or rent one. With this in mind, one might suggest that if a person does not have a job, one is likely to find oneself on the street rather soon. Though unemployment is considered to be a difficult social problem that involved many sociological as well as economic factors, it must be taken care of if the government truly wants to reduce the population of the homeless. That is more important is that poverty largely affects the chances of people ending up on the streets. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that unemployment often leads to poverty. While the government is able to provide financial assistance to those who are in need, the former is not able to fully satisfy their primary needs. That is why sooner or latter those who are living in poverty might risk loosing their home (Harding, Irvin & Whowell, 2011). In the majority of cases people who are at the bottom of the social ladder are willing to escape poverty; however, they do not have means to do so. Social strain theory is able to explain why under such conditions they decided to be engaged in the deviant behavior. In other words, the gap between the ability to satisfy a need in a house and available resources as well as the fear of becoming a homeless person often encourages people to perform illegal deeds just not to live on the streets. Thus, the two factors which were discussed above, lead to a logical third one – the existence of a large array of houses that are not affordable to those who are in desperate need of them. For example, there are may be companies that think that people with limited financial resources will become their clients. In other words, their target audience may have even less money that it was projected. As a result, setting prices that seem to be low may not appear to be affordable for these people. Nevertheless, the people are still in need of affordable housing and risking becoming homeless unless this problem is not taken care of. Statistical distribution of causes of homelessness If one takes a look at the data that is available and analyze it, one will be able to see that some of the causes prevail. For example, there is trend that is witnessed from 1987 to 2007 which suggests that personal reasons are able to explain homelessness in almost one third of the cases (“Reasons for homelessness in England”, 2007). Indeed, people point out that many of them lost their home because of lack of willingness of their parents, relatives or friends to provide them with accommodation. All this results in the understanding that homelessness may be regarded as a problem that is primarily caused by lack of proper cooperation between people in the society, especially on microlevel. That is why in order to cope with it, the government should encourage families to introduce changes in the way they treat less fortunate family members. The next important cause that statistically occupies the second place deals with breakdown of relationship with partner. Indeed, nowadays, the prices might be rather high while the salaries are not able to provide people with the sufficient amount of money to satisfy their needs. With this in mind, having a relationship provides a person with a chance to improve one’s financial status by cutting the expenditures in half. As a result, one feels secure enough to rent a house or get a hold of thinks that while being alone one would not be able to obtain. However, it found that the majority of the relationships do not work out; so, in case of a breakdown a person will have an array of various finance related issues that might jeopardize one’s way of life. As a result, the end of relationship often means the end of financial stability for one or both partners. That is why there is no wonder that under such circumstances one might end up losing a house and being forced to live on the streets. Moreover, the statistics also shows there are might be some external factors that often contribute to one’s becoming a homeless person. Thus, the third of the three top reasons is loss of private dwelling. In spite of the fact that this might be a rather vague term to be used, it is beyond any doubt that one usually loses one’s private dwelling because of inability to pay for it. That is why the structural causes play the major role in this case. As it has been noted earlier, the problem of unemployment is a nagging one since it does not allow a part of the society to be able to locate a source of income to that would allow them to afford a decent dwelling. That is why all people who find themselves in the shackles of poverty often fear to become homeless. Conclusion Having examined all the points that were mentioned in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to the following conclusion: homelessness should be considered to be among the most important social problems that the United Kingdom is facing at the present moment. Indeed, the statistic shows that while the number of people may be declining, there are still an awful lot of applications from those who are desperate need of an accommodation. The local authorities often provide such people with a temporary dwelling, especially if there are factors that make them particularly vulnerable. Speaking of the causes of homelessness from a sociological perspective, one might note that they can be broadly divided into two groups: personal and structural ones. While personal causes often prevail, structural causes are able to explain a considerable number of homelessness cases that were recorded and registered by the government. References Akrivopoulou, C 2013, Digital democracy and the impact of technology on governance and politics: New globalized practices, Information Science Reference, Hershey, PA. Bradshaw, J 2011, The well-being of children in the UK (3rd ed.), Policy Press, Bristol. Harding J, Irving A & Whowell M 2011, Homelessness, Pathways to Exclusion and Opportunities for Intervention. Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://www.thecyrenians.org/Resources/Tyneside Cyrenians/Resources/Research Reports/Homelessness_ Pathways to Exclusion and Opportunities for Intervention.pdf Reasons for homelessness in England 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://www.york.ac.uk/res/ukhr/ukhr0708/updates/pdf/08-092.pdf Statutory Homelessness 2014, Retrieved April 20, 2015, from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/385695/201409_Statutory_Homelessness.pdf What causes homelessness? 2015, Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns/why_we_campaign/tackling_homelessness/What_causes_homelessness#structural_causes_of_homelessness Read More