Homelessness In California Essay

Homelessness is one the most ignored problems in the United States with citizen and politician. Homeless people are walked by and ignored. Nobody ever thinks that they will be homeless. Due to the economy, people live paycheck to paycheck making house payments very difficult. Most people will want to believe most homeless people are drug addicts or alcoholics, but most people will be surprise to know that it is no all true. Veterans with PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) have a high risk of becoming homeless. Homelessness is cause by drug and alcohol dependencies, the economy and veterans who suffers from PTSD or other forms of mental illness.

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

In the United States homelessness has been a substantial problem for decades. The reason for homelessness is greatly debated especially

"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

The policies of criminalizing homelessness and poverty has been occurring, and invented in San Francisco, in 1876 with the introduction of the “ugly laws.” These laws particularly targeted those with disabilities, and restricted people’s ability to appear in public spaces (Punishing the Poorest 2015, 6). These laws have not disappeared, they have just been rebranded, and then redeveloped into even more specific laws directed at the homeless. In fact, the more recent introduction of “quality of life laws” are truly just a re--- of the ugly laws and the continued crusade against homeless people, rather than homelessness. These “quality of life” laws, are really anti-homeless laws; these laws place a housed citizens right to the city and life above those dispossessed citizens.

There are more than 500,000 homeless people in America (Johnson). There are many reasons and causes for people to end up living this way, but the biggest cause is tragic life events, for like loss of loved ones, job loss, domestic violence, divorce, and family disputes. Other reasons for homelessness are depression, untreated mental illness, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), and physical disabilities ("Top Causes of Homelessness in America."). Many people see homelessness as a bad thing and an issue, but it does serve a purpose in society. Homelessness can be seen in many different ways.

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.

While circumstances can vary, an individual’s first choice is rarely to choose homelessness due to the inability to afford housing or other unforeseen circumstances. The support of friends, family, and community programs/shelters are first suggestions when a person becomes displaced. When these suggestions become inadequate, living on the streets is the next favorable/affordable option. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, on a night in January of 2015, there were 564,708 people homeless in the United States (para 3).

However, especially in an expensive state like Hawaii, it is quite easy to become homeless in a short amount of time. There are similarities in the causes in all states when it comes to becoming homeless. Although there are many reasons for homelessness, the main causes include mental illness and loss of job (Axelrod-Contrada 78). Cocke states, “Hawaii has the highest rate of homelessness per capita of all states, with an estimated 7,620 people living on the streets and in shelters”. There are other and more unique reasons in Hawaii that cause a much higher growth rate of homeless people compared to the steady number in most states.

Unfortunately, homelessness is still a major issue in many American cities. The issues that lead to this circumstance could include anything from substance abuse, disabilities or mental illness. The Glass Castle explores several causes and effects of homelessness. More specifically, Jeanette discusses how poverty can prevent someone from affording basic necessities.

Los Angeles has become the first city to have over whelming homeless people that caused an emergency for help. The homeless people in LA grew starting from their freeway flooding to the chic sidewalks of Venice Bench. The Municipal official declared the emergency on Tuesday. The National Experts on homelessness say Los Angeles has a severe and persistent problem with people living on the streets rather than in shelter homes with an estimate of 26,000 people. In Urban Areas they have rise the cost of living to try and keep people out of there public spaces. The price growing on homes in Washington, San Francisco, and New York has increased focusing more homeless people to suffer. Since, 2013 the homeless population has grew 12% while Mr. Garcetti

The article “The State of Homelessness in America” provides

Being homeless is increasing everyday Did you know in the last year more and more people are becoming homeless every day? There are 18,000 homeless people in Memphis on any given day (according to Pat Morgan). Homeless is when a person without a home, and therefore typically living on the streets. Some are disabled and unable to work.

In my experience, my homeless clients have engaged in high risk health behaviors and neglected their health. These high risk behaviors include substance abuse, criminal activity, incarceration, and unsafe sex practices. As a result these individuals experience high disease burdens and mortality rates. Boston Health Care for the Homeless estimated that the total annual expenditures from ER visits was $16,011,738 annually (Thakarar, Morgan, Gaeta, Hohl, & Drainoni, 2015). “Multiple factors have been identified as predictors of frequent ER use in homeless persons such as older age, previous hospital admissions and emergency room visits, multiple primary care visits, perceived inadequate mental health care, poor health status, and HIV” (Thakarar, et al., 2015). Previous studies have shown that homeless individuals are frequent emergency room (ER) users and this leads to high health care costs (Thakarar, et al., 2015). Several clinical trials have shown that interventions such as intensive case management programs, assertive community treatment teams, or supportive housing can reduce frequent ER visits and hospital costs. (Thakarar, et al., 2015). The cost of providing case management needs to be weighed against the value of

making Mental illness the third major cause of homelessness. C. Most people believe it 's their own fault or it is over drug and alcohol abuse or just being lazy period, but according to rock center by Jessica Hopper believe it or not 20% of people that have jobs who are not on any alcohol substance or drug abuse are also homeless, which leads us to the requirement wages in order to afford a place to stay in. Not just in TN but in every state more than minimum wage is needed, Families need to earn a housing wage of 15$ an hour in order to afford a two-bed room apartment. Transition: it is very clear to us that homelessness is a major problem in our society, and that we need to take action, let 's look at some ways we can help to aid these types of situations. II.