Running head: Homelessness in America
Homelessness in America
Samaria Powell
HSCO 500 – Liberty University
April 3, 2021
Running head: Homelessness in America
Abstract
This review on homelessness will provide all information, issues, solutions, causes and
effects on homelessness. How homelessness has been an ongoing and serious problem among us
in our world for many years. How some solutions provided to help decrease this issue, but more
is needed to try to end the problem and help individuals prevent from becoming homeless. How
there are available shelters but with the high percentage of homeless individuals, the shelters at
times get over full and must turn individuals away or seek other solutions. How there is also the
issue of Government funding and the lapse of it to keep these shelters running and available to
assist people, so most of the funding relies on private donations
This review on homelessness will provide all information, issues, solutions, causes and
effects on homelessness. How homelessness has been an ongoing and serious problem among us
in our world for many years. How some solutions provided to help decrease this issue, but more
is needed to try to end the problem and help individuals prevent from becoming homeless. How
there are available shelters but with the high percentage of homeless individuals, the shelters at
times get over full and must turn individuals away or seek other solutions. How there is also the
issue of Government funding and the lapse of it to keep these shelters running and available to
assist people, so most of the funding relies on private donations
This research paper will provide information on issues, causes, solutions and effects of
homelessness. Homelessness has been a serious issue in society all over America for sometimes
now. Solutions that can be provided can help eliminate homelessness and can prevent others
from being homeless. There are shelters that can be available to those who are homeless but
since there is a high rate of homelessness it is impossible to give housing to all. Shelters have
limited space, resources, and availability to offer for everyone. Other reasons that can delay
solutions for homelessness can Government funding, this can lead to a gap in care and or
resources for those who are in shelters. Majority of shelters receive funding in forms of private
donations or government funding (Farrugia & Gerrard, 2016). If theses source of income is cut
off there are not any solutions for homeless people to use.
This paper will include the ongoing society issues of homelessness and how this issue can
affect everyone. There are many Americans who are struggling with homeless who are Men,
Women, and teenagers. There are various reasons someone can be homeless such as can not
afford rent, shelters are full, substance issues, teenage runaways, veterans that are having trouble
Running head: Homelessness in America
entering back into society. Other contributing factors can be poverty, lack of financial solutions,
not enough public assistance. With all these contributing factors there are high risks of a lot of
societies being at risk of homelessness. In society we like to believe that we are implementing
solutions, but we can also be creating problems as well. The goal is to create solutions that will
prevent homelessness, equip individuals with the proper tools to gain stability, giving more
mental support to ensure those with disabilities are getting the resources needed. There can be
programs implemented that can help children who are in broken homes or running away from
crimes. After years, there has ben researchers that have found data that people who are homeless
can use frameworks to get direction on how to regain financial stability (Busch-Geertsema,
Culhane & Fitzpatrick, 2016). With this framework homeless people can get the necessary tools
to regain their integrity and overcome their downfalls whether its mentally or physically.
Effects of Homelessness
According to Moore, Cheng & Castillo (2020) homelessness has been a societal issue
since the 1980s. There has been a 20% increase in homelessness since then the recession in 2008
(Cheng, Castillo & Moore, 2020). Surveys have analyzed the amount of homelessness in the
world and there is still a hidden amount of people who can be homeless but have not been able to
be tracked down. In numerous communities there a ton of runaway youths who have been
mentally, emotionally, and physically abused. There has been a large study that children with a
history of abuse can be homeless before the age of 11 due to the eagerness of trying to get away
of maltreatment. Ravenhill (2016) says that there are about 1.2 million people who have been
affected by homelessness and majority are underage. People become homeless for tons of
reasons like running away from home, foster home, or detention centers. When individuals are
experiencing homelessness that can also be exposed to sexual abuse, drug, and alcohol abuse.
Running head: Homelessness in America
There have been reports that stress and social stigma can also contribute to someone wanting to
be away from home or living on the streets (Mabhala, Yohannes & Griffith, 2017). Other effects
of homelessness can be societal factors like sexual orientation such as gay, bisexual and men
who have sex with men (MSM) have a higher risk of being homeless due to their circumstances.
These sexual orientations are frowned upon in some families and cultures. Often when family
members or others find out about one’s orientation the reaction can be negative. This can also
result into homelessness if loved ones does not want this individual living with them etc.
Race within Homelessness
Jones (2016) points out the disparities in the subject of homelessness. During the baby boomer’s
era homelessness has been prevalent in society but more so in prevalent in different races, ethic
backgrounds and communities. Since contributing factors of homelessness are income levels the
African American community is affected the most by this. In the black community there is a
struggle of trying to make ends meet. When families are not fully equipped to ensure their
financial stability can be obtained this can lead to homelessness. The contributing factors of
homelessness are that the African American community consistently struggles with. Studies have
shown that income levels that are about 46% above is a great amount of wealth to ensure
financial stability (Jones, 2016). A lot of people who are in the workforce really feel that if they
work hard, they will be financial stable. This connotation is false and mislead Americans. Studies
have shown that 40% blacks are homeless and 21% are Hispanic. Some populations think that
problems such as homelessness and poverty are systemic issues. But in reality to achieve racial
equality, gain stable and affordable housing we have to focus on the societal factors.
Approaches and Solutions to Homelessness
Running head: Homelessness in America
There are shelters that can be available to the homelessness if they meet the criteria set
for the shelter. Even though there are numerous shelters often there is not enough funding to
keep the doors open or enough to help everyone. There are also income-based housing and
programs as well as state assistance (Shinn, Brown, Spellman, Wood, Gubits, & Khadduri,
2017). There are numerous ways to prevent homelessness. There are a lot of housing programs
that are effective for others but again there could have been not enough resources to spread to
everyone. Homeless people who are a part of industrialized communities, housing communities
cross over into social engagements. According to Henwood, Padget & Tsemberis (2016) people
are still struggling with some deprivation of homelessness even if one is not actually homeless.
This is not due to being uninformed but because the political views it can limit doing right by the
homeless population (Evans, Sullivan, & Walkskog, 2016). There is a lot that can go into create
housing programs for those who are in need. No matter the social and economic structure
homeless still prevails (Petty, 2016).
Conclusion
Homelessness is a tricky subject and difficult to prevent. I do think the programs that are
already in place such as group homes, shelters, and medical facilities. These programs only have
limited availability and resources that cannot always distributed to everyone. If there are
systematic approaches that can be used to ensure that financial stability is tangible for those in
need maybe the rate of homelessness can be significantly decreased.
Running head: Homelessness in America
References
Evans, W., Sullivan, J., & Walkskog, M. (2016). The impact of homelessness prevention programs on
homelessness. DOI: 10.1126/science.aag0833
Farrugia, D., Gerrard, J. (2016). Academic Knowledge and Contemporary Poverty: The Politics of
Homelessness Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038514564436
Henwood, B., Padget, D. & Tsemberis, S. (2016). Housing First. https://books.google.com/books?
id=k4x2CgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Jones M. M. (2016). Does Race Matter in Addressing Homelessness? A Review of the Literature. World
medical & health policy, 8(2), 139–156. https://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.189
Mabhala, M.A., Yohannes, A. & Griffith, M. Social conditions of becoming homelessness: qualitative
analysis of life stories of homeless peoples. Int J Equity Health 16, 150 (2017).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-017-0646-3
Running head: Homelessness in America
Moore, E.M., Cheng, T.H., Castillo, E.G. Understanding Homelessness: A Call to Action andet al.
Curriculum Framework for Psychiatry Residencies. Acad Psychiatry 44, 344–351 (2020).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-019-01154-
Petty, J. (2016). International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy;
Brisbane Vol. 5, Iss. 1, (2016): 67-81. DOI:10.5204/ijcjsd.v5i1.286
Ravenhill, M. (2016). The Culture of Homelessness. https://books.google.com/books?id=-
gXACwAAQBAJ&dq=peer+reviewed+articles+on+homelessness+2016&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Shinn, M., Brown, S., Spellman, B., Wood, M., Gubits, D., & Khadduri, J. (2017). Mismatch Between
Homeless Families and the Homelessness Service System. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.odu.edu/stable/26328368
Volker Busch-Geertsema, Dennis Culhane, Suzanne Fitzpatrick.(2016) Developing a global framework for
conceptualising and measuring homelessness. Habitat International, Volume 55, ISSN 0197-3975,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2016.03.004
This review on
homelessness will
provide all information,
issues, solutions, causes
and 20
)effects on
homelessness. How
Running head: Homelessness in America
homelessness has been
an ongoing and serious
problem among us
in our world for many
years. How some
solutions provided to help
decrease this issue, but
more
is needed to try to end
the problem and help
individuals prevent from
becoming homeless. How
there are available
shelters but with the high
percentage of homeless
Running head: Homelessness in America
individuals, the shelters
at
times get over full and
must turn individuals
away or seek other
solutions. How there is
also the
issue of Government
funding and the lapse of
it to keep these shelters
running and available to
assist people, so most of
the funding relies on
private donationsaway
from home
