Topic: 3 problem and solution paper on how can we help with the rising rate of homelessness

Running head: THE RISING RATE OF HOMELESSNESS 1

THE RISING RATE OF HOMELESSNESS 11

The Rising Rate of Homelessness

Name

Institution

The Rising Rate of Homelessness

The current economic depression has caused the number of homeless families to rise drastically with hundreds of thousands of children spending on the street each year (Dennis, 2005). The impact of homelessness on children and their families is devastating. Without home, families are exposed to traumatic stress that puts the affected individual at high risk of mental problems and poor health outcomes. Despite the dire needs of the homeless children, the federal policy regarding homelessness in the recent decades has focused on settling chronically homeless adult people with the exclusion of their families. The main goal of addressing homelessness is to prevent and end the situation for children, families, and youths by formulating policies that focus on tools that achieve this goal (Johnson, 2010). Many problems that are related to homelessness exist, which include stigmatization against the victims, several economic issues affecting America, and mental health outcomes. The paper describes the rising rate of homelessness in America by delving into the three problems of homelessness as well as their solution on how the issue can be eradicated.

Stigmatization against the Homeless

The homeless are the vulnerable group of individuals in many respects. Low-income individuals have been stigmatized and blamed for their situation. Wachholz (2005) considered stigma as a feature that is socially defined as greatly discrediting, disqualifying an individual from social acceptance, and spoiling a person’s identity. Stigma encompasses social rejection of a particular individual and extreme negative perception to a given person. The homelessness is believed to decline in the US, but the raging stigma that the victims face has never changed (Johnson, 2010). Thus, homeless people suffer stigmatization in addition to the hardship conditions that they undergo through in their deplorable dwellings by their fellow citizens.

The homeless often experience discrimination as well as exclusion from other citizens because of their housing status, their personal problems, and economic hardship. Identifying with many groups can help against negative consequences of discrimination because such strategies are believed to protect the well-being of the individuals who are homeless (Jones, 2012). Research says that Anglo-Americans since the Middle Age have stigmatized the poor people and this led to the enactment of policies and similar laws to enforce harsh measures against stigmatization.

In a large body of working individuals, it is believed that discrimination greatly disadvantages the homeless people as well as affecting their well-being. Certain factors such as unemployment, obesity, and drug addiction influence the relationship among the victim and their well-being (Wachholz, 2005). These factors are likely to amplify the negative effects of stigmatization as well as the well-being of the homeless victim because they form the background reasons as to why people facing homelessness might face stigmatization. Thus, stigmatization of the homeless is common because of the victims’ housing status, which subjects them to a high level of discrimination.

Solution

The stigmatization as well as the prejudice of the homeless in the US is on the rise, and there is the need for intervention to control the situation. The citizens need to be educated about the vulnerable conditions of their fellow citizens who are homeless because they made poor choices in their lives that led to their current situation (Pawson & Kintrea, 2002). Giving money to the homeless on the street should be discouraged because they will spend it on drugs and alcohol, which is also another concern to good health as well as security (Finlay, 2016). The public need to understand that the homeless people do not choose to be in that situation that befalls them, but the conditions come after a poor decision made earlier in their life.

The government needs to teach the citizens about the mental health problems that may drive someone to be homeless. The people also need to learn about the facts of homelessness instead of the myths. With this kind of understanding, other people will perceive the disadvantaged people who have no shelter as just their fellow citizens, and it is high time to drop stigmatization (Finlay, 2016). Educating the people by the relevant authorities will affect the way others speak of the homeless, and it is a journey towards stopping hurtful or derogatory language on others. The authorities can find opportunities of passing facts and positive attitudes to the people about those with a homeless problem to avoid stigmatization.

Relevant social organizations can also advocate for the homeless acceptance in the society (Dery, 2000). Through their friends, co-workers, and the family members, they can present the right facts to the media, challenge myths, and sensitize the people to drop their stereotypes. People can be encouraged to see the victims beyond their homeless, and they have many other personal attributes that do not vanish just because they are homeless (Finlay, 2016). It is by advocating for dignity and respect among the homeless people in society that stigmatization can stop; therefore, federal laws that put stringent measures against stigmatization also need to be in place because everyone in America has the right to take an equal part in the society.

Economic Issues that Affect America

When it comes to matters of the American economy, homelessness impacts everyone in America. People without their social status and those who do not own houses lack access to health care, eat cheap starchy meals, have tough living conditions, and they always suffer from chronic illnesses (Bassuk, 2010). Homelessness is mainly about poverty, and some of its structural causes can be attributed to economic predicaments of the victims. This implies that there are specific economic aspects that lead to the rise of homelessness within the general framework of poor conditions. Economic dependent factors such as unemployment, real income for the people, household, and the country’s GDP have a direct influence on the well-being of the people and the plight of homelessness.

The American economy in particular in the last two decades had the deepest impact in the segment of the American society. The move by America towards post-industrialization as well as global economy had affected the country’s domestic sector relatively to the wage bill (Hersberger, 2013). The integration of America into the world economy through many regional trade agreements over the last twenty years led to a net loss of about 7% of the country’s jobs in the manufacturing alone. However, the 88% of the new jobs created in the 1980s were in the service sector. Besides, most jobs in the service sectors pay approximately half the pay in the manufacturing sector. The reduction in the income from this section of the economy is consequently reflected in the families and they are believed to be the cause of homelessness among these groups of citizens because they cannot support their children, families, as well as relatives (Pawson & Kintrea, 2002).

Another economic aspect that is leading to the homelessness problem in America is the labor market. The market is dividing workers by education and skills where it is estimated that in the next five years, about 80% of all jobs in America would need post-high school education for entry (Hersberger, 2013). The structural changes to American economy were exacerbated by the neo-classical fiscal policies, which left about 10% of the workforce unemployed. The conservation included a stringent monetary policies featured by high-interest rate, which stopped economic growth while benefiting few rich creditors. The economic deregulation, support towards corporate mergers, and unequal taxing scheme that overtaxed the low-income families led to the creation of a million more poor people in the 1980s (Nunez & Fox, 1999). The Reaganomics fiscal policies, the rising of the urban underclass, the wide gap between the poor and the rich collectively impacted on the rising rate of homelessness in America around the 1980-1990s. The rate of rising homelessness has been reducing since them, but the efforts of containing the situation from these policies will be long term.

Solution

The homelessness in America can be ended by stabilizing the economy and the people through permanent housing, shelter, and putting assistance programs that help the victims in their houses (Jones, 2012). The homelessness began in the 1980s, and it is crucial to remember what caused the great depression for the economist to think of the way forward. The economic recession later became a limited and short-term problem for the people of America as well as the world for decades. The federal government needs to enact policies that restore the state of the economy that was damaged by the great depression. Besides, the 2007-2008 global financial crises might have contributed in the difficult economic situations that are related to homelessness (Hoch, 2000). The government can focus on the ways of injecting more resources into the economy to achieve a stable and inclusive economic operation.

Poverty has existed in various forms in the American society since the 18th century. The government can deal with interrelated problems of capital development in America. The government can also deal with economic insufficiency so that they can provide subsistence for all people. A social order program that deals with equitable distribution of wealth, unemployment, public welfare, and old-age pensions need to be strengthened towards a consistent growth (Shinn et al., 2007). Through the expansion of the economy, the American government can address the poverty situation among the people as it is one of the factors leading to homelessness.

General economic growth will collectively cut back at poverty; moreover, expenditure on food, child nutrition, unemployment, social welfare, and education will benefit from the economic injection. The victims can benefit from the federal housing assistance to reduce the many instances of homelessness. Through programs such as Housing Choice Vouchers, low-income households can have a flexible subsidy that matches with the family’s income over time (Shinn et al., 2007). This implies that the program can successfully reduce family homelessness and ensure that the victims are stably housed in a suitable shelter system. The government can also raise the welfare rate because this would help people to pay their rent instead of rescuing them when they are already homeless.

Mental Health Outcomes

Individuals with poor mental health are prone to three factors of poverty, personal vulnerability, and disaffiliation that can lead to homelessness (Cauce et al., 2000). The individuals with mental health issue lack the capacity to maintain their employment as well as little income. They also suffer from delusional thinking, which may result in withdrawal from friends, families, and other people. Conversely, the state of poverty can also lead to a person mental illness and subsequently the state of homelessness. Mental health problem interferes with an individual’s ability to be resourceful and resilience because it can prevent thinking as well as judgment.

Homelessness can amplify poor mental health because the stress of being homeless can encourage anxiety, substance abuse, depression, and fear in a person; thereby exacerbating the situation (Folsom et al., 2005). The needs of homeless victims with mental illness are the same to healthy people because they both need physical safety, affordable housing, transportation, and affordable medical treatment. Individuals with mental illness can be homeless for a long time with little or no contact with family and friends. The idea of homeless can also make someone suffer from concurrent disorders such as drug addictions (Dail, 2006). Severe mental illnesses occur as a result of repeated representation in the homeless population where some of them are released from the jail or hospitals without proper support in place within the community.

Solution

The community-based mental health system can drastically reduce homelessness if support is available for people with severe mental illness. Homeless victims encounter more barriers to access supportive housing programs, employment opportunities, and necessary community supports (Dail, 2006). Housing outreach programs that provide people with safe areas for a living are the important component of stabilizing the health concerns and helping the victims on their journey to recovery. Affordable and safe accommodation to homeless brings security in the streets, cities, and the nations in general because they provide a gateway of accessing health care services (Hoch, 2000). Attending to the homeless enhances community and social inclusion that form the basis of family and private life.

Mental health and homelessness are directly related because having mental health illness can lead to circumstances of homelessness. A reliable treatment plan should be in place for people with a mental health condition to prevent the risk on themselves and others (Shinn et al., 2007). The release of patients from hospitals or individuals from jail should be re-examined to provide necessary support for the individuals as well as their establishments to prevent homelessness. Individuals from prison and hospitals who are struggling in the society without support may go unnoticed, and this group of people may become the source of insecurity in the cities.

Conclusion

Homelessness may be accepted part of life for urban dwellers in the main cities because many individuals suffer in these places. If the government or the community-based groups have not intervened in the current homeless problem, an increasing number of people with serious mental illness will continue to rise. There are many problems of the homelessness such as stigmatization of the victims, economic issues, and mental health. It is believed that mental health is twofold, which implies that mental illness problem can create conditions for homeless and at the same time, homelessness can also increase the chances of a person having mental illness. Besides, mental illness has the most devastating effects on the victims because it impairs people’s ability to reason. Stigmatization also degrades the homeless victims, and this can be traumatizing to the individuals because other people view them as those who have decided to roam about. Finally, economic issues such as unemployment, labor market, and inflation among others may contribute to a person becoming homeless. Therefore, it requires the intervention of both the government and community members to bring order by preventing as well as eradicating the problem of homelessness.