Homelessness Epidemic by Clark Crookston

            In Texas, we drive past homeless people laying on the side of the road almost every day. Some people might stop and spare some change, while others simply drive by and go on with their day. But, have you ever stopped to think about what makes their lives so much different than yours? Although the national homelessness rate has gone down since 2015, this is still a major problem in America (“How Bad Is Homelessness In America?”). Since there are so many different causes for homelessness, with every case being different, it is also difficult to prevent. However, some of the major causes are: mental health issues, addiction to drugs and alcohol, and financial issues. It may be easy to overlook these problems if they are not directly affecting you. But, it is important to take help people that might be struggling because someday this may be someone close to you.

HISTORY:

            Homelessness has always been a major issue throughout the whole world. And though some causes have always been there, such as natural disasters, the other causes of homelessness are very evident in its emergence throughout history. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, homelessness was not as prevalent so when someone was homeless it was usually said to be that person’s fault. The government wasn’t as complicated and all living expenses weren’t very high. This epidemic really sped up during the nineteenth century with the introduction of drugs into the vastly expanding world population. War veterans became addicted to drugs and countries all over the world found it hard to support all their inhabitants. As time progressed work it took to hold a home increased and peoples motivation to do so decreased. And since this all began in the nineteenth and twentieth century, the next generation had to deal with the consequences of homeless parents, making it even more difficult for them to come out of the slump. Another problem with the rising population is the number of mentally handicapped. Because there are so many people today with these disorders, it is hard to help all of them. And with no one to care for them, it is not uncommon for them to end up on the streets. So, in conclusion, the main causes of homelessness in the last few hundred years have been poverty, drugs, mental disease and natural disasters. But, it wasn’t until recently that people actually started trying to help out the homeless. In 1896 the Homelessness Survival Act was passed which provided ways to eliminate homelessness.

SOCIAL EFFECTS:

            Homelessness is not only taking its toll on those who don’t have homes, but also to those around them. Homelessness can be very hard on a family. Often times, the financial or legal problems the homeless people face, are left to the family members. If a member of a family ends up on the street, some feel responsible to help them which can be burdensome. Also, when a vagrant has a child, it is difficult to care for them, especially with no steady source of income. As for the bigger picture, homelessness has a big effect on communities and the world in general. As humans, our morals tell us that we should help others. So, there have been many charities and foundations set up to help the homeless out. In some countries, they don’t pay as much attention but in America it is a big deal to make sure everyone is ok and not hungry. But, because the homeless don’t pay taxes or submit any official paperwork, they are sometimes hard to trace. It’s hard to help someone out when you can’t find them.

EXAMPLES:

            One sad story of how a United States citizen became homeless was of Paul Curtis. He bought a house thinking that he could afford it but when the interest rate went up and his wife divorced him, he was left with nothing. He was having a hard time paying his loans and became depressed which led to a drinking problem (Marsh). This example shows that sometimes people don’t have total control of their finances. Curtis was just dealt a bad hand and thusly went homeless. Another story tells of something a little more uncontrollable, mental illness. Caroline Ryan was kicked out of her parents’ house because her anxiety attacks made her “unbearable” (Marsh). She was left on the street with no help to get back to a normal life. And, with her mental illness, it was made that much harder. The last example is one of the most common causes of homelessness throughout the whole world. Tony was a drug addict in his teenage years which got him sent to prison. When he got out, it was hard for him to find a job so he turned back to drugs. Eventually he had a son, but his son died and for him that was unbearable. He tried going to rehab but that didn’t work and he was left on the streets (Marsh). All of these sad stories show the causes of homelessness in specific people’s lives. Sometimes it is more preventable than others which means that it is important to do all that we can to help. There are many ways to help such as donating to charities and looking out for anyone around you who might be heading that direction.
SOLUTIONS:

There are several different solutions to the housing problems in America. The first is federal housing. This would mean that the government would ensure that everyone would have a place to live and that no one would be homeless. The only problem with this is that there is not really a good way to pay for it that everyone can agree on. If the government were to increase taxes and fund it with tax money that would upset a lot of people. But, if they were to rely on donations then there simply wouldn’t be enough money for it. Also, some people don’t think that it is the governments job to look after these people. But after hearing some of the stories of homeless people it is hard not to feel their pain. Many of these people were dealt a bad hand and it really wasn’t their fault.

            Another possible solution to this problem is raising awareness to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place. Studies show that more educated countries tend to have lower rates of homelessness because people are less likely to make poor choices and there are more people around to stop these poor choices from happening. If children are closely monitored in school then there is also a lot higher chance of finding bad behaviors before they affect them too much.

            In conclusion, homelessness has always been a major problem and most likely always will be. Not only in America, but throughout the whole world. But, there are different possible solutions that should be tried. This is a problem that can be fixed. If everyone works together one of these solutions is bound to work.

           

Works cited

“Gimme Shelter: Homeless in America.” Super Scholar, 4 Oct. 2013, superscholar.org/homeless/.

“History of Homelessness.” The Causes of Homelessness in America, web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/soc_sec/hcauses.htm.

“Homelessness Timeline.” Homelessness, depts.washington.edu/triolive/quest/2007/TTQ07033/time.html.

“The History of Homelessness in America 1640s to Present.” Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness, 18 Mar. 2014, www.dceh.org/the-history-of-homelessness-in-america-1640s-to-present/.

Marsh, Sarah, and Guardian readers. “How I Became Homeless: Three People's Stories.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Aug. 2017, www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/15/how-i-became-homeless-three-peoples-stories.

Neiditch, Daniel. “How Bad Is Homelessness In America?” HuffPost, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-bad-is-homelessness-in-america-really_us_58f6916de4b0c892a4fb736f.

Understand Homelessness, www.understandhomelessness.com/.