Causes of Homelessness - Essay Example

Causes of Homelessness Introduction It takes much more than being a vagrant to be considered homeless. Homelessness does not necessarily mean that one has no roof over their heads but encompasses a good number of factors. Despite sleeping on the streets, a person may be considered homeless by: staying in an environment incongruous for them, staying with relatives or acquaintances, living in very jammed conditions, living in pitiable conditions that are deteriorating your health, or when one is at a risk of experiencing violence while staying in your home. How someone ends up homeless Homelessness can occur to anyone, and it is habitually the consequence of the cumulative impact of some factors on a single cause. It can be due to personal or relational factors that include things such as annulment and family disputes, impairments including dementia, depression, physical disabilities and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bereavement, joblessness, domestic hostility and tremendous poverty. Homelessness and poverty are inextricably related and thus is a major contributory factor as to why some people end up in the streets. People may also be homeless due to structural factors such high economy living standards, and thus the poor are unable to afford basic life needs such as housing hence ending up in the streets. Other factors may also include system failures such as those organizations responsible for management of refugees and immigrants. Combinations of these factors are the reasons why people end up in the streets (Gilderbloom &Lowry, 2015). Homelessness is a major pointer of poor health and has for all time been manifested by mental problem and drug addiction issues. Despite the fact that mental illness has been identified as a major risk to homelessness, its relationship is reciprocal to homelessness. As much as mental illness contributes to homelessness, homelessness can also lead to mental illnesses such as depression and stress or intensify a mental illness that was already in existence. Substance addiction has also been associated with homelessness. Addiction and homelessness are seen as jointly reinforcing, interconnected, social troubles. Those who experience homelessness or addiction tends to share uniqueness and homelessness can be both an outcome of addiction and a catalyst for addiction (Gilderbloom &Lowry, 2015). Addiction Addiction to alcohol and other drugs is the most common cause of chronic homelessness among most homeless people. Sixty-eight percent of U.S. state cities report that addiction is the single largest cause of homelessness. Treatment initiatives like the rehabilitation centers need to be in place in order to treat addiction. (Gilderbloom &Lowry, 2015). Domestic Violence Around fifty percent of all the homeless women and children in the United States of America flee from domestic violence. An abused woman usually faces a security and safety problems; she risks being abused again if they decide to stay while fleeing means accepting homelessness. Either choice does not assure a woman of her safety and those of her children. However, some of the mothers choose to stay to protect their children while another group chooses to flee to avoid the constant battering (Gilderbloom &Lowry, 2015). Mental Illness Statistics indicates that approximately six percent of the American population suffers from related mental illnesses. Among the homeless population, the percentage of mentally ill homeless people shoots to about twenty-five percent. People who suffer from mental illnesses lose their abilities to perform simple basic activities of the living. Owning a home for this group of people does not make part of their priorities. If they are not assisted in decision-making, these men and women do not stand a chance of living in a home (Gilderbloom &Lowry, 2015). Job Loss and Underemployment The current worldwide economic recess has affected most economies with the United States not being any exception. The gradual economy downtown has caused instability among many organizations and companies leading to employee layoffs. Others have led to salary and wages cuts making people who were once tenants homeless (Gilderbloom &Lowry, 2015). Post-Traumatic Stress Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders are on the rise as more militia are returning from their regions of deployment like Afghanistan and Iraq. Research indicates that the current number of military veterans sleeping on the streets is about two-hundred thousand. Many of these soldiers return home with post-traumatic stress disorder. These military men find it hard to cope with life back home and are forced to leave their loved ones at home and take to the streets. Studies have shown that the soldiers experience devastating conditions while on international assignments that change their mental process (Gilderbloom, J., &Lowry, I., 2015). Throw Away Teens Homelessness among the youth and young adolescents is probably the most common among all homeless people. They are prone violence and conflicts right from family to friends. With time either they are kicked out of their homes, or they run away due to drugs/ alcohol addiction, sexual orientation and teen pregnancy and physical abuse among other factors. Mental health is also implicated in teen homelessness just as adults. Most of the childhood mental illnesses go unnoticed for so long until a point of no return. Orphans and other children in foster homes and childcare centers soon age-out and stream into the streets due to lack of jobs and homes (Gilderbloom &Lowry, 2015). Challenges facing homeless people The pain of being out on the streets has caused many street dwellers to develop some anti-social behavior and additionally they have faced numerous challenges to these displaced people. For newly homeless individuals, one of their major challenges has been getting back to their usual lives. The inability of the people to access basic needs and emergencies comes first in this case. Insecurity risks as they leave in open places where security may not be guaranteed. Thus, teenagers and youths or even adults get a higher risk of getting physically or sexually abused females especially. Mistreatment by the society can make them hostile and, as a result, they may engage in criminal activities so as to be respected and also get money. Poor environmental condition and lack of proper sanitation expose then to vulnerable infections and life-threatening diseases (Gilderbloom &Lowry, 2015).Street dwellers stand no chance of getting jobs, and as a result, they end up engaging in criminal activities such selling of drugs and firearms. References Gilderbloom, J, I., & Lowry, I. S. (January 01, 2015). Debating the causes of homelessness. Journal of American Planning Association, pp58-64. Read More