Discussion and Assignment

Over the decades, there has been an increase in the number of homelessness in the U.S that has posed a serious issue to social workers. The United States was ranked the leading country the highest homelessness people in the World according to the previous census report. The number of homelessness has increased due to the increasing number of refugees and immigrants in the country. The United States is reported to be receiving more than 50,000 refugees every year (Fusaro, Levy & Shaefer, 2018). The country has also been reported to be receiving over one million immigrants every year. The majority of the immigrants are reported to be from Italy, Mexico, Canada and Peru. Currently, the population of homeless people in the U.S stands at 0.5 million. Other characters that are associated with homelessness include poverty, child abuse, and crime. Homelessness remains one of the main issues that social workers strive to bring to a halt.

Homelessness is not a problem experienced by refugees or immigrant population only. Still, an issue has also been caused by other factors such as high cost of living, unemployment, domestic violence and substance abuse among the citizens of the U.S. People of color have been identified to occupy the largest number of the people who are homeless in the U.S. This percentage has been contributed to by the highest number of unemployment among people of color (Shinn et al., 2016). Domestic abuse has also forced many people to walk away from their homes. According to the survey conducted by a group of social workers on causes of homelessness, in North Carolina in 2018, unemployment was ranked the leading cause, followed by domestic violence and substance abuse.

Conflict theory has been used consistently to address the issue of homelessness. Karl Marx proposed conflict theory (Hamon, 2016). This theory has been broadly applied to address issues leading to homelessness in the United States. Karl Marx argues that capitalism is the leading cause of homelessness in the United States. Conflict theory claims that society has two classes, which include the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Homelessness is not only a problem for the poor. This theory suggests that investors across the United States exploit their workers by denying them of the fundamental needs of shelter and food. About 30 percent of the people living in the United States are employed in the informal sector (Hamon, 2016). About 80 percent of the number of people employed in the informal sector is reported to be homeless. The high number of homeless people is characterized by low income and poverty. The fulfillment of the desires and needs of employees working under the informal sector relies on the employer.

Based on the conflict theory, the bourgeoisie is people who do not have the working class and struggle to accumulate wealth (Popple & Leighninger, 2019). They can participate in any form of activity to achieve their goals regardless of the consequence of the actions. This is why they can agree to work in any environment with little pay to acquire wealth. Conflict theory suggests that in a capitalistic society, wealth is something learned through determination, hard work, and education. Based on this argument, it is clear that people who are homeless are of low social class. The homeless people are considered uneducated and unmotivated by the people who are better off. However, this way of thinking has been regarded as false consciousness (Hamon, 2016). According to Karl Marx, homelessness is a direct flaw of an individual’s personality rather than the shortcomings of society. The result of capitalism is the struggle between the social classes that the United States is currently in. Sociological theory can also be used to explain social this social issue.

According to the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, California hosts the majority of homeless people, with about 25 percent followed by New York, which hosts about 17 percent and then Florida (Plummer, Makris & Brocksen, 2014). The majority of homeless people in these states are mainly Blacks. African Americans comprise approximately 45 percent of the number of homeless people in the U.S. The department also reported that over 40,000 veterans face homelessness in the United States (Plummer, Makris & Brocksen, 2014). The number of homelessness continues to rise, and there is a significant concern by the social workers on how the numbers are growing. Besides, HUD identified that men are more likely to remain homeless than women in the U.S. In 2015, 60 percent of the total homeless people were men. HUD recognized that lack of affordable housing as one of the causes of homelessness in the U.S. Other emerging causes include mental health issues, parental abuse, severe family conflict, or being forced to walk away from a house after one is identified to be LGBTQ (Andrews, Shelton & McNair, 2019). People who are working minimum wage are required to work for over 127 hours in a week to afford a modest rental house.

Homelessness is a significant issue that continues to give social workers sleepless nights. Being homeless is not only associated with the lack of a house. It also refers to people who are at risk of homelessness, families with children above 25 years who have not had permanent housing or a person or a family that is escaping domestic violence (Plummer, Makris & Brocksen, 2014). Having a broader category of people considered homeless makes this issue a significant concern to social workers. The increasing number of refugees and immigrants in the country also contributes to higher amounts of homeless people.

References

Andrews, C., Shelton, J., & McNair, R. (2019). Developments in responding to LGBTQ+ homelessness in Australia and the United States. Parity, 32(3), 21.

Fusaro, V. A., Levy, H. G., & Shaefer, H. L. (2018). Racial and ethnic disparities in the lifetime prevalence of homelessness in the United States. Demography, 55(6), 2119-2128.

Hamon, R. R. (2016). Conflict Theory. Encyclopedia of Family Studies, 1-5.

Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore: MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].

Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2019). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education

Shinn, M., Brown, S. R., Wood, M., & Gubits, D. (2016). Housing and service interventions for families experiencing homelessness in the United States: An experimental evaluation. European journal of homelessness, 10(1), 13.