Homelessness in America: Causes, History, and Solutions
This paper examines homelessness in America from a historical and contemporary perspective. It traces the evolution of the homeless population from the mid-twentieth century through the economic crises of the 2000s, identifying key causes such as unemployment, the mortgage crisis, mental illness, prison release, dysfunctional families, and low-wage work. Drawing on peer-reviewed research and news reporting, the paper highlights the growing problem of family and youth homelessness, explores outcomes including substance abuse and criminal activity, and proposes policy directions — such as expanded low-income housing and transitional support services — as steps toward meaningful solutions.
- Introduction: Overview of homelessness as a growing American problem
- Historical Background of Homelessness: Evolution of homelessness from 1950s to 1980s
- Present-Day Homelessness and Economic Factors: Economic crisis and mortgage collapse driving modern homelessness
- Contributing Causes Beyond the Economy: Mental illness, prison release, youth homelessness, and low wages
- Outcomes and Consequences of Homelessness: Drug abuse, crime, and lack of education among homeless
- Potential Solutions: Policy proposals to reduce and prevent homelessness
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What makes this paper effective
- Integrates peer-reviewed sources alongside news reporting to ground claims in both academic research and real-world events, giving the argument credibility across multiple registers.
- Moves logically from historical context to present conditions to causes to consequences to solutions, creating a clear, reader-friendly arc that is easy to follow.
- Provides concrete statistics — such as the doubling of emergency shelter requests between fiscal years 2007 and 2008 and the one-million-plus homeless youth figure — to give weight to otherwise abstract claims.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of direct quotation integrated with attribution. Each quoted passage is introduced with a signal phrase identifying the source type ("two researchers note," "a reporter writes"), smoothly connecting outside evidence to the paper's own analytical thread without letting quotations stand alone.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief thesis-framing introduction, then devotes one section each to historical context, present-day conditions, multiple contributing causes, social consequences, and proposed solutions. This six-part structure — introduction through recommendations — is a reliable model for social-issues essays at the undergraduate level, ensuring all major analytical dimensions are addressed before a solutions-oriented conclusion.
Introduction
This paper introduces, discusses, and analyzes the topic of homelessness in America. Specifically, it addresses the historical background of the homeless, present-day issues, and the causes of homelessness across the country. The number of homeless people is growing in America, largely because of the mortgage crisis and a faltering economy that is putting more people out of their homes and out of work. Homelessness has always been an issue in this country, and America needs to develop new solutions to help address the problem.
Historical Background of Homelessness
Historically, there have always been homeless people in the United States. From indentured servants who came to the country with nothing but the clothes on their backs, to the "bums" and "hobos" of the Great Depression, homelessness has existed in some form throughout American history. This older homeless population, however, did not typically live on the streets. Two researchers note, "The U.S. homeless population of the 1950s and 1960s was typically composed of older men living in cheap hotels and was declining significantly in the 1970s. However, in the 1980s this 'old' homeless population was replaced by a 'new' homeless population" (Baggerly & Zalaquett, 2006). This new population included more children, greater ethnic diversity, and younger individuals.
Since the 1980s, the problem has received increasing attention from the media and the public — perhaps because the homeless population had grown, or perhaps because people became more aware of the difficulties homeless individuals face. Public concern has grown partly because homeless encampments can create deteriorating neighborhoods, contribute to crime, and generate fear among residents. Government concern has grown as well, since rising numbers of homeless people strain local shelters and drop-in centers, driving up the costs of protecting and caring for homeless individuals — especially families and children.
Present-Day Homelessness and Economic Factors
Present-day homelessness is being shaped by a struggling economy, the home mortgage crisis, and a range of other factors. Homelessness has trended upward in many parts of the country since the 1990s. A group of researchers notes, "It appears that the economic recovery of the 1990s may have had little impact on the extremely poor, from whose ranks homeless individuals and families generally come" (Tompsett, Toro, Guzicki, Manrique & Zatakia, 2006). It is typically the extremely poor who are most vulnerable to homelessness, but during periods of acute economic crisis even middle-class families can lose their housing.
One reporter describes the trend on the ground: "'We saw family homelessness begin to increase last winter,' says Sally Erickson, Portland's homeless program manager. 'There's definitely a spike in the last six months.' The number of requests for emergency shelter doubled from fiscal year 2007 to fiscal 2008, which ended in June" (Koch, 2008). Most experts believe this spike will continue as long as the economic crisis persists. As more people lose their jobs and their homes, they have nowhere to turn but the streets and homeless shelters, swelling the overall homeless population in America.
References
Baggerly, J., & Zalaquett, C. P. (2006). A descriptive study of single adults in homeless shelters: Increasing counselors' knowledge and social action. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 34(3), 155+.
Johnson, R. J., Rew, L., & Kouzekanani, K. (2006). Gender differences in victimized homeless adolescents. Adolescence, 41(161), 39+.
Koch, W. (2008). Homeless numbers 'alarming'. USA Today. 22 Oct.
Tompsett, C. J., Toro, P. A., Guzicki, M., Manrique, M., & Zatakia, J. (2006). Homelessness in the United States: Assessing changes in prevalence and public opinion, 1993–2001. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37(1–2), 47+.
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