Homelessness And Addiction

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The Best Solutions to Helping the Homeless
“Over 50% of Americans are just a single paycheck away from being homeless” (“The Problem of Homelessness and Addiction in America”). This is the sad truth and yet many of us have a picture of what homelessness looks like; which is typically lazy people who are addicted to narcotics. Yes, they make up a chunk of the people on the streets, but some of these people are single mothers, people with mental illnesses and those who hit a bump in the road and could no longer make it on those weekly paychecks. Many individuals find themselves homeless for a number of reasons, which can have many negative effects in the cities which it takes place in; fortunately, there are solutions that can resurrect the broken lives of many homeless. …show more content…

Mental illness is a serious problem that causes the number of homeless people to grow. According to the article, “The Problem of Homelessness and Addiction in America” published by The Cottages of the Palm Beaches, shares the statistic that one in four homeless people are suffering from a mental illness. However, there are also individuals who find themselves on the street because of getting into the rut of narcotic addictions. The Cottages of the Palm Beaches once again shares the information that there are roughly 38% of homeless that are alcoholics and about 26% are addicted to drugs. Another problem found among the causes of homelessness is people who are ex-convicts; one in every ten homeless people are supposedly ex-cons (qtd. in Whitman). There are also the cases of single mothers who are trying to escape hostile lives of being able to barely provide for their children, and many are dealing with abusive boyfriends. These are real people who all found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place and just need a viable

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