The Problem of Homelessness - Research Paper Example

The Problem of Homelessness During my research on the role addiction plays in the problem of homelessness for my ENG101 class, I used Google (www.google.com) to obtain my information from the internet. I chose Google in my research endeavors as it is the search engine am well used to and understand comprehensively. I have used it since I was a young child. There are a number of key words that I would have typed to get the desired search results such as ‘role of addiction in homelessness’ or even simply ‘effects of addiction’.

However, I opted for the shorter and more direct ‘addiction and homelessness.’ The results were overwhelming, more than 14, with additional related/ similar topics for further exploration at the bottom of the page followed by a further option to explore results on the proceeding page. The three search results that I found most helpful in my research study were ‘Substance Abuse| Issues’ (usich.gov/issue/substance_abuse), ‘Causes of Homelessness| Portland Rescue Mission (www.portlandrescuemission.

org/learn-more/causes-of-homelessness/) and ‘Substance Use: Pathways to Homelessness? Or a Way of Adapting to Street Life?’ (www.heretohelp.bc.ca/visions/housing-and-homelessness-vol4/substance-use-pathways-homelessness). In the first article above, The National Healthcare for Homeless Clinician’s Network reckon that substance abuse is a major contributor to homelessness among individuals, with over half of the homeless individuals and 70% of the homeless veterans estimated to be drug addicts.

The article asserts that combating drug addictions is an effective way of ending chronic homelessness. In the second article listed above, the Portland Rescue Mission notes addiction as the number one cause of homelessness globally (with 68% of cities in the United States alone reporting addiction as the cause of homelessness). The other nine causes included are domestic violence, mental illness, job loss and underemployment, foreclosure, post traumatic stress, throw away teens, relational brokenness, and grief and finally despair.

In the last article, Eugene Didenko and Nicole Pankratz observe that a plethora of researches and surveys indicate that homeless people have much higher rates of substance use than the general population.Scenario 3 In my attempts to put in place a presentation on the benefits of sports for my PSY180 class, I saw it wise to additionally argue against some of the major oppositions to my point of view. The internet provided a suitable source of such information on opposing views, with Google being my preferred search engine.

In addition to the reasons already stated in scenario 2 above, I always opt for Google for its relative convenience, easy use, minimal technical difficulties, issues and problems, credibility of sources there-in and reliability hence. In addition, to further ensure the credibility and reliability of my selected sources, I am keen to note which authors, groups of authors and institutions are behind a given selected piece. Upon typing in the key words ‘harmful effects of sports’, as usual a myriad of choices came up with an option to view extra results on the next webpage.

I selected ‘The Negative Effects of Youth Sports| LIVESTRONG.COM’ (www.livestrong.com/article/95532-negative-effects-youth-sports/), ‘The Effects of Sports on Emotional Health’ (healthyliving.azcentral.com/effects-sports-emotional-health-6567.html) and ‘The Negative Effects of Youth Sports/ eHow’ (www.ehow.com/mlist_6132457_negative-effects-youth-sports.html). In the first article above, the Livestrong Foundation cites negatives of sports such as life threatening injuries and poor coaching which may take the learning and enjoyment out of sports and ruin a young person’s general attitude towards life hence.

The second articles talks about both the positives and the negatives of sports. Daniel Thomas says that the mental act of placing too much emphasis on winning a sports game may result in stress, burnout and depression. It can lead top aggression and fear of failure on the young, and in addition, athletes who suffer injury can suffer boredom, depression, frustration, tension, hostility and a sense of uncertainty. In the 3rd piece, negatives such as injuries, early burnout in children and inadequate nutrition are delved into in great detail.

ReferencesCauses of Homelessness. (n.d.). Portland Rescue Mission. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://www.portlandrescuemission.org/learn-more/causes-of-homelessness Substance Use: Pathways to homelessness? Or a way of adapting to street life?. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/visions/housing-and-homelessness-vol4/substance-use-pathways-homelessness The Effects of Sports on Emotional Health. (n.d.). Healthy Living. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/effects-sports-emotional-health-6567.

html The Negative Effects of Youth Sports. (2013, August 16). LIVESTRONG.COM. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/95532-negative-effects-youth-sports/ United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. (n.d.). (USICH). Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://usich.gov/ eHow. (n.d.). eHow. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://www.ehow.com/mlist_6132457_negative-effects-youth-sports.html