Homelessness: causes, consequences, and policy approaches

¶ … people vulnerable to homelessness, and identify recent policy to address the homeless population in New York City. Homelessness is one of the largest social problems in America today. Today, the term homeless can refer to anyone from any social, cultural, or economic class who cannot keep a roof over their heads. Because it is a growing concern, it is important to understand the conditions that lead to homelessness in America, and what is being done to combat the problem.

Experts define homelessness as any living situation without a residence. One expert notes, "Thus, we employ it to describe those sleeping outdoors in any of a variety of makeshifts, or residing in temporary accommodations like the police-station lodgings of earlier generations or the emergency shelters of the present day" (Baumohl, 1996, p. 3). The term homelessness has been in use in America about 150 years, but today it usually brings to mind those in the lowest reaches of society, who have nowhere left to go and no family to help them. In addition, it can mean anyone displaced temporarily because of loss of job, loss of income, etc.

Most people think of urban centers, especially core downtown disadvantaged areas when they think of homelessness. However, not all homeless cases occur in urban areas. Rural homelessness is a phenomenon that has been tracked for decades, and exists for a number of reasons. Family-farm failure can be a cause of these rural homeless occurrences, but so can a lack of job opportunities in rural areas, more single families, and low-income people leaving urban areas hoping for jobs in small towns (Baumohl, 1996, p. 81). Thus, homelessness is not simply an urban issue, it can occur just about anywhere.

One of the major causes of homelessness in America today is disadvantage. Those who have the least benefits and resources are often the first to enter the homeless arena, such as veterans, the aged, and those suffering from medical conditions and mental illness. Author Baumohl continues,

They were single minority males with little education and few occupational skills; they were those with severe mental illnesses and habits of substance abuse; they were those whose early childhood experiences left them ill prepared to take their place in a competitive world; they were those without friends and family to help them, or whose kith and kin were no better off. And more often than not, they did not have just one of these vulnerabilities (Baumohl, 1996, p. 25).

However, today, there are many different reasons for homelessness. Many workers in America life paycheck to paycheck. If they lose their jobs and cannot find a replacement, they may have only a few weeks before they become homeless. In addition, there is a lack of low cost housing in the country, and that means some people who are elderly, have medical problems, or other social ills may not be able to find housing they can afford. In effect today, homelessness can happen to just about anyone for one reason or another. In New York City, many people enter homeless shelters directly from some type of shared living arrangement, often with family. This can include families who are breaking up, adult children forced to leave home, and any number of other situations (Editors, 2006). New York City has made it a priority to prevent homelessness as part of its comprehensive Action Plan for the Homeless, which is mandated through 2009. This plan includes ideas on how to prevent homelessness, redirect more homeless to shelters, create "viable alternatives" for the homeless, coordinate services so people are not "dumped" between them, and provide more housing options. As of 2005, the Action Plan was at least indirectly responsible for reducing homelessness by 10% in the city. It seems the plan is working, and other cities would do well to implement an appropriate plan for their own areas.