The general characterization of homeless or street child is a child who lives on the street, in particular one that is not taken care of by a parent or other adults and who sleeps on the street because he or she does not have a home (Arabi, 2011). Homeless among children is one of the major problems in Dhaka city, capital of Bangladesh, like others cities of the world. Dhaka experiencing an increase in the number and proportion of homeless children living on the streets and in public places due to the increasing pressures of internal migration and rapid urbanization. They are visible by day and invisible by night. During the day they scramble for living with the rest of us. They beg, they hustle, they peddle, they scrounge and they grunge. Then the sundown sets them apart. We return home and they return to nature (Ahsan, 2011). These floating kids have no fixed dwelling in cities of Bangladesh, who are likely to be amongst the most deprived in terms of basic facilities and health indicators (ICDDRB., 2012). It is impossible to calculate exactly how many homeless children there are in total but latest figures show in Bangladesh now 670,000 homeless children …show more content…
Homeless among children is one of the major problems in many countries. The general definition of homeless or street child is a child who lives on the street, in particular one that is not taken care of by a parent or other adults and who sleeps on the street because he or she does not have a home. In Sudan, child homelessness is becoming an increasing phenomenon due to many factors that include civil war, drought and poverty. There are two types of street children in Khartoum. Working street children are those who spend most of their days working on the street but usually sleep at home while full-time children are those who generally spend both day and night on the
There are three main factors that lead to homelessness which are structural factors, system failures and individual and relational factors. The structural factors is when a person is affected by economic and societal issues that affect their opportunities and social environment for example, the lack of adequate income and/or the experience of discrimination may lead to homeless. Furthermore, the system failures occur when the support from individual’s family and care fails resulting people become homeless helplessly. The third factor is individual and relational factors in which family violence and extreme poverty plays a role. The family with violence, abuse, addiction, mental health problems of other family members and extreme poverty can lead to being homeless.
Although it is clear that so many U.S. citizens are suffering, the government has little to no efforts in decreasing the homeless population. The lack of initiative for the betterment of the homeless prevents them from becoming richer because their resources are extremely limited. Furthermore, it is more difficult for a homeless child to receive and education than it is for a child raised in a wealthy family. Homeless people are not provided with many opportunities, even though they need them more. “Connections with universities, employers and government will make sure you have access to many more opportunities.
“1 out of every 100 persons in Europe- or approximately 3 million people [are] homeless,” (Blair 21) states Cornelia Blair, the author of Homeless in America. Not only is this number extremely high, it only accounts to one country; Imagine the number across all 136 countries scattered across the Earth. And the homeless population is constantly on the rise, creating a fear for many who live dangerously close to losing everything. Homelessness is a predicament that affects all people, old and young, and can last from as little as a few days to as long as the rest of their lives. It is a serious problem caused by low income, domestic violence and abuse, and lack of Veteran care, but can be amended by child sponsorships, help from the government,
As homelessness becomes a normalcy in the United States, there is less attention focused on the issue of child and family homelessness. As more families fall into financial hardships, affordable housing has become less attainable. Between 1981 and 1986, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development was forced to reduce their budget from $33 billion to less than $10 billion. This represented an extreme decrease in the building and maintenance of housing, imposing more difficulties on hopeful individuals in need of affordable housing.
Homelessness is very real in the United states with 3.5 million Americans left without a place to call home each year. There is a strong stigma against homeless individuals who are seen as chronic and episodic, but in reality, those seen living on the streets in downtown areas of cities are families with children. The vast majority have been thrust into homelessness through a life altering situation that was unexpected and unplanned for. One of the harsh realities is that homeless individuals and families tend to come from communities of concentrated poverty. Many factors lead to pushing people onto the streets and occasionally, these same factors can be the reason they stay homeless.
For instance, the children move a lot, therefore, causing separation from friends and extended family members. The constant changing of schools is another element which impacts the children's behavior. With homelessness comes a form of instability, which increases the risk of developing behavioral issues in children. In addition, trauma such as neglect and abuse are common in the life of homeless kids(EOCCPT). Eventually, the effect of the trauma can cause behaviors.
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.
Around 1830, the number of homeless children in New York City suddenly grew. By 1850, there were an estimated 30,000 homeless children living on the streets of New York City. At the time, New York City’s population was only 500,000. This increase in homeless children was due to many things. Some children living on the streets were orphans due to their parents dying from diseases, others had parents that just couldn’t take care of them for a multitude of reasons.
They can also feel as if they need to be given money instead of working for it. Homelessness is the result of a choice, sadly that isn’t totally true. According to the website NCCP Child Poverty, the United States of America contains about 15 million
The reasons for these children 's homelessness may be interlinked with social, economic, political, environmental causes or a combination of any of these. Homelessness represents deprivations from basic human needs. However, while other types of deprivations, such as hunger, mainly occur as a result of poverty and economic insecurity, factors that contribute to homelessness are multi-faceted; the factors also vary by the type of homelessness experienced by children and youth. These factors include lack of affordable housing, economic insecurity, violence at home, behavioral health, lack of social support, and involvement in the child welfare system (Aratani, 2009). In a 1993 report, WHO (World Health Organization) offered the following list
Rural area contain the largest part of homeless families, children and single mother. Homelessness is a matter that has many different view and different opinions. It is a big matter that gets little attention and back in order to spread its truth and its needs to public eye.
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.
People have some economic problems in their life. Another main causes are disagreement with family, separation from relatives and irregular pattern of urban growth to big cities. People migrate to big cities, capital because of these places have better condition that other areas. There is no information about currently helping of Ethiopian government to homeless people, as previous services were ineffective and its failed, but some individuals try to help homeless people. Addisalem Agegnehu is volunteer, who supported an idea Keep The Homeless Warm: Sleeping Bag Project initiated by Dr.Solomon.
Some people wonder why homeless people have no jobs, cars, or homes. Here are a few reasons why homeless people are homeless. As we see in every Country, City, and State there are homeless people everywhere.
For one week every summer, the senior high youth at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Roseville drop everything to venture somewhere in the United States on a service learning trip. Since I happen to attend that church, and I just so happen to be a senior high youth, I have joined these trips for three years running. Usually, we help out in soup kitchens, do some yard work, or visit homeless shelters. However, our trip during the summer of my junior year was destined to be different from the very beginning.