The Blame and Shame of Homelessness - Research Paper Example

 The Blame and Shame of Homelessness The fundamental cause of homelessness in America emanates from various economic and social sources such as poverty caused by unemployment or under-employment (part time/minimum wage jobs), a shortfall of low-cost housing and a lack of social services for persons who endure substance abuse, mental illness and domestic violence. These factors, along with many others, contribute to homelessness, a circumstance which is a choice in only a minority cases. Very few, statistics as well as common sense dictates, would choose this retched lifestyle over the security and comfort of their own home. Homelessness, as defined by the Federal definition is “an individual who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence; and an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is – a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations … an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized or a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings” (Federal, 2009). In layman’s terms, a person is homeless who doesn’t have a usual, individual, safe location to sleep on a regular basis. This definition includes persons who live and sleep in their vehicles because a car is not a ‘fixed’ place. An auto is not a location ‘designed for … regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.’ This paper will consider the homeless problem including what type of people become homeless and why. In addition it will examine and debunk typical stereotypes associated with homelessness. Due to public awareness campaigns conducted by government and private agencies such as the U.S. Department of Housing and the Urban Development the National Coalition for the Homeless respectively; long-held social stereotypes of homeless persons are steadily fading away. Generally speaking, the public still view homeless persons as imaginatively clothed old men sporting grey, whitish beards sitting against a bridge or alley wall holding a bottle of Ripple wrapped in a plain brown bag. This perception is gradually morphing into something more realistic scene such as a single mom and her kids living in a cramped downtown homeless shelter or a family that resides in the car. This changing impression of the homeless condition is slow in evolving, however. The level of public awareness is still too low to effectively create a situation in which much of the country’s homeless children, who do not have access to necessary services, are less rather than more likely than others to repeat this cycle when they become parents themselves. In America, an estimated 500,000 children are homeless at any one given time and their mothers embody the fastest increasing constituent of the homeless population. Veterans returning from war are in second place in this dismal contest. Single, childless men comprise nearly half of homeless center residents while 15 percent are single childless females according to research performed within homeless shelters. Families make up 40 percent of the homeless populace with a third of this demographic is single parents with their children. (Martijn & Sharpe, 2006). As these facts demonstrate, it is a common misconception that the majority of homeless persons prefers the appalling lifestyle or somehow become adjusted to it or prefers it to living in the mainstream much as prisoners become institutionalized after being incarcerated for many years. “Studies show that ninety-four percent of those without a home certainly would not choose to live this way another day if they had an alternative.” (Hopper, 2003) Another common myth concerning the homeless is that they are responsible for their own pitiful fate because they made bad decisions. In other words they are getting what they deserve. Homeless largely is a condition beyond the control of most, children certainly but other segments of the homeless population are no more or less culpable in their situation. The widely held assumption that most homeless persons are lazy, drug addicts or otherwise deserve their condition contributes to a largely unseen social problem. Those who lose their home and long accustomed lifestyle transfer the blame they and society place on the homeless onto themselves. Perhaps a fitting fate but is unnecessarily harsh and more psychologically damaging than the circumstance need be. This situation is exacerbated by the past three years of the housing market decline and rising foreclosure rate. “They become trapped in an endless cycle of suffering and self-recriminating blame from which there is often no real hope of escape.” (Fisher et al, 2008). It is widely recognized that some soldiers develop physical and mental disabilities during their combat service. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have lingered for a decade thus creating a great number of veterans living on the streets who cannot sustain a ‘normal’ life. The sheer number of these cases coming home over the past 10 years has overwhelmed the Veteran’s Administration therefore too many individuals, even if that number is just one, fall ‘through the cracks’ of the system and end up on the street. Others homeless persons were victims of child abuse or raised homeless thus have no life skills to help them understand how to escape their condition. Still, others are responsible for their condition to varying extents. They may have fallen victim to alcohol or drug addiction which devastated their family and working life. The list of reasons people become homeless is long and unique. Generalized judgments regarding homeless persons levels of responsibility are much more often wrong than right. “Some people now living on the streets have become ‘unemployable’ for various reasons, including uninsured illness, or can find only menial jobs after being laid-off from a high paying position and find they are no longer capable of making ends meet. In the end, it must be determined that all homeless are victims in the sense that they do not have a place to call home.” (Fisher et al, 2008). Examining the statistics, it is apparent that women are an especially vulnerable sector of the homeless. The explanation for their homelessness can differ significantly from men’s reasons. Men are not usually escaping violent situations in the home unlike a full quarter of homeless women. Most men find themselves ‘on the street’ because of unemployment, women’s second most likely reason. “Although there is a 13.4 percent difference between males and females, unemployment is also an important reason of homelessness for women.  More than one tenth of homeless women leave home because of employment.” (“Women and Men”, 2001). If family violence is removed from the equation, the statistics for homelessness among men and women are essentially the same. A comparable sector of both genders mentioned alcohol and drug abuse, protracted sickness or disability and reaching the threshold of government assistance as the causes for their homeless condition to a similar degree. It is widely assumed that homelessness due to drug and alcohol abuse was more prevalent among men. This is not true. “Studies have shown that the two genders become homeless for essentially the same reasons and to a similar extent once the extra cross women must bear, domestic violence, is taken out of the equation; however, finding a solution to this issue would remove approximately a quarter of the number of women who find themselves living on the streets as a safer alternative to remaining at home” (Greenberg, 2008). Once homeless a person is handicapped by the condition. Both psychological and physical health issues often adversely affect a person’s ability to reenter society. Health care for homeless persons is inadequate. The homeless seldom carry credit cards or have bank accounts. They usually only carry cash in an unforgiving environment where violent behavior is widespread and no safe place exists to stash money in an effort to save it so they can escape the nightmarish conditions. The impact of this economic segregation is socially dishonorable for the homeless and not having a bank account or permanent address is a detriment to seeking employment. (Burt, 2007). The homeless have many, wide-ranging needs, especially if they have had no choice but to sleep outdoors. An overlooked part of the homeless population is prisoners who become homeless because of few job opportunities, much fewer options than the mainstream of society enjoys. Because of this many have great difficulty integrating back into society. “Readjustment back into ‘normal’ society following time spent in the armed services or prison is more difficult for some than others” (Greenberg, 2008). The resolve of the public and consequently politicians to reduce or eliminate homelessness will determine if men, families, women and children, the most blameless victims of circumstance, will continue to endure this humiliating, wretched condition. Of course, passing laws to ban the homeless from communities alone will not lessen the number of homeless, they simply push them out of the social conscience and deeper into personal limbo. Sufficient resources should be allocated to create additional inexpensive housing by producing or improving cooperation between homelessness agencies in both the private and public sectors. If these organizations can successfully preclude the instances of homelessness previous to the event plus adjust to various challenges facing those currently homeless the goal of eliminating homelessness will be nearer to becoming a reality. References Burt, R. Martha; Pearson, Carol & Montgomery, Elizabeth Ann. (2006). Homelessness: Prevention, Strategies and Effectiveness. New York: Nova Science Publishers Burt, R. Martha; Pearson, Carol & Montgomery, Elizabeth Ann. (2007) “Community-Wide Strategies for Preventing Homelessness: Recent Evidence.” The Journal of Primary Prevention. 28.2 265-279. “Federal Definition of Homeless”. (2009) Homes & Communities. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 7 Nov. 2009 Available November 3, 2010 from Fisher, S. N.; Shinn, M.; Shrout, P. & Tsemberis, S. (2008). “Homelessness, Mental Illness, and Criminal Activity: Examining Patterns Over Time.” American Journal of Community Psychology. 42.3-4: 251-265. Greenberg, G. A. & Rosenheck, R. A. (2008) “Homelessness in the State and Federal Prison Population”. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health. 18.2: 88-103. Hopper, Kim. (2003). Reckoning with Homelessness. New York: Cornell University Press. Martijn, C. & Sharpe, L. (2006). “Pathways to Youth Homelessness.” Social Science & Medicine. 62.1: 1-12. Read More