Homelessness Essays (Examples)

Homelessness has remained one of the min problems for the countries who are wealthy and rich in resources. Some of these countries include UK and Canada. It is still one of the strangest facts that there are millions of homeless people still living on the streets of these wealthy countries in shattered homes or streets. Various studies have been conducted on the issues faced by these homeless people as well as their experiences. The information of these experiences can help the student nurses by reshaping lost social identities of these homeless people.

Homelessness in the United States has remained a concern for many sociologists. The number of homeless people started to accelerate in the 1980s when it was estimated that more than 500,000 people were homeless. In accordance to the reports published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in 2009, there were more than 700,000 people homeless…

Homelessness

Is homelessness increasing in the United States?

Homelessness has become progressively more apparent in the United States over the past quarter century. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has amassed a wealth of data that confirm low-income housing is a critical requirement. Even as some communities are realizing a decrease in their homeless population; others are experiencing the opposite. It is disheartening to note that the largest increase in homelessness is families with children. Figures show that on any given night 633,784 people are without a place to call home and of these 239,403 are families. There are multiple causal factors including structural inequalities emanating from America's social institutions. The educational system upon which opportunity is founded as well as the decreased purchasing power of low-wage incomes are antecedents to homelessness as well. Finally, the plain truth is there is a simple lack of affordable low-income housing…

et al. (2005) Facts on Trauma and Homeless Children. National Child Traumatic Stress Network - Homelessness and Extreme Poverty Working Group. Online available at http://www.nctsnet.org/nctsn_assets/pdfs/promising_practices/Facts_on_Trauma_and_Homeless_Children.pdf

urt, Aron, Douglas, et al., (1999) Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve: Summary Report - Findings of the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 1999

urt, Martha, (2001) What Will it Take to End Homelessness? Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2001

National Center on Family Homelessness, (1999) Homeless Children: America's New Outcasts (Newton, MA: 1999).

Institute for Children and Poverty (1999) Homeless in America: A Children's Story - Part One (New York, NY: 1999 U.S. Department of Education, Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, Report to Congress (Washington, DC: 2000).

Mills, Robert (2001) Health Insurance Coverage: 2001 U.S. Census ureau, Washington, DC: 2002 National Coalition for the Homeless, Making the Grade: Challenges and Successes in Providing…

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How many people are homeless?

The number of homeless is difficult to ascertain because estimates vary depending on the methodology used. Numbers also vary substantially depending on whether a measurement is taken on a single night or is extrapolated to a given year.

One approximation of the annual number of homeless in America is from a study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, which estimates between 2.3 and 3.5 million people experience homelessness. According to a study released this month by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an estimated 744,313 people experienced homelessness in one night in January 2005. Some 56% of them were living in shelters and transitional housing and, 44% were unsheltered.

Which states have the most homelessness people?

Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, hode Island, Washington State, and Washington, D.C. have the highest rates of homelessness, according to a study…

Crime is not the only issue where homelessness is concerned, however, and homelessness in and of itself can be very difficult for someone to deal with, especially if the homelessness was unexpected or there are many familial obligations that suddenly will not be met (such as in the case of a single mother, for example). When homelessness occurs this way and causes these kinds of problems, there can be very serious emotional consequences for the homeless individual and his or her family. It becomes necessary at that point for the homeless person to seek help, and this is where the social worker comes in.

Many people may believe that the homelessness problem in this country is certainly not significant enough for social workers to be needed for these people, but it seems likely that these individuals do not realize the seriousness of the homelessness problem. Homelessness is not just America's…

But mentally disturbed individuals, being confined to a greater proclivity toward chronic homelessness, are a separate problem, addressed most directly by the Center for Mental Health Services, which is a federally chaired organization. The CMHS is a channel through which policy regarding disbursement of social resources is implemented. It garners all of its data from the National Resource Center of Homelessness and Mental Illness, which is the only agency specifically designated toward providing information on this demographic. As a publicly funded group, it is not designated to any political agenda, but it is subject to a wide variant in allocation depending on the policies of the prevailing political party. Both of the former Bush administrations, for example, have delivered annual allocations to the CMHS that were trimmed to about 20% the size of President Clinton's yearly disbursement. The ability of the agency to function at its fullest current potential is…

Based on the report submitted by Cuomo, upon receiving assistance from authorized agencies, such as health care assistance, treatment from substance and drug abuse, education and job training and even services for mental health problems, a big part of those living in families (76%) and of those living alone (60%) tend to put a stop their homeless status and gradually move to an improved living situation. Another point to ponder is the fact that the cost of homeless assistance is considerably lower than the cost of putting homeless people in jail to get them off the streets. For example, the Supportive Housing Network estimates that in New York City in 1998 it cost $40,000 per year to jail someone, compared with just $12,500 to provide affordable housing and a variety of supportive services (http://www.hud.gov/library/bookshelf18/pressrel/pr99-258.html,1999).

This just shows that if one can help and lend a helping hand to the homeless…

Homelessness Intervention

Social Work

Universally in the developed world, homelessness is something that communities want to end rather than manage. Co-ordinated social services can come together to create and enhance community-based responses that tackle the threat of homelessness rather than attempting to deal with it on the other end -- after the fact, after people are demoralized by the experience.

An important part of any community response to homelessness is affordable housing. But once community members have been placed in affordable housing, they critically need job training and support to ensure that their transitions are self-sustainable. Thus it is that policy must address homeless from two perspectives: That of prevention, and that of recidivism. For many potentially homeless and homeless people, employment is the key way to address both of those problems.

National governments are increasingly taking an aggressive position with regard to writing, implementing, and evaluating policy related to…

Homelessness in the United States has been a growing social concern. It has also become clear that measures to deal with the problem have not been significantly effective. Specifically vulnerable to this problem are women, often the sole care takers of young children. The problem then imprints itself not only on the unemployed, but also upon those who depend upon these individuals for their livelihood. Homelessness then becomes a vicious cycle, inherited by children from parents.

ecause women are in a particularly difficult position when homeless, they should be the recipients of efforts focused specifically upon their needs. Employability for example is hampered by elements such as young children, lack of day care and lack of job skills (Zastrow 147). Only by addressing such issues with the aim to prevent homelessness, can the issue be addressed with a greater degree of success than has so far been the case.

The…

The government in Canada did make attempts, in the fashion of 'too little, too late' to "contain the rapid growth of homelessness with homeless shelters and other short-term crisis-based services." (Laird, 2007; p.,6) This is a failed strategy according to Laird (2007); Huff (2006); Hargrave (2005); Pollack (2008). The Government of Canada has reported in its' March 17, 2008 report that it is assisting families and individuals who "are trying to break out of the cycles of poverty and homelessness and build a better future for themselves." (Human Resources and Social Development Canada, 2008) it has been reported in the work of Pollack (2008) entitled: "Who Are Canada's Homeless?" that only two decades ago:

the problem of homelessness seemed minor and was thought to be about single men with alcohol problems living on the streets. Today, in almost every urban centre across Canada, the situation is changing, and conservative estimates…

In general, any business organization can help the homeless by contributing money or volunteers to local shelters and to promote the availability of jobs for those whose circumstances are mainly attributable to their inability to find steady work and income.

Private Individuals

Unfortunately comparatively few private individuals take the initiative to do anything to help the homeless, mainly because they underestimate how far even a little help goes. The simplest way to help is to contribute money to established public and private programs already in existence because the more money they have the better assistance they can provide and to the largest number of people. Private individuals can also contribute by promoting the importance of helping the homeless at their places of business and by donating their time to help coordinate services for the homeless. On a more personal level, private individuals can also be tremendously helpful by donating their…

Homelessness

Why are there so many people who are homeless in the state of Chicago? What causes this and what can be done to correct this issue? Is the Federal Government doing anything at all about the homeless people in Chicago, and if so, what are they? What are the policies that have been made by the government in order to tackle this major issue of homelessness where a person is left to live his life on the streets? The circumstances under which a person or a family finds them homeless are many. One of the main causes is that of poverty, which may lead to a lack of monetary resources for appropriate housing, and/or mental illnesses, which may lead a person to remain on the streets without appropriate housing facilities. Another reason for homelessness is that of substance abuse wherein the individual is a user with unaffordable habits and…

This is exacerbated by the "...growing gap between wage earnings and the cost of housing in the United States which leaves millions of families and individuals unable to make ends meet." (Homelessness in the United States) Low Incomes and minimum wage workers also add to the problem. A further cause of the high levels of homelessness is the cuts in programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

Policy change such as the shift in medical policy from institutional to community-based care and treatment for mental patients has been cited as major cause of homelessness. The shift towards community-based care began in the 1960' and has been criticized in some quarters. Critics of the policy change state that this has resulted in a number of patients becoming homeless due to a lack of proper care and supervision once outside of the institutional framework. This is also related to another factor…

Homelessness in the United States

The homeless population in the United States is far from invisible. It is impossible to walk down a street in any city without encountering someone sleeping in a doorway, pushing a shopping cart filled with personal belongings, or approaching a passerby for money. The homeless are no longer the skid-row white males roaming the countryside by hitching rides on freight trains and working for handout meals. Today, the faces of the homeless are a myriad of ages, genders, and races.

Homelessness is inextricably linked to poverty. The poor are not able to afford housing, health care, education, food and often child care (National pg). Because housing constitutes such a large portion of income, many are forced to drop that expense in order to simply supply the necessities of existence, such a food, clothing, and health care. Unfortunately, homelessness is simply a paycheck or illness away…

With this information, it could arm the public into taking more action into preventing homelessness in order to ultimately improve their own economic health. Although the humanitarian component is quite strong, it is, as Gurley says, fatigued when it comes to homelessness. Hopefully, by appealing to a facet of people's lives that has an impact on them and by educating them on how homelessness impacts their lives through economic means, they would take more measures to prevent homelessness and attempt to address the issue.

In addition to the campus actions that the National Coalition for the Homeless has provided, it seems that educating society as a whole on homelessness might be a way to appeal to them to prevent the cycle of homelessness all together. The more information that the public is aware of the more the compassionate fatigue may transform into people doing something to prevent homelessness all together.…

Being poor means being an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets" (the National Coalition for the Homeless, 2002).

Statistics of federal agencies revealed however, that throughout the past few months, the number of middle-class professionals and families seeking refuge in the state shelters has drastically increased. In the Los Angeles County for instance, former lawyers, pre-med students, real-estate agents, business owners and other highly educated professionals lost their jobs and homes and are now homeless. The Burbank Temporary Aid Center has for example registered a 66% increase in demand for shelter over the past twelve months. Half of this increase is due to middle-class professionals who are now experiencing homelessness for the first time in their lives. Throughout the entire country, with 250,000 millionaires, at least 73,000 people are homeless on any given night; out of them, 40% are women and children. In the…

..Guadua angustifolia has a long cultural tradition in the coastal lowlands of West Ecuador. Despite its excellent mechanical properties and versatility, it has mostly been used as a raw material for low-cost housing, while further product development has been very limited until now. In the last years, a Guadua revival seems to have occurred and improved building techniques together with other commercial applications are slowly getting momentum." (Cleuren and Henkemans, 2003) However, it is noted that this sector in the country of Ecuador is "...still in the initial stage of development and the first investments in artisanal workshops and in industrial applications are now being developed. However, the production chain is hardly organized, the actors lack strategic planning and the activities in the different stages of the chain are not synchronized. The challenge is to link the processing industry to a rural supply system benefiting the impoverished part of the…

Perhaps an almost rational response to such social mechanisms of oppression. Choosing to sell books on the street in a way that is protected by law and the police allows one to live within a subculture -- while Jencks sees addiction as a cause of the alienation and despair of the men chronicled in Sidewalk, and does not see the subculture produced by homeless men as a truly functional one.

In defense of his thesis, Duneier chronicles what he calls the patterns of cooperation as well as of competition among sellers, suggesting that the men form a community and can even serve mentoring roles for the larger community, outside of the immediate world of the street. He challenges the later policing campaigns that drove many of these once-protected individuals from their spaces, stating that the sellers of books offer rich and poor customers, the "expectation of continued discussion," and "a…

al, 1997). Therefore, results similar to these underline the way in which the homeless are perceived by the society at large and the lack of responsiveness towards the more profound needs of the individual.

This attitude is responsible for the creation of a radical approach of the issue of homelessness. This included an ordinance which punishes homeless people. Thus, "due to urgency of the matter, (...) it (was) argued that this virus must be eliminated from the fabric of society and carriers of this virus must be prosecuted. Homeless were banned from sleeping under bridges, park benches or sidewalks" (How to eradicate homelessness, n.d.). Therefore, homeless people are being arrested for being found in certain areas of tourist interest, "for public urination, indecency and intoxication" (National Coalition for the Homeless, n.d.). However, research has pointed out the fact that there is discrimination between the treatment of homeless people and that…

Homelessness in Orange County California

Homelessness in Orange County - II

The natural history of disease refers to the progress of the disease process in an individual over time and in the absence of intervention (Figure 1.1). Knowledge of the natural history of a disease helps us to understand the effects and mechanism of actions, potential interventions, and the different levels of the prevention of disease.

Natural history of disease Source: based on CDC (2002). The disease process begins with exposure to, or completion of, a sufficient cause of the disease. Without an appropriate intervention, the process ends with recovery, disability or death. For example, exposure to the measles virus in a susceptible individual initiates the stage of subclinical disease. The onset of fever on about the 10th day (range 7-18 days) after exposure marks the beginning of clinical disease. The disease, however, is usually diagnosed around the 14th day…

Homelessness

On any given night in the United States, 407,966 individuals are on the streets or in homeless shelters; 109,812 of these individuals are chronically homeless (Paquette, 2010). The homeless population is ethnically diverse but is majority non-Hispanic white and African-American (Paquette, 2010). Most of America's homeless people are under fifty years old. Over the course of any given year, the majority of temporarily and chronically homeless people are female but most chronically homeless individuals in the United States are male.

Homelessness is strongly correlated with co-occurring problems such as substance abuse and mental illness. More than a quarter of all homeless people in shelters on any given night have been diagnosed with a mental illness; and about 35% of all sheltered adults -- not including adolescents -- had co-occurring substance abuse problems (Paquette, 2010). Among chronically homeless individuals, over 80% have lifetime substance abuse or alcohol problems (Paquette, 2010).…

Homelessness in Orange County California

HIV / AIDS, Homelessness, and ace in Orange County, California

Descriptive Epidemiology Approach

Orange County, California, located south of Los Angeles, is not widely known as a place of cultural diversity. Southern Californians often think of life south of 'the Orange Curtain' as consisting of theme parks (e.g. Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm), high-tech economic growth, master planned communities, suburban affluence, and conservative politics (Anonymous, 2004). But life in Orange County has not been static. One reflection of its dynamic character has been the rapid diversification in its population over the past decade. For the County as a whole, the 2010 U.S. Census indicated that its thirty-one cities and unincorporated areas had a population of 2.4 million, having increased approximately 25 per cent over the past decade (ahimian et al., 2003). While the County's population remained dominated by non-Hispanic Whites (about 65 per cent of…

Homelessness in America - Essay Outline
Homelesssness in America
I. Introduction
a. Definition of Homelessness
i. Homelessness is the lack of a stable, safe and permanent housing due to lack of income, poor housing policies, and neighborhood gentrification (Dreyer, 2018).
ii. A comprehensive, broad-based definition that can be used consistently for homelessness initiatives does not exist (Yousey & Samudra, 2018).
b. Overview of Homelessness
i. Homelessness is an egregious problem that has existed in the United States since 1980s and attributable to various factors and causes (Dreyer, 2018).
ii. Multifaceted and multisectoral approaches are the most suitable interventions to address the growing problem of homelessness.
II. Statistics on Homelessness
a. Lifetime and 1-year Prevalence of Homelessness
i. Lifetime prevalence of homelessness in the United States population is approximately 4.2% (Tsai, 2018).
ii. 1-year prevalence of homelessness in the U.S. population is estimated at 1.5% (Tsai, 2018).
b. Youth Homelessness
i.…

Homelessness in America
Homelessness is one of the major issues in the United States given its significant social and economic impacts. As a result, homelessness has been the subject of epidemiological studies, public debates, and policy initiatives. These efforts have sought to examine different aspects relating to the problem of homelessness including its prevalence, causes or contributing factors, and potential solutions to address it. Over the past few decades, various policies and programs have been developed to help address the problem of homelessness. However, these policies and programs have failed to address the issue of homelessness in a conclusive manner. Despite the adoption of these policies and programs, the prevalence rate of homelessness is still high. Homelessness in America is a big problem and it is time to review homelessness, allocate more resources and funding to address the problem.
Background Information on Homelessness
Homelessness is defined as the lack of…

Initiative for Homelessness Reduction and Access to Health
Population chosen and reason for the choice. What data and/or public policy support your choice?
According to federal law, homeless individuals are those lacking an adequate, stable, and regular nighttime dwelling. Their primary nighttime abodes include: (a) Institutions offering temporary residence to those meant to be institutionalized; (b) Supervised private or public organization-run shelters offering temporary accommodation; or (c) Private or public places not typically utilized or meant for regular human sleeping accommodation. Individuals who run away from home due to domestic violence and those discharged from establishments and lacking a set residence to stay at within a week’s time are also considered homeless. Excluded individuals include those apprehended for felonies or housed in correctional facilities. Several federal bodies besides the Housing & Urban Development Department (HUD) interpret the law taking into account particular initiatives, reflected by initiative regulations (Elwell-Sutton et.al 2016).…

Homelessness is an issue that has persisted in the United States because of the ever-changing demographic factors and economic circumstances. The composition and size of the homeless population in the country continues to change due to these varying factors. Over the past decade, homelessness has attracted public attention given the dramatic increase in the number and composition of victims. While numerous efforts have been undertaken to address the issue, homelessness remains a major problem for policymakers and the public. An important element in dealing with the problem of homelessness is understanding victimization and its contributing factors. Through understanding victimization, policymakers and other stakeholders will develop suitable policies and approaches to address homelessness. This paper explores street crime victimization of homeless women and children.
Importance of the Issue
According to Stanley et al. (2016), homelessness is an ongoing problem facing the United States as the size of the homeless population continues…

With the increase in families, and thus children and teens on the street, there has been a subsequent increase in youth drug use, pregnancy and crime, especially violent and sexual crimes. This disturbing trend has created a new challenge to how to deal with the homeless epidemic as new resources are needed. Further, many of the traditional charitable organizations are unequipped to deal with this new need, meaning that few services are now available to the homeless.

In conclusion, if anything is clear, it is that the homeless problem is becoming worse instead of better. Instead of homeless individuals, there are now homeless families. With this, the cycle of homelessness continues, giving society few, if any, options on stopping the vicious and continuing downward spiral of poverty, homelessness, and the multitude of problems associated with it.

ibliography

Aday, Lu Ann. (1994): "Health Status of Vulnerable Populations." Annual Review of PUblic…

Homelessness: A still-Important issue

Homelessness is not just a housing problem. As noted by PLoS Medicine "there is a substantial prevalence of mental disorders among homeless people in Western countries. Among prior studies meeting criteria for consideration, the prevalence of alcohol dependency ranged from 8.1% -- 58.5%, and drug dependence ranged from 4.5% -- 54.2%. For psychotic illnesses, the prevalence ranged from 2.8% -- 42.3%, with similar findings for major depression." Homelessness is an issue which is dealt with on federal, state, and local levels. Federal policies such as healthcare reform can impact the ability of people to receive treatment for substance abuse, for example. State and local ordinances can impact access to affordable housing, how drug crimes are prosecuted, and whether it is legal to panhandle or even to offer assistance to the homeless.

The plight of the homeless was thrown into sharp relief recently when the city of…

Homeless

The mentally ill: Mentally ill individuals often have trouble putting across their condition and fail to let others know that they actually have a mental problem. As a consequence, human services professionals need to collaborate with police officers with the purpose of making it possible for them to differentiate between individuals who are normal and individuals who are mentally ill. Similarly, professionals have the task of providing as many drugs as possible to people on the streets in order to prevent them from experiencing an unfortunate episode and actually hurt themselves or someone else.

xcitement addicts: These people fail to understand the full complexity of being homeless and think about this condition as if it were an adventure. Human services professionals thus need to intervene and instruct these people in regard to the risks that they are facing. Also, this group is vulnerable to abuse because its members are…

Homelessness Among Veterans

Among the social problems that have continuously bothered successive governments over the years. The problem is further compounded bearing that the veterans offered their best duty to the country when the need was most dire. As the years pass, as the US engages in one more war, veterans keep increasing and prospect for having more veterans will keep going up. The increase is astronomical for the homeless veterans. Currently at least 15% of the homeless population is consisted of the veterans. By 2008 there were approximately 135,000 homeless veterans tough this number is said to have reduced by 47% by 2016 (U.S. Department of Homeless Veterans, 2017).

Veterans are said to the prone to being homeless than other Americans by 50% due to poverty, poor support network and squalid living environments within overcrowded housing units. It is estimated that 1.5 million veterans are considered as at risk…

"The Research Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2011" Census.gov (2012): 32, internet, 26 Jun. 2013. Available: http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p60-244.pdf.]

With so many residents facing homelessness, it seems imperative to understand the cost of not implementing the hygiene centers through the local public health departments. When researchers examined the hospitalization rates of homeless persons in Honolulu, Hawaii, they found that hospitalizations in acute-care hospitals occurred at a rate 5.6-fold above the average for state residents.[footnoteRef:6] for psychiatric hospitals, it was 131-fold higher. The estimated cost of the excess hospitalization for the 1,751 homeless persons studied was close to $3.5 million in 1992 dollars. In 2010 dollars,[footnoteRef:7] this would amount to about $4.9 million. Based on a homeless population of 136,000 to 750,000 for the State of California, the excess medical costs associated with homelessness could be somewhere between $381 million and $2.1 billion dollars per year. [6: Jon V. Martell et al., "Hospitalization in an…

A list of resources for further study is also provided." (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2002)

The report would include a setting, validity of the problem and a timeline that would describe the historical concerns faced by the homeless. For example, cities like Toronto, Canada have been systematically monitoring the aboriginal homeless situation for years. "The City of Toronto released the first eport Card on Homelessness in February 2000, based on a recommendation by the Mayor's Task Force. The purpose of the report card is to monitor the issue of homelessness over time to determine if the problem is getting better or worse and to help the city and its partners develop effective and responsive strategies." (Members & Staff Working Group, 2001)

Literature eview

The proposed approach for the topic would be to focus on gathering any and all pertinent information regarding the problem of aboriginal homelessness. Therefore, the full…

Otherwise, they would not have been taken into the military (they were volunteers), supporting the theory that the military had an impact upon their being homeless (ibid., 377).

Among all of these populations, IQ dropped and mental illnesses such as schizophrenia increased as the study predicted. There is not enough information though to determine whether or not the populations of the homeless were predisposed (just that there was higher population of them) toward an IQ drop or mental illness or whether other events were responsible and the authors called for more research. However, one should expect that if one discharges a homeless person (veteran or not) that has a cognitive problem, then we should not be surprised when they join the homeless population.

(ibid., 377-378).

The candor and reservation about the results would indicate to this author the accuracy of the study's results. In terms of veterans' affairs, this then…

Social Issue: Burgeoning Homelessness

A prevalent and ever-growing social issue in my community is the problem of homelessness. According to the federal government’s annual report on homelessness, the number of homeless people in America has recently increased for the first time in eight years. The West Coast, with its warmer climates, tends to have greater homeless populations than elsewhere in America. Even though the economy in the nation is booming more acutely, the cost of housing continues to rise, and more and more people simply can’t afford a place to live (McEvers, 2017). In southern California, there isn’t a city where this is more vividly represented than in Los Angeles, on skid row. While skid row isn’t my community, southern California is, and skid row reflects the core of this social issue. The homeless tend to congregate there, and in greater downtown Los Angeles, and for good reason: this is…

homelessness and mental illness are inextricably intertwined. One way that mental illness impacts people's lives is that it oftentimes renders them unable to carry out the functions of daily life, such as keeping a job, paying their bills, and managing a household. In addition to disrupting the events of daily life, mental illness "may also prevent people from forming and maintaining stable relationships or cause people to misinterpret others' guidance and react irrationally" (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009). What this means is that a population that is already vulnerable because of an inability to consistently manage self-care lacks the same safety net as much of the rest of society.

People with mental illnesses are at greater risk of homelessness. This is particularly true for people with serious mental illnesses, particularly those that might impact their reality testing, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression (National Coalition for the…

homelessness in America, especially looking at children and families who are homeless. Homelessness has always been an issue in America, but today, there are even more homeless people in the country because of the economic crisis. People have lost their jobs and their homes, and have nowhere to go but the streets. Homelessness used to be viewed as an often solitary issue, but today, many families with children are homeless, and that leads to a dim view of the future for these families.

First, it is important to define homelessness. Two authors write, "It is usually accepted that those who sleep in public places or squat in derelict buildings are homeless" (Chamberlain, and Johnson 35). However, there are many other ways to define homelessness. Families living temporarily in shelters are homeless, and so are people who are hospitalized or institutionalized that have nowhere to go on their release. So are…

Data also indicates that almost one-fifth of the homeless population is female, many of whom are on the streets due to domestic abuse and/or substance abuse, and most of whom find themselves in the same abusive relationships as sent them to the streets in the first place. Moreover, for the street homeless, shelters are often seen as a last resort, as many surveyed found them too violent and dangerous, too restrictive and constraining, with many feeling more at ease sleeping in the park.

Permanent housing for homeless families and individuals actually costs less than shelter and other emergency care. The cost of sheltering a homeless family in the New York City Shelter system is $36,000 per year and for a homeless individual is $23,000 per year, compared to a supportive housing apartment with services which costs as little as $12,000 per year, and the cost of rental assistance with support…

homelessness an issue that involves the general public of the United States instead of the (relatively) few victims who suffer from this condition. Nearly all of these factors have to do with the notion of the sociological imagination, a concept that was innovated by Charles right Mills and which essentially enables people to look beyond their a particular person's fault to understand how the larger society may have contributed to that person's circumstances (Carl, p.6). From the angle of sociological imagination, then, homelessness is a public issue and not a private one for all of the homeless people because there are several systematic factors that are responsible for people being too poor and for housing being not affordable or not in great enough demand to account for the number of people who need it.

One of the major structural issues that is responsible for these factors and for homelessness is…

Simon Communities in Ireland has been a fundamental supporting organization for homeless people ever since Anton allich-Clifford set its foundations in the 1960s. As a probation officer in London, Anton was in charge with some of the situations around people who, sleeping rough, were caught for minor infringements of the law. It was his decision for a different approach that ultimately led to Simon Communities developing into a multi-based organization that is nowadays able to provide accommodation and settlement to many people in Ireland who have lost their home due to various different reasons. Anton set up the first hospitality home for people he had seen sleeping in doorways and derelict buildings after he previously visited the places to bring people food and to know their stories. A visit to Ireland served for a group of volunteers to organize the first soup -- run in Dublin in 1969 and the…

165).

Conclusion:

The number of homeless students in America is staggering, and sadly growing. These children are faced with unique challenges that their peers with homes are not typically plagued with. Homeless students academic efforts are often decimated due to fatigue and poor nutrition. Anxiety and depression affects their ability to concentrate. And, they often have gaps in their knowledge due to the inability to complete their homework as a result of not having the necessary supplies on hand (Noll & Watkins, 2004). Emotional, behavioral, academic, social, and familial problems occur more frequently in this category of students. For this reason, educators and school counselors should be positioned to provide the services and support these children will probably not receive elsewhere.

As Swick (2004) notes,

Educators can positively affect the lives of children and families who are homeless or in other high-risk situations. By understanding the dynamics of what homeless…

Another issue is prison release, because newly released inmates often have nowhere to live, they cannot get a job because they are convicted felons, and so they end up homeless. A frightening statistic is that there are so many young people that are homeless. Another group of researchers note, "A reliable determination of the prevalence of homelessness among adolescents is difficult to obtain, but the most recent and vigorous attempt estimates that there are more than one million youth nationwide who are homeless during any given 12-month period" (Johnson, ew & Kouzekanani, 2006). Often, these young people are on the streets because of dysfunctional families. Many are runaways, who have left home because of anger and violence in the families, or sexual abuse. The researchers continue, "High rates of sexual abuse have been found among homeless and runaway adolescents" (Johnson, ew & Kouzekanani, 2006). Yet another reason for homelessness is…

VA & Homeless Vets

There is not a shortage of public issues that tend to pull at the heartstrings of many people. Whether it be poverty, abuse or neglect of children or people being homeless or otherwise desperate, it would seem that there is no shortage of people in dire need of assistance. A prominent subset of the homeless population just mentioned are the homeless people that are veterans of the United States Armed Forces. As one might expect, the Veterans Affairs (VA) Administration has a program that is specifically meant to address the issue of many veterans being homeless. While it may not be popular to say, the solution to this social problem is not as easy as one might expect as there is only so much money, resources and options that exist.

Analysis

The challenges that faces the VA or anyone else will tend to have when it…

The recurrence of homelessness for individuals may be frequently attributed to drug addiction.

1.

Disagree

2.

Somewhat Disagree

3.

Neutral

4.

Agree

8.

The recurrence of homelessness for individuals may be frequently attributed to mental illness.

1.

Disagree

2.

Somewhat Disagree

3.

Neutral

4.

Agree

9.

There is a clear reciprocal relationship between homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness.

1.

Disagree

2.

Somewhat Disagree

3.

Neutral

4.

Agree

10.

Mental illness plays a significant role in preventing homeless individuals from f inding suitable long-term housing. .

1.

Disagree

2.

Somewhat Disagree

3.

Neutral

4.

Agree

Implementation:

Singleton identifies the systematic procedure as a form of data gathering in which a survey or interview will be utilized in order to gather information for further analysis. His text points to the large-scale probability study as a form in which substantial populations can be measured according to representative sample sets. The "scientific sampling…

The stories are as varied as the people, but certainly one cannot lump every homeless person into a bundle and say they "want to be" in this condition (Conference of Mayors, 2009).

My assignement for Thanksgiving Day was filling coffee and Kool-Aid. This was perfect because it forced me to interact and get to know some of the clients in a different way. This was a real paradigm shift, and something that took me out of my comfort zone and provided a new personal achievement for me. I found the clients, for the most part to be engaging, interesting, and polite. They were so genuinely grateful that I was taken aback by the sheer emotionality of the situation.

Because of this Holiday experience, I continued on with the shelter a minimum of two days per week. I quickly found that one of the issues that seemed to be holding many…

HOMELESS POPULATION ESEACH Homeless Population esearch: Homeless Personnel in VirginiaThere are a number of challenges that one could encounter in the course of sampling homeless personnel in Virginia. The two challenges that will be addressed on this front relate to; i) selection of a representative sample and ii) obtaining an ideal sample size.Selection of a epresentative Sample SizeFrom the onset, it would be prudent to note that as Creswell (2014) points out, an ideal sample ought to be representative of the whole study population. It therefore follows that in the absence of a representative sample, data validity and reliability could be impacted negatively. In seeking to reign in this particular challenge, I would make use of the most ideal sampling method for the research study in question. Given that the present study seeks to focus on homeless personnel in Virginia, the most ideal sampling method would be simple random sampling…

Forrest-Bank, ., & Jenson, J. (2015). Differences in experiences of racial & ethnic micro-Aggression among Asian, Latino/Hispanic, Black & White young adults.

Journal of ociology & ocial Welfare, 42(1), 141-161.

The author of this annotated bibliography has decided to focus on homelessness and discrimination. As such, the four annotated sources that will follow in these pages will focus on those two topics, if not both at the same time. The Forrest-Bank and Jenson source was just authored a few months ago. The initial point of the article is that "racial and ethnic discrimination is a significant risk factor for health and mental health problems among non-White children, adolescents and adults." The report defines micro-aggression based on the main who coined the term, apparently. The term means minor acts of discrimination that are inflicted and/or endured frequently. The authors did an ANOVA-based study focusing on the experiences of people of all…

Homelessness

Hearing the story about the 90-year-old being arrested in Fort Lauderdale for feeding the homeless had me thinking that South Florida, with its warm weather, probably has a significant homeless issue. So I decided to look at the homelessness situation in Miami. As it turns out, Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami have an interesting situation with respect to homelessness. In some ways, they seem to have similar views to Fort Lauderdale with respect to criminalizing the homeless, but they are also working to eliminate homelessness in their community. For me, this makes for an interesting social and public policy case study.

Causes of Homelessness

There is a reasonably good supply of affordable housing in Miami, but as the video about Toronto shows, the availability of housing is not usually the cause of homelessness. Many homeless in the Toronto video originally had homes that they owned, but either…

Homeless Mental Health

Mental health is an issue that is deemed to be very under-treated and very under-diagnosed within the United States. Beyond that, there are populations that are much more at risk than others. A good example would be the prison population where drug use and mental health issues are both rampant. However, there is another group that is highly stricken and very vexing and difficult to treat and that would be the homeless. Indeed, many people that are homeless are in that position due to mental health issues. Mental health is often not the only issue involved as comorbidity can exist with substance abuse. However, mental health will be the focus of this report. Facets of the homeless with mental health that will be focused upon within this report will include issues like diversity, ethics, values, social justice, diagnosing of patients, initiation/termination of care, aftercare, and the broader…

Homelessness and the Effect it Has on Social Health

Few people acknowledged that there was anything like homelessness in the rural areas in Canada. Indeed, it is possible that it was never even thought of Assessment of the needs of homeless people in rural areas in Canada is almost nonexistent. There is clearly biased focus on the urban areas. Issues affecting non-urban and rural homeless communities are overlooked. Therefore, there has been little research directed to such locations. eports of the existence of homelessness emerged in the last decade after reliable reports cast light on the phenomenon and its uniqueness (Christensen, 2011). Homeless people in rural areas face such challenges as lack of social services, harsh climate and sparsely populated places. There are reports to the effect that people are living in dilapidated conditions and overpopulated spaces (Christensen, 2012; Schiff, Schiff, Turner & Bernard, 2015).

It is reported that there…

Housing and Homelessness in Canada

In Canada, there is a problem with homelessness. While that is certainly not unique to the country, it is a significant issue which has to be addressed in order to facilitate changes that can lower the number of homeless people in the country. The majority of these people live in the larger cities and do have some access to resources, but the problems with homelessness have still kept growing in complexity and size over recent years. The demographics of the people who are most often seen as homeless are changing, as well, putting younger and more vulnerable people on the streets. There are estimates that 0.5% of the population does not have a home at all, and some believe that those estimates only represent about 1/2 of the actual population of homeless people throughout Canada (Fortin, 2008). Part of the problem with not being certain…

Cause of Homelessness in America

has numerous social problems. Homelessness seems to be one of the most important ones. There are several causes that determine homelessness. However, the primary cause of homelessness can be considered the reduced affordable housing level and the national increase in poverty. Other causes of homelessness refer to high unemployment rates, low salary levels in certain urban and rural areas, the inability of certain individuals to pay health care bills, the inability qualify for public assistance, domestic violence, mental illness, addiction disorders, and others. It is important to understand that there are specific factors that influence homelessness in the U.S., but these factors are allowed to develop because of the state's authorities. In other words, these authorities seem to not be able to manage the social situation of individuals in a homeless situation. If their situation is analyzed, it can be established that homeless people's actions…

causes of homelessness among women. hile there are many factors, structural and individual, which contribute to homelessness, poverty more than any other, single risk factor is responsible for women being homeless.

Homelessness has become a social problem of huge proportions. According to Caton, there are estimates that some 1% of Americans, or some two to three million people per year, seek shelter with a homeless assistance provider. Study data show that the majority of people who use homeless shelters do so on a temporary or short-term basis. Unlike the chronically homeless, not much is known about people who use homeless shelters for only a short time because of the scarcity of longitudinal long-term studies. Caton et al. argue that while cross-sectional studies on the occurrence of homelessness have provided identifying data that distinguish homeless people from the housed, it is unknown whether the same factors are also responsible for the…

Homelessnesstampa

Homelessness is a pervasive problem worldwide, and a clear reflection of imbalances in social and political power. In Tampa the situation is no different. About 10,000 individuals are currently homeless in the Tampa Bay area, according to the University of Tampa's The Minaret newspaper. hat is remarkable about the problem of homelessness in Tampa and elsewhere is the lack of knowledge and understanding about the phenomenon. The media misrepresents and underrepresents the population of homeless people. Homelessness is highly stigmatized, causing the large populations of homeless people to be traumatized even more than they already are by the nature of their situation. This essay intends to educate the public about the issue of homelessness in Tampa, showing how the problem is systemic and requires a genuine shift in consciousness on the part of Hillsborough County residents.

The prevailing misconception about homelessness is that it is somehow a choice. hile…

Family homelessness has emerged as a serious global problem and over the last twenty-five years the make-up of the homeless population has changed significantly in the United States (Swick Pp). The majority of the homeless were men in the early 1980's, however, today, families make up thirty percent of the homeless population, and some scholars suggest that families may constitute up to forty to fifty percent of the homeless (Swick Pp).

The United States federal government defines homeless individuals as those lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, or those who have a primary nighttime residence that is:

*a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations

(including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill);

*an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or *a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as,…

Rising Poverty and Homelessness

NOT TO E IGNORED

Rising Poverty in the Nation's Young Families, Children and Homelessness

Census ureau (2010) reported that, for the three consecutive years, the number of people living in poverty has been increasing and reached 46.2 million or 15% of the total population. Overall poverty rate for all U.S. families went up from 9.8% in 2007 to 11.7% in 2010. Recession in the late 2007 has strongly cut through all ages, both genders and all race-ethnic groups. ut the most severely affected are young families, headed by adults under 30, with one or more children. This condition is seen to assert long-lasting negative effects of children's cognitive achievement, education, nutrition and physical and mental health as well as social behavior. These developments are likely to have long-term consequences on the nation's economy and social future U.S. Census ureau). ut professionals and parents can buffer these…

Homeless Individuals With Mental Illness and Permanent Supportive Housing

Homeless people with severe mental illness have a difficult time transitioning into a more stable living condition. Finding permanent supportive housing for mentally ill homeless persons can be essential to helping to improve their condition and quality of life, and yet such housing can be rare due to lack of funds and/or governmental support/oversight.

Question to be Addressed

What interventions help homeless individuals with severe mental illness transition into a more stable living condition; specifically, does supportive housing translate into better quality of life for homeless individuals with mental illness -- and if so, how?

Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)

PSH can be defined as a combination of housing and services oriented towards helping persons with serious mental health issues who require support for stable living. PSH acts as a housing community that combines shelter with health care.

The effect of PSH…

families are living in poverty. Many of these families are living in such extreme conditions that they cannot afford even such basic needs as food for every meal. Living and growing up in such conditions affects every area of life and ultimately the country as a whole. The escalation of poverty among families create tremendous challenges for children. It can negatively impact a growing child's mental and physical health, for example. Such conditions also affect education. A child suffering from chronic mental or physical conditions related to poverty cannot receive optimal educational opportunities. Ultimately, such a child will not be able to contribute to the economy of the country or arrange his or her own well-being in the world. This, in turn, creates further burdens for the country's welfare system. For this reason, it is important to study the contributing factors to poverty in the country in order to find…

Asian History

The homeless children Dower describes in Embracing Defeat experience a type of structural inequality both similar to and different from the types of inequality addressed in Consuming Kids. In both case, the children are systematically disenfranchised before they have an input into the course of their lives. The structural inequalities faced by the disenfranchised victims of World War Two in Japan included dire straits, homelessness, and poverty. These are certainly realities in the United States, too. In the United States, Japanese children had been portrayed with rank racism, in a systematic propaganda campaign. The same types of propaganda campaigns are used by marketing professionals, in their quest to lure young minds and change children's behaviors.

Structural inequity can be traced to manipulation. Manipulation is a key theme in both Embracing Defeat and Consuming Kids. In Japan and in the United States, political power is wielded from a variety…

Human Services Intervention for the Homeless

Working with homeless people is one of the challenging tasks in the social sector. Similar to other social worker position, supporting homeless people can be very difficult and challenging because most of the homeless people are a drug addict, jobless, and suffer from mental disorders. Homelessness is a condition without having access to a regular dwelling. Thus, homeless are people who are unable to acquire safe, regular, and secure housing units. Thus, anybody cannot just work with this set of the population, social workers or other professionals ready to work with this set of people should possess interpersonal skills to work successfully with them.

The objective of this paper is to address the interpersonal skills to work homeless.

Interpersonal skills to work with Homeless

A strong communication skill is one of the interpersonal skills needed to work with homeless people. A social or health…

Mayor Schell's Zero Homeless Family Pledge

Program Solving in Public Administration

Charles Amankwaa, Kimberlie Mosley, Luby Harvey

Tom Darling

Evaluation Questions

Mission, Strategic Goals, and Objectives

Proposed Budget, Budget Narrative, and Work Plan

The number of homeless families in the City of Seattle has become a major issue that needs to be addressed. Currently, single males in the streets account for 63% of homeless people while 17% are women and the other 20% are families and youth. In Seattle alone, there are more 700 homeless single women and homeless families with children.

In June of 1998, Mayor Paul Schell made a pledge that there would be no homeless families with children or homeless single women on the streets of Seattle by Christmas of 1998." (Norton, 2006). The pledge by Mayor Schell can be accomplished within six months as he indicated though there are several potential challenges that need to be…