What Complex Issues Face the Homeless

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What Complex Issues Face the Homeless

Homelessness is typically defined as a person who lacks a fixed regular and adequate nighttime residence. Homelessness reaches all ages. According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty report in 2004, children under the age of 18 accounted for 39% of the homeless population in 2003 and an astounding 42% of these children were under the age of five. The same study concluded that 25% of the homeless were ages 25 to 34 with 6% ranging in age from 55 to 64.
Many issues affect the homeless besides the obvious lack of housing. There are many different theories about why people become homeless and whether some of their issues cause homelessness or are the result of it. Some generally accepted causes for homelessness are; the breakdown of the family, lack of sufficient income and lack of affordable housing. Other issues the homeless struggle with may or may not have precipitated their homelessness like substance or alcohol abuse or mental illness. In addition, many homeless suffer from physical disease. Regardless of the reason, the children not only suffer many of the same problems their parents do, but they struggle with the added burden of missing out on school or changing schools many times throughout a given year.
The reasons behind the homelessness are many. Some people become homeless because they simply mismanage their money. They cannot pay for housing right then because they have fallen short on their housing bills. The amount of time they are homeless varies from several days to perhaps a month. They are able to correct their situation on their own, without assistance. Most people who become homeless fit into this category.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition stat...

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...It is easy to think for a moment we can run out and help someone who is homeless. However, there are so many layers upon layers of issues the homeless struggle with there are no easy answers and helping them is not a simple one size fits all process.

Works Cited

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20110806-22255.html

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/526/homeless-facts.html

http://www.hhs.gov/homeless

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/addiction.pdf

http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0050225

http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/Mental_Illness.html

http://www.housethehomeless.org/the-mentally-ill-homeless-cause-and-effect/

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/08/28/2310961/mentally-homeless-district/

http://www.nhchc.org/faq/official-definition-homelessness/

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