"Home?" What is it? A home is having shelter, feeling secure, safe and connected. There are 105,237 homeless people in Australia (Homelessness Australia, 2012). Homelessness arises from many situations such as domestic violence, unemployment, mental illness, family breakdown and drug and alcohol abuse. These can all contribute to the level of homelessness in Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2011). Being homeless can mean that you are socially excluded from your community. For the homeless this can mean a greater risk of them having poor physical health, an increased personal safety risk and their psychological well-being is also a lot worse off. The homeless have lost the basic human rights of having a stable living life, health
Homelessness can be a detrimental experience as a result of being exposed to constant stress and unpredictable weather. It may lead to families and individuals having to find a temporary refuge in an unsafe environment, or obtain food from resources that can be harmful. Individuals and families caught in these predicaments frequently are ineptitude in areas of housing stability, managing money skills, coping skills, and support systems which would be significant in helping them modify hardships. As a result, a vast proportion of homeless families, individuals, and children have been exposed to a variety of traumatic occurrences such as childhood abuse, domestic violence, combat-related trauma, sexual assault, and the like.
Homelessness has many negative effects on children. As a result, children experience emotional, social, developmental and behavioral issues(EOCCPT). The trauma these children experience leads to stress, which affects brain development in individuals. This can cause sleeplessness, as well as, irritability in the children. Furthermore, many homeless children experience both internal and external behaviors such as depression, anxiety, aggression, and delinquent behaviors(EOCCPT). In addition, the social skills with this population of kids are lacking. As a consequence, many of the children do not know how to properly interact with others. It is not a secret that homelessness in America is a growing problem. Each year the number of families displaced
Being homeless is a high-risk life style that puts people at a higher risk for many other health issues. A health concern
Many different factors greatly affect the high number of homeless people today. One of the biggest causes of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. Affordable housing is essential for low-income families who cannot afford to pay high rent and support their families at the same time. In 2015 today affordable housing is not readily available for the families who need it most. The second cause of homelessness which is greatly connected to the lack of affordable housing is the rise of rent. In 2015, everyone is aware that there is an increase in
Many researchers contribute homelessness to structural factors but advocates of human rights debunk this and highlights that the main reason for homelessness is due to mostly individual
The issue of homelessness in America has been evident since the early 1600’s. Across the country men, women and children spend their nights on the streets not knowing when or if they will ever find a permanent home. States and federal officials or city councils have tried to alleviate or at least reduce the number of homeless over the last several decades at a city, state or national level but it continues to be an ongoing problem. There is a multitude of factors that account for the growing homeless population that affects each state in the country differently. Though there are many contributing factors that contribute to the amount of people living on the street at any given night in the U.S. An effective way to address the problem of homelessness in America is to continue creating affordable housing, maintaining assistance programs, and continue creating workforce
For instance, a study published in 2009 discusses the importance of understanding the different aspects of this population in order to effectively help end youth homelessness. The study notes that are two typical forms of youth homelessness: children living in homeless families and unaccompanied youth. The first group, children living in homeless families, is essentially children who “live in families without a home” (Aratani, 2009, p. 4). Unaccompanied youth, then include those who are runaways, throwaways, and independent youth who have no contact with their family. Additionally, there is a multitude of factors that have been known to contribute to homelessness. These factors include, but are not limited to, lack of affordable housing, economic insecurity, behavioral health, etc. Research has found that the main contributing factors for children living in homeless families are the lack of affordable housing, poverty, and domestic violence (Aratani, 2009). Similarly, mental illness, substance abuse, and lack of affordable housing are the top contributing factors of homelessness among unaccompanied youth (Aratani, 2009). In addition to analyzing the factors that can cause homelessness, the article explores the impact that homelessness can have on youth. For example, homelessness can often lead to food insecurity since food supplies can be scarce, which can then have a negative impact on the child/youth’s overall health. Also, it can lead to juvenile delinquency, troubles with school, and “a greater risk of experiencing mental health problems” (Aratani, 2009, p. 7). When determining what programs and other resources are best fit to help end youth homelessness, it is important to understand the causes and impact of homelessness among youths in the United
Homeless youth are always dealing with poor nutrition, victimization, substance use, and abuse. Unfortunately the services provided are very limited and cannot help a huge chunk of the homeless youth. Homeless youth experience more substance abuse and drug addiction than non-homeless youth, this causes them to be mentally unstable and unable to be a functioning member of society. There are many temporary services provided such as shelters, drop-ins, meal programs, literacy improvements, and counselling programs; although these are available and there to help the youth, they are all flawed in their own ways.
We must value the importance of homelessness being a temporary state and acknowledge the redefinition of homelessness. As a society, we also must self-reflect and value our own standpoint in correlation to the research being done. Standpoint is not just determining or concluding the results to be one thing or another; but it is more complex and one must recognize that particular perspectives’ you won’t be able to fully understand unless you were in the same predicament or circumstances as the homeless. With all the research in the world, we do not understand how it feels to be in that situation, but based on empirical evidence, we can imagine how it
In “Our Tired, Our Poor, Our kids”(2001), Anna Quindlen claims that “There are many homeless mothers and children”(332).Quindlen addresses this issue by needing to find homes for many children the past month (“thousands”) ,as well for those families that wait by their belongings until found a room to sleep.The population of homelessness people isn’t decreasing it’s increasing rapidly.She reveals these problems in order to inform people the outrages numbers of homeless families ,and also “explains some of the effects of homelessness on children,emphasizes the importance of affordable housing,and touches on the effects of welfare reform on homelessness”(329).
Homelessness is affecting many people today, and on the other hand it's considered as a trauma too. It can make people commit suicide thinking that they are alone in this world, people that don't have a family, nobody to turn to in this world, and that very dangerous and most of in children. This are the things that people face when they are homeless: puberty, transportation issues, limited social support, limited education, and emotional factors. There are many resources for people that are homeless.
The issue of homelessness in America is controversial because Americans have different views on the causes, conditions, and solutions to homelessness. Advocates for the homeless cite economic problems, a limited supply of affordable housing, and domestic violence as the main causes of homelessness, while opponents vehemently contend that homelessness in America is due solely to a lack of personal industry. Nevertheless opponents and advocates for the homeless are in agreement on the conditions of homelessness, but the solutions to homelessness are vigorously debated by both groups. Opponents cite personal responsibility (a steady job) as the main solution to homelessness, while advocates for the homeless cite a steady, well-paying job, and
Abuse and neglect are one of the top three leading causes of youth homelessness. “Studies show 70 percent of homeless youth have suffered some form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse” and “45.7 percent of street
Homelessness is a widespread problem in the Austin area. On any given day, there are more than 2,000 homeless men, women and children in Travis County. (ECHO) Homelessness a is complex, indiscriminate. Vulnerability to homelessness stems from unevenly distributed factors across many demographics. (Koegel, Melamid, Burnam, 1995) For example, family homelessness has been increasing in the United states in Recent years. Now, more schools and communities are challenged to serve students whose lives are touched by the uncertainty and instability that homelessness brings. (Miller, 2015) People are forced to live destitute without daily necessities like healthy or sanitary food, housing or substantial clothing. There are many efforts city wide to