Social Work and Social Divisions

Poverty can also be defined as: Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack resources to obtain the type of diet, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary or at least widely encouraged in the societies in which they belong. (Townsend, 1979) Child Poverty is very complex and it is caused by many factors working together. Therefore, the causes can vary according to their factors. Low paid jobs, high living cost, family structures, and housing all play a role in child poverty. Worklessness is probably one of the most major contributors to poverty, with 42 per cent of all families below the UK poverty line not having any member working.

Thesis Statement This paper will examine a subgroup of the homeless population, homeless families. It will explore the multiple causes of family homelessness and the consequences homelessness has on family life. The three main reasons for the abundance of dispossessed families within America are the following: 1) the lack of affordable housing, 2) low wages in the job-market, and 3) insufficient federal aid. In today’s society, these causes are the main contributors towards the heartbreaking condition of family homelessness, which often leads to family breakups, health issues, and educational obstacles. This paper will also give possible solutions to family homelessness and improvement plans for the future.

INTRODUCTION “Because of racial segregation, a significant share of [minority] America is condemned to experience a social environment where poverty and joblessness are the norm, where a majority of children are born out of wedlock, where most families are on welfare, where educational failure prevails, and where social and physical deterioration abound. Through prolonged exposure to such an environment, [minority] chances for social and economic success are drastically reduced,” (Quillian, 2012). Poverty in America has always been a widely discussed and politicized topic. Through the War on Poverty, welfare, Medicade, food stamps, and free and reduced housing costs poverty has changed very little. I hypothesize that my data will show that since 1990, minorities have consistently been poverty stricken compared to that of their white counterparts.

Social workers during those time work as advocates just as we do today. Homeless in the 19th century were considered runaways, as a result of this trend the Runaway Act of 1974 was implemented by congress. Just three years later the runaway act of 1974 was revised to accommodate the consideration of the growing social problem that impacted homeless youth, which was renamed the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act of 1977. By the 20th century the number of homeless youth has grown out of proportion, to the point in which there are countless statistic that provides data on the population, however with various reports, one is left to make their own decision as to what report is most accurate and up to date. Discuss current trends, there are numerous tendencies which were reported and taken into account as to the justification of why there is a disproportioned amount of youth that have become displaced, to include the causes and attribute.

In this essay one will critically evaluate and discuss the above statement using chambers (1983) five dimensions of poverty. “Poverty is a condition where a society barely survives on a level of subsistence, coupled with limited access to the necessities of physiological factors such as clothing, food and appropriate accommodation, in view of maintaining a basic standard of living” (Balogun,1999). “Poverty is devastating to many. It causes instability and political unrest and fuels conflict” (Koffi annan, 2005, Former US Secretary

Homelessness can affect people of any age or gender, but the majority of homeless people are elderly men, single women with young children, and teens who have run away from home. You can categorize homelessness as a social class. Race also plays an important role, since people of color are among the extremely poor. There are people with many different problems that force then to become homeless. They do however all have one thing in common they have nowhere to live.

Tertiary homelessness is described as individuals residing in housing, which is considered below public standards (Limbrick 2006, p. 17). Over 36, 000 youth (between the ages of fourteen and twenty five) are homeless (Lawder 2001, p. 5). It is important to take into account there could be a larger number of homeless youth, as some individuals are not accounted for (Lawder 2001, p. 5). Qualitative research is subjective data and is often used in the social sciences (Sarantakos 2013, p. 48). Qualitative research is devoted to gathering facts; this can be completed through personal experiences, behaviours, and observations (Sarantakos 2013, p. 46).

This is particularly true in the Baltimore area. It is estimated that there are 2,638 men, women, and children who are homeless in Baltimore on any given night. According to the Homeless Services Program, Four factors are primarily responsible for homelessness: lack of affordable housing, lack of affordable health care, low incomes, and the lack of comprehensive services. Chronic illnesses, including substance abuse disorders and persistent mental illness, and other physical disabilities create additional challenges in resolving homelessness. (“Homeless Services”, n.d.) Fortunately, there are agencies such as MND working hard to combat these issues through education and training programs.

He illustrates the replacement of jobs, illness from a McNugget and insurance failure, etc. which, according to him all systematically plays into the hands of the rich. Social and Environmental issues are problems that Moore focuses a great deal upon, he first uses social issues to show the lack of common standing among the commonwealth, the cost of living had grown by 48% while minimum wage had gone to an all time low since 1967 at 3.35$. To make matters worse inflation had risen by 20%, many weren 't able to afford reasonable housing and forced to live in shelters or homeless. During the run of the administration over 1.5 million people were forced out of their homes and into the streets.

According to Curley, for many years poverty has been a developing problem worldwide. Many individuals have questioned as to why poverty even exists and how long has poverty actually been around. In today’s society urban neighborhoods are mostly classified as poverty stricken areas. This is because it mostly populated with African American and Hispanics. Many believe that jobless individuals, females being head of household, segregation and crime are all contributing facts to poverty.