The Social Issues of Homelessness free essay sample

Sociology 2, Social Issues Problems Section 80528 November 24, 2008 The Social Issue of Homelessness Homelessness has always been a major social issue for cities across the nation but in recent years it is reached astonishing proportions. In this essay I will try to summarize ten recently published articles and each of the authors view of homelessness. First I will discuss some of their opinions of the causes of the recent increase of homelessness and who or what is to blame. Next we will look into Just a few of the effects of homelessness, both to the homeless and those around them. After that we will explore possible solutions that have been tried or proposed. Many of the causes for this alarming increase in homelessness have been identified, but there many we have not yet identified. What we do know is there is no one single cause. It is a multitude of individual contributing factors that turned them from mole hills to mountains. We will write a custom essay sample on The Social Issues of Homelessness or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The most popular opinion among Americans is that the housing crisis caused many to become homeless. As adjustable rate mortgages reset over and over again to higher and higher amounts, people were unable to pay their mortgages nd their houses foreclosed on. Those people then found that their credit had been damaged and faced challenges when trying to rent affordable housing. The foreclosures also effected many of those who rented. Many people who rent houses found themselves without a place to live when their landlord had the home foreclosed on. Those people had little prior notice to find and a new home to rent and found themselves unable to pay the typical first, last and deposit on a new rental. This is again was because they had little to no notice and because those andlords were not able to return their deposits. This in turn added to the total of those who fell victim to the housing crisis. Connie Paige of The Boston Globe says in her article titled Homelessness hits record high, the number of homeless people in the state of Massachusetts is at a record high and likely to rise because of the mortgage crisis and continuing surge in foreclosures. The sudden rise in the cost of living is also a known factor largely contributing to the increase of the homeless population. It is best described by Connie Paige of The Boston Globe where in her rticle titled Homelessness hits record high she says, The double whammy of the high cost of fuel and food can put families at risk for homelessness that otherwise might not be. Those who live from paycheck to paycheck Just didnt have the extra money in their budget to accommodate a price increase on almost every daily staple they have. Nan Roman of the National Alliance to End Homelessness said higher food and fuel prices hitting families with no cushion. When these families cant afford the daily basics, they take from another part of the budget. Those who had no ushion soon find themselves out of money for their bills and many ultimately end up homeless. Job loss is another large contributor to the increase in homelessness. I think that James Temple of SF Gate in his article titled Striving to serve growing homeless population, describes this best when he said The chronically homeless didnt get the hours theyd hoped for, who unexpectedly lost homes or Jobs. Massive job losses are changing homeless culture. According to the Ken Homa, Goodwill Director of Housing Services in Traverse County, MN, There has also been a ignificant increase in people coming to us who have lost their Job, and many with more than one issue confronting them their Job, health issues, transportation and affordable housing. In an article by Wendy Koch of USA Today, titled Homeless numbers alarming Philip Mangano, executive director of the U. S. Interagency Council Homelessness can be quoted as saying Everywhere I go, I hear there is an increase in the need for housing aid, especially for families. The main causes are Job losses and foreclosures. Meanwhile the gap between the wealthy and poor widens and the iddle-income become the new low-income. The once low-income are now homeless and/or living in poverty. Emma Vandore and Greg Keller of SF Gate state in their article titled Gap between rich, poor grows in wealthy nations say that this rising inequality threatens social mobility children doing better than their parents. According to Glide/Wells Fargo Womens center, applicants for its workforce development programs have climbed 20 percent. Homeless shelters across the nation are reporting record breaking numbers of people coming to them for shelter. Many shelters are being forced to do a lottery system and turn people away. States are even putting many families up in hotels, motels and inns. In many cases this can be cheaper for a state than paying for a homeless shelter. Wait lists have also been developed because of the massive need for shelter. James Temple of SF Gate says that in San Francisco, CA, the waiting list for families seeking shelter has doubled since this time last year and that on a recent spot check at drop-in centers found that 2 out of 3 people were being turned away. Many fear that many families will be left ut in the freezing cold of the winter. Portland, Oregon alone reported double the homeless number from this time last year. Street safety and quality of life have also been of great concern. Many see the homeless as a legal issue for the police to handle. There are also those who see homelessness as self induced. With the addition of the newly desperate homeless population, most are not drug dealing, panhandling, urinating in public homeless people. They are families with Jobs that just cant make it. Some cities have taken a strong legal stand against being homeless etween certain hours. In an article titled plan would end homeless tent cities, published in the LA Times, the author Richard Winton describes a city plan to regulate and penalize the homelessness. It would allow police to arrest people, camping, sleeping or lying on sidewalks between 6 a. m. and 9 p. m. and that it would also establish a downtown area bounded by Central Ave. and Los Angles, 3rd and 7th streets where homeless people would be allowed to sleep on sidewalks at night without challenge by the police. So if you ever find yourself homeless and out on the treet, be sure to visit your local law enforcement agency on the rules of being homeless. With no end to the increasing homelessness in site, it leaves many scrambling to come up with short and long-term solutions. Wendy Koch of USA Today writes that many majors have 10-year plans to end homelessness and had reported progress until this year. But the rapidly growing need cannot wait 10 years. There needs to be short term solutions and prevention. More affordable housing instead of poor people, and the federal government is not providing enough rent assistance hrough vouchers, states Connie Paige in her article. More Job counseling and government-funded services are also needed. Programs that give people skills they can use to get and keep a Job. Increasing needs and falling donations and government funding, of services and programs, will eventually run out of money to help those in need. James Temple of SF Gate says we have seen a number of people say they dont have the money this time, folks dont understand whats going on in the economy. This makes people hesitant to give in times when money his short. People are encouraged to give anyway.