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effects of homelessness on individuals
causes and consequences of homelessness
issues with the homelessness
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Recommended: effects of homelessness on individuals
The thought of becoming homelessness for any individual can be stressful, scary, over whelming and even traumatic. Now imagine what that must feel like for a child, someone who may not have developed the cognitive skills to understand that harsh and drastic changes they are experiencing with their families. According to the text “Protecting the Mental Health of Homeless Children and Youth” by HCH Clinician Network (2000), the author’s state,
“Loss of stability and safety; fractured families; hunger; overcrowded living conditions; disrupted education; secondary to multiple moves; increased exposure to disease, violence substance abuse, and metal illness- these are the conditions elicit and exacerbate emotional problems in homeless children”
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According to her text “Homelessness and its Effects on Children”, Ellen Hart-Shegos, states “Environmental factors contribute to homeless children’s poor health […] homeless children are at greater risk for asthma and lead poising” (1999, p. 4). This argument is relatively significant because it speaks on the living conditions endured by these children. From my understanding of class discussions and from the multiple readings covered in class, the main reason at risk homeless children experience poor health is a result of their caretaker’s being deprived of access to health care. As presented by the National Coalition for the Homeless in their fact sheet “Health Care and Homelessness” (2006), “Nine million children in the United States do not have health insurance. In 2000, 32.2% of these children lived in families below the federal poverty line” (p. 1). Though it is unfortunate, the cycle it’s self makes sense, to clarify my point, what I mean is that it that if one doesn’t have access health care, one will not seek the medical services needed, developing worst health. Another reason physical health is affected with regards to children living in poverty who are at risk of becoming homeless is because many of these families live in neighborhood and building that are infested with roaches, rats, mold and other such things. In the film we saw in class we were able to see the first hand the …show more content…
In the text, “Parenting and Homelessness: Overview and Introduction to the Special Section” by Kristen Paquette and Ellen L. Bassuk (2009), the authors argue “Children who are homeless are four times more likely to show delayed development and have twice the rate of learning disabilities as low-income housed children. One in three repeat a grade” (p. 295). As mentioned previously this amount of stress can be very toxic for a child, especially if they do not know how to deal with it in a manner that will promote progress. I think that there are many things that conquer simultaneously affecting the child academically or developmentally, first the stress of homelessness, second nourishment, these children are not being given the nourishment needed to grow properly, three lack of sleep due to fear anxiety or another such things. Finally, from many of the reasons I have come to the conclusion that many of these children are doing worst than their peers as a result of their families, for example not belonging to a family that is English proficient. One of risk factor for homelessness is low educational attainment, which I also find to be part of the problem if the parent wasn’t able to earn a high school degree than the child might
Homelessness can result from children running away, being abandoned by parents, extreme poverty within the family and/or unsafe/unstable living conditions. Being in situations where a child has worry about where they are going to sleep or where there next meal may come from gives them little time, if any, to focus or even think about attending school. In addition, attending school means a need for the upkeep of personal hygiene, having clean clothes and most importantly transportation to and from school, which can add more stress to a child outside of the fact they are homeless. Not having these things causes high levels of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. Th...
It is estimated that, “each year, more than 3 million people experience homelessness, including 1.3 million children” (NLCHP). Clearly poverty and Homelessness come hand in hand, and the economy downfall has only contributed to this growing crisis. “Homelessness stems from a lack of affordable housing. Increasing rents, destruction of traditional low-income housing, and cuts in federal housing programs threaten affordable housing with extinction” (NLCHP). Most people in poverty have a housing affordability crisis, which means that they pay more than half of their income for rent, so therefore they have to buffer to deal with unforeseen expenses. This indicates a constantly struggle financially therefore anything such as an accident, sick child, or loss of employment could tip you over the edge. Some including factors that contrib...
Abuse and neglect are one of the top three leading causes of youth homelessness. “Studies show 70 percent of homeless youth have suffered some form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse”
Youth become homeless for a number of reasons including: family violence and neglect, rejection due to sexual orientation or gender identity, the overwhelmed child welfare system and extreme poverty. These youth almost always have experienced unimaginable abuse and trauma, in their homes, their communities, and on the street. It is the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA)-funded services and programs that help to rectify the deep injustices that homeless youth experience on a daily basis.
Grant, R., Gracy, D., Goldsmith, G., Shapiro, A., & Redlener, I. E. (2013). Twenty-Five Years of Child and Family Homelessness: Where Are We Now?. American Journal Of Public Health, 103(S2), e1-e10. doi:10.2105/AJPH. 2013.301618
Homelessness….. Many assume those who are homeless took part in some type of drug or alcohol abuse which lead them to become homeless. It is an ongoing situation that has not been fully resolved in order to lower the risk of individuals of the youth population becoming homeless. The age group for homeless individuals who qualify as youth is nineteen years of age and under. In the United States, dysfunctional families are occurring more frequent, which is a vital reason adolescents are running away from their homes. This alone puts many of our youth at risk of becoming homeless. When adolescents leave their homes, it decreases their chances of having a smooth transition into adulthood. Some adolescents may leave their home because
Gattis and Larson suggest, “interested parties could benefit from an improved understanding of the mental health needs of homeless adolescents. This knowledge could be used to identify youths at risk of becoming homeless and to provide appropriate services to those currently homeless” (p. 87). In short, education and knowledge regarding the homelessness in itself can do wonders. The homeless face many hardships including depression, anxiety, PTSD, discrimination, and suicidal thoughts. These are just a few things that homeless people face that the general population don’t take into consideration on a first glance or thought. Intervention and world of mouth will also help, because this is a topic society doesn’t necessary publicize, we don’t know much about it. If this is publicized in a positive way, the motivation and self-esteem from homeless people will also rise. The increase of access to insurance would also help prevent this. In order to get treated for any mental illness they have, they need insurance. With active treatment for a mental illness, this will heighten the likelihood of obtaining a reliable job. Which in turn, will essentially help prevent the homeless from being
Based off the attention from modern media, youth homelessness has been on an unfortunate upslope in the United States within the past decade. Various factors tie into why this issue is becoming more prominent such as low income households being unable to afford children, LGBT youth rejection, and domestic abuse leading to children leaving home. Now, vagrancy has a severely negative impact on the development of young people as it inhibits them from developing academically, socially, and mentally and can also expose them to diseases and potentially various types of abuse, such as sexual and substance abuse. This is an issue that should be addressed, for the rising generations are America’s future, and so investing in the overall well-being of the
As a result of anti-poverty legislation being placed into effect all over the country to force workers back into the capitalist labour market, which has taken hold in neoliberalism, the number of families finding themselves on the brink of homeless is skyrocketing. Furthermore, with the reduction of social assistance programs these families are barely able to provide for themselves, therefore, numerous children are being physically impacted by homelessness. According to Jenny Hsu (2015) hunger and physical illness are effects children and youth may experience due to homelessness that greatly affect their development which is unacceptable for our government to allow this many young people to be negatively impacted. Thus, the links between these
Looking at the environmental components in relation to the homeless and their mental health, this author found socioeconomic adversity, lack of health insurance and health care, lack of food, clothing, and shelter as the predominant variables. Zlotnick, Zerger, and Wolfe stated that “Limits on shelter stays during the daytime and competing needs to seek food and employment also in...
Homeless children are in fair or poor health twice as often as other children. They
This article on the effects of unemployment on the families living arrangement doesn’t mention that unemployment in families can lead to homelessness. When financial hardships hit families, sometimes they will move in with other family members, friends or non-relatives to find shelter. Quiet often, if they are homeless they are too afraid to reach out to local resources that might be available for fear of having their children taken away. Sadly, sometimes they are not even aware of the services that might be available to them. In chapter 15, homelessness can affect a child growing up and wellbeing greatly (Taylor, 2015, Week 5 slide 12). Therefore, the children suffer some extreme hardships that could be avoided if parents were more knowledgeable
As Roy Grant clarifies, “Child poverty increased from 16% in 1979 to 22% in 1983, with an inner-city child poverty rate of 31%. Families with young children headed by a single parent were the most vulnerable;” Grant also explains the effects that these types of conditions have on a child. ”Homelessness is an especially powerful negative life event for a child because it is generally associated with multiple stressors, including loss of property, disruption of school and community relationships, and dramatic changes in family routine.72 Studies by Bassuk and Rubin73 and Bassuk74 in the Boston area showed that half of homeless school-age children met criteria for a diagnosed psychiatric disorder based on screen with a standardized instrument. Children who screened positive for symptoms of depression frequently had symptom severity exceeding that of children treated for depression at community clinics”(2, 4). People often don’t think about the child’s mental conditions when the child is constantly living with the ups and downs of living in poverty and that the severity of it all can affect them for the rest of their
Furthermore, facilities frequently concentrate on “quick-fix” interventions instead of focusing on their qualities that empower them and concentrating on long-term aspirations (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). For the most part, it is extremely hard to access health care for the youth population because they face various restrictions. It is not surprising that many homeless adolescents do not have a way of seeking services even if they are the population that needs it the most. Homeless youth are at a higher risk of adverse outcomes such as not being able to further their education, getting incarcerated, developing a mental health disorder, and engaging in alcohol dependency and unsafe sexual behavior (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Children without a home are more prone to live in inconsistent and harsh living conditions categorized by family and school issues. Although; many homeless youths do not experience desirable outcomes housing programs and similar services serve a primary support system to help reduce homelessness. Services that promise better living conditions are shown to enhance lifestyles and a positive development into adulthood.
Furthermore, Homelessness is also a strong outcome of poverty, in comparison to people that are in poverty, but live in a home. Homeless children do not have access to adequate nutrition and medical care therefore causing even more health problems. Homeless women “experience higher rates of low‐birth‐weight babies, miscarriages, and infant mortality”(Cliffnotes,2015). Homelessness makes it extremely difficult to obtain a job due to the many under developments; mental and social that are obtained due to this life making poverty a never ending cycle, extremely difficult to