Rachael and Her Children - Homeless Families in America by Kozol - Book Report/Review Example

A reflection on Homelessness by Kozol Kozol’s book “Rachael and her children: Homeless families in America” brings readersinto the lives of homeless people by sharing interviews he had with them. The author successfully shows that these people grew up like other people, but unavoidable circumstances rendered them homeless (Kozol 21). The author does an exceptional job of showing readers that the lives of the homeless people and educate how big the problem of homelessness is in America. When one reads the book, understanding and knowledge of how homeless people are treated will be brought into perspective. Homelessness takes place when families are not capable of acquiring or maintaining housing they can afford. The primary reason that causes people to be homeless is because they cannot find a house they can afford. Insufficient affordable housing in the country, mainly in urban areas causes many people to go to the streets and live there. Many people are lucky enough since they have never experienced homelessness. For the people who have experienced homelessness, it is a very distressing experience that affects people’s physical and emotional welfare. Approximately 4 million Americans are homeless every year; more than 1 million of this number is children (NJTV News). Although it is regarded that the homeless are mainly the chronic and episodic, the truth is that the majority of them are families with children. Many of the homeless people found themselves in the streets because of life altering events that were unplanned for and unanticipated. In contrast to the idea that homelessness is mainly the result of significant traumatic events and mental disabilities, there are other major causes of homelessness in the country. Photo: A homeless person (courtesy of New Jersey Ballet) Many homeless people suffer from stress since they cannot control their housing situation because of their poverty levels. These people feel abandoned, especially in circumstances when they get a place to shelter far from the local community. To worsen the matter, many homeless people hold to the sorrowful experiences they endured that led to their homelessness. These experiences involve domestic violence, sour relationships, drug abuse and mental instabilities. The majority of rough sleepers keep away from sleeping in noticeable places for fear of attacks, abuse or being robbed. Rough sleepers may feel susceptible to members of the street fraternity and the general public. The police harass some of the rough sleepers by unfairly searching and arresting them or chasing them away to other places. The lack of security and interruption of living in temporary accommodation affects the health of children. Children are exposed to overcrowded conditions and hence they miss a chance to have privacy to sleep well, play, and do homework. Without a proper environment, many children fall sick and perform badly in school (Haggerty 6). Children living in temporary place may have a long way to travel while going to school. Moving to, and fro temporary accommodation may be tiresome to children leading to the disruption of schooling. Homeless people are never aware when they will be moved to another place. This can cause them anxiety. Both the low incomes and chaotic lifestyles imply that many homeless youths will get into debts. Desperation cause the youth to go for expensive loans since they are not in a position to access mainstream products. The decision to go for expensive loans is an obstacle to achieving goals such as joining college, eating healthy food and living autonomously. The stress associated with debt can have a grave effect on the mental health of young people. The primary cause of homelessness involves tragic life events such as the death of a family member, joblessness, domestic fighting, and divorce (NJTV News). Other issues such as lack of hope, untreated mental ailments, post-traumatic stress disorder, and physical challenges contribute a great deal to homelessness. For people in poverty, they can resort to life on the street where no one is compelled to pay rent and meet the bills. Poverty is caused by lack of reliable sources of income that can help individuals meet their needs. Poverty causes people to look for alternative accommodation when they cannot afford a house. The inability of urban housing projects to offer safe and affordable houses for people living in poverty has caused homelessness. Some employees may not afford to where they work due to the cost of houses (NJTV News). Even in reasonably priced communities, the costs of houses are usually high to be afforded by many workers. Individuals who served a sentence in prison may find it hard to secure a job. Their abuse of drugs and alcohol may make it hard for them to get employment since employers may use computer systems to identify their history. There is a group of people who prefer staying homeless due to one reason or the other. Some of these reasons may be ideological or political and hence it may be difficult to convince them to secure a place where they can live. The cost of divorce and the reduction or the stop of a familys income can result in a member of a family to becoming homeless (NJTV News). For people who may not be in a position to pay bills, a tragic disease or life-threatening accident can drain their finances and cause them to go to the street. The increase in job losses has caused families to split where many of them will be forced to live outside due to lack of shelter. Natural occurrences such as heavy rains and earthquakes may cause the situation of housing to be unsustainable and expensive renovations may be very hard. The consequences of Hurricane Katrina are a desolate testimony to the ability of nature to render many people homeless. The major challenge facing the homeless is to find out how to return to normalcy after losing a home. Many organizations across America make shelters and transitional housing in order to offer essential services to the homeless. They may also provide job and financial training and social skills that help the homeless to acquire jobs and resume their normal lives. The homeless people are given transitional residences to learn skills that will help them get employment as they rebuild their work experience. Some organizations that help homeless people include Rescue Missions, Volunteers of America and the Salvation Army. The government has continuously made the avoidance of homelessness a priority by offering funds that will improve homelessness services. The government requires local councils to come up with strategies that will avert homelessness in their localities. In order to prevent homelessness, all local authorities need a tenancy sustainment service that will help vulnerable persons to stay in their homes. Homelessness can also be avoided by improving the housing benefits system to help the vulnerable have somewhere to live. The major solution to homelessness is to build affordable housing to allow many people to have shelter. The provision of housing must be increased all through the social housing sector, and the government to build neighborhoods where people can live. The government can address homelessness by having its prevention strategy focus on helping people who are at a risk of becoming homeless to maintain their home. It can also guarantee that homeless people are offered housing they can pay for without experiencing challenges. When the economy improves, many people will get employment, and the cases of homelessness will reduce. All the stakeholders must put enough effort to ensure that the economy grows and create more opportunities for people. If the vulnerable individuals can access employment opportunities and receive sufficient income at the end of every month, many people will afford a shelter hence eradicating homelessness. Works Cited Haggerty, Neil. Study finds 16 percent increase in homelessness in NJ. New Jersey Ballet. 2014 Online http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/nj_counts_study_finds_16_percent_increase_ in_homelessness.html Kozol, Jonathan. Rachel and her children: homeless families in America. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2006. Print. NJTV News. NJ Has One Shelter for Every 194 Homeless Individuals. 2014 Online https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_IjMqUhYXE Read More