Homelessness, despite what people perceive, isn’t just about not having a roof over their heads. “It erodes a person’s dignity, hope and health,” says Yolanda Saiz (The Many Faces of Homelessness). It is the homeless that among the most marginalized in today’s society, they are vulnerable and disadvantaged with little to no voice being heard.
Image: Pinterest/homelessness
Each person has their own journey into homelessness, and they are not always the people you think they may be. Despite what people commonly perceive close to half of the Australian homeless population, is female – many with young children – and nearly half of the population of homeless are under the age of 25.
Every night across the streets of Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics more than 100,000 people are without a home, 14,000 of them sleep rough on the streets. Many of these people end up living in inadequate single rooms, caravans, cars, refuges, sleeping on friends' couches or desperately searching for areas where there is enough shelter from the weather. There are a vast number of our Australians who live in these dangerous and miserable conditions.
The term ‘Homeless’ is widely recognized and described as someone who ‘sleeps rough’ on the streets with little to no shelter to call ‘home’. But it’s so much more than that, many who sleep in inadequate rooms, family couches, tents and squats are people who are struggling to keep absolute homelessness at bay.
“I became homeless at the end of 2009. At that time, I was a victim of domestic violence and I was a stranger in a country halfway around the world from my home,” Says Constance, (The Many Faces of Homelessness)
Constance is but only one example of the many people who were fo...
... middle of paper ...
...taying dry to feeling safe. The things we all take for granted, a bed, a roof over our heads, family to come home to and food in our stomachs. We all take it for granted. It really shows how selfish we all are compared to those who have so little, yet value so much.
Image: Pinterest/homelessness
The only way we are going to be able to help dispel the polarized views of society in terms of the homeless is to make it more known and helping the amazing people who give up their own time to help support these people in dire needs. The world of the homeless seems so far away from ours, but in some ways it’s very near. Don’t be afraid to help them out by donating old clothes, bags of groceries and other items that would help them.
When you look at a person, any person, remember that everyone has a story. Everyone has gone through something that has changed them.
The idea of homelessness is not an effortlessly characterized term. While the normal individual comprehends the essential thought of vagrancy, analysts in the sociological field have connected conflicting definitions to the idea of homelessness, justifiably so as the thought includes a measurement more exhaustive than a peculiar meaning of a single person without living arrangement. Homelessness embodies a continuum running from the nonappearance of a changeless safe house to poor living courses of action and lodging conditions. As per Wolch et al. (1988), homelessness is not an unexpected experience rather it is the zenith of a long procedure of investment hardship, disconnection, and social disengagement that has influenced a singular or family. Furthermore, states of vagrancy may come in fluctuating structures, for example, road habitation, makeshift home in safe houses, or help from administration associations, for example, soup kitchens and the Salvation Army. Homeless is characterized as those regularly poor and, once in a while, rationally sick individuals who are unable to uphold a spot to live and, subsequently, regularly may rest in boulevards, parks, and so forth (Kenyon 1991).
According to the 2011 census, 105,237 people in Australia are homeless, with approximately 25% of them being young people aged 12 – 25 (Homelessness Australia 2012). However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011) states that these figures are severely underestimated, as many homeless young people are not recorded as so in the census. In particular, young people who “couch surf” may not be recorded as homeless, but ‘temporarily staying in another household’, although by definition, these young people may be homeless as the...
Tunstall, L. (2009). Homelessness: an overview. EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. Retrieved February 5, 2011, from http://web.ebscohost.com/pov/detail?hid=119&sid=d5f751fa-0d0d-4ed1-8deb-483e701af50c%40sessionmgr111&vid=3&bdata=Jmxhbmc9ZW4tY2Emc2l0ZT1wb3YtY2Fu#db=p3h&AN=28674966
Defining where the homeless stand in our society scale is one of hardest aspects in conducting a study of the population and understanding the definitions used in research is one of the most challenging tasks for people who want to use its results. Most would agree that people in Shelters or literally living on the street are homeless, but there is less agreement regarding people in the following circumstances: Youth on their own, with no permanent residence or even an usual place to sleep; children who have been separated from their homeless parents and are in foster care or are living with relatives; People living in stable but physically inadequate housing (having no plumbing, no heating, or major structural damage, for example) Which of these people should be consider homeless? There is no right answer; there can only be agreement on a convention. Homelessness is a term that covers a big territory. It seems that homelessness is at best an odd-job word, pressed into service to impose order on a hodgepodge of social dislocation, extreme poverty, seasonal or itinerant work, and unconventional ways of life.
This great nation of awesome power and abundant resources is losing the battle against homelessness. The casualties can be seen on the street corners of every city in American holding an ?I will work for food? sign. Homeless shelters and rescue missions are at full capacity. There is no room at the inn for the nation?s indigent. Anyone who has studied this issue understands that homelessness is a complex problem. Communities continue to struggle with this socio-economic problem while attempting to understand its causes and implement solutions. The public and private sectors of this country are making a difference in the lives of the homeless by addressing the issues of housing, poverty and education.
Homelessness can happen to anyone unexpectedly. Many poor people are at the risk of homelessness. The cost of living and trying to find affordable housing can be very difficult. Many who are homeless are in poverty, have a mental illness, or addictions. Homelessness happens from personal, as well as structural factors. Many aren’t able to make enough for rent, as well as, utilities, food, and other expenses each month. More than 6 million Americans pay more than half of their income towards rent (Reamer, 1989). The trend is once someone becomes homeless, it is likely they will be homeless repeatedly. To end homelessness, affordable housing will have to be created because it is peoples largest single expenditure (Anderson, 2013).
Homeless people come from many different backgrounds. Gender is the first demographic to consider. According to many different studies, most of single homeless adults are men who “make up slightly more than 51 percent of the total homeless population, while single women comprised about 17 percent” (McNamara 1027). However, in homeless families, single female parents make up approximately 90% (Markos and Lima). Second demographic to consider is age. Everyone including children can become homeless because of different cases. From the National Coalition for the Homeless, “children under the age of 18 accounted for 39% of the homeless population, 25% of homeless were ages 25 to 34; the same study found percentages of homeless persons aged 55 to 64 at 6%” (qtd. National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2004). By a study in 2002 from t...
At any given time, approximately 600,000 homeless survive at the front door of America. They are sleeping in parks, living in cardboard boxes, sitting on street corners, and resting under bridges. Terrible hunger gnaws at their stomachs as they search for food. Society labels the homeless as useless and worthless, but they are not. They are children, grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers, and fathers that need a place to sleep, eat, and live. What does society do to help? Nothing. Society hurries home from work, shopping, and leisure, worrying about who will win the next football game. Society is not worried about where their next meal will come from, where they will sleep, or where they will be tomorrow. Although it is difficult for society not to feel discomfort at seeing homeless people, it is the homeless who pay for the way people feel about them. Alienation of the homeless in America is a direct result of injustice, health issues, and societal attitudes; however, solutions are available to society as they are obligated to all of their citizenry, including the homeless.
Here in Tahoe, we are lucky enough to experience a great quality of life, and only a few have to face the horrible life of poverty and homelessness. However, nationwide, even right outside the basin, homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. There are many ways one can become homeless; for the most part poverty. There are also different concentrations of homeless in different types of terrain, such as urban or suburban areas. Last, there is the ever- growing homeless population, and how much money it costs us for others to live in poverty. These are the questions we ask ourselves about homelessness, and the only way we can help is to know the facts about this lingering subject.
Homelessness is a vast predicament in America and around the world. It is severely overlooked as people don’t really think of homelessness as real world problem. However, there have been ways that people have tried to fix the problem. They have come up with homeless shelters, emergency shelters, food banks and soup kitchens. These solutions have limitations though, which will hopefully come to an end.
There are many other cases of why the homeless are homeless like domestic violence, mental illness, addictions, and unaffordable health care. Homelessness is a problem which has been caused by many different aspects but mainly money because of massive unemployment rates. A hidden aspect to homelessness that we may not think of is ...
“Homeless is more than being without a home. It is tied into education needs, food, security; health issues both mental and physical, employment issues, etc. Don’t forget the whole picture.” (“Boxed In” 2005 pg. 108)
Homelessness is increasing more every year. In fact, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, over 640,000 people experience homelessness every night. (Hunger and Homelessness in North America) By definition, the homeless are groups of people that do not have a home. They can be people who are mentally ill, unemployed, veterans, or even children born into unfortunate families. Since they have nowhere to go, the homeless usually live inside abandoned buildings, in the streets, or in makeshift homes, such as a cardboard box or homemade tent. Although some work to find a decent home, many still suffer from depression or are psychically disabled and cannot work. (Overview of Homelessness in America) These people do not choose to be homeless, instead they become homeless due to a series of unfortunate events; namely losing their source of income or becoming homeless by birth. One instance of this occurred in the life of Hazel Washington. Hazel was fleeing an abusive relationship when she moved in with her relative and his girlfriend, but she was not told about their impending eviction. Because of this, her roommates took everything she owned an...
...ome, or they lost their employment, or they fell ill, perhaps a combination of all three that led to a life of homelessness. In the state the world is in today, it is necessary that people should not be quick to judge, but quick to lend a helping hand. The government and volunteer agencies do a lot to help but not all are so fortunate. In one way or another everyone is struggling financially, and if it is not resolved soon, more people than ever might be heading down the path of homelessness. In the meantime it is indispensable to support charities in donations or volunteer some time for the shelters dedicated to those without a home. People should place themselves in the position of a homeless, and see how appreciative one would be for shelter, warm covers and a hot meal in a time of need. For in the long run, the words of the many must echo the words of the few.
The same research indicates that a segment of the total homeless population, precisely eighty percent, will have the opportunity to enter and exit a shelter quicker and never return for a protracted period or somehow never return. The temporal or transitional homelessness is catapulted by series of life-long experiences such as job loss, natural disaster, abuse or divorce, or medical conditions. This kind of people can only over...