Homelessness Essay

It’s hard to imagine how someone can go from having a home one day to being out on the street the next. Many homeless people start out with jobs and stable residences, but then social and economic factors intervene, causing a rapid change in their living situation.

The two biggest factors driving homelessness are poverty and the lack of affordable housing. In 2004, 37 million people, or 12.7 percent of the American population was living in poverty, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Many of these people live from paycheck to paycheck with nothing saved in the bank. The loss of a job, an illness, or another catastrophic event can quickly lead to missed rent or mortgage payments and ultimately, to eviction or foreclosure.
Sadly, many people view homelessness as the result of personal failings, and consider that if the economy is going well, there is no excuse for not getting on.
A number of different personal and social factors can contribute towards people becoming homeless. These may include one or more of the following:
individual factors including drug and alcohol misuse, lack of qualifications, lack of social support, poor physical and mental health, relationship breakdown, and getting involved in crime at an early age family background including family breakdown and disputes, sexual and physical abuse in childhood or adolescence, having parents with drug or alcohol problems, and previous experience of family homelessness   having been in care, the armed forces, or in prison.However, in all instances Shelter believes these problems can be best resolved when the person or family in question has a decent and secure home.
There is no doubt that being homeless has a significant impact on a person ‘swell-being. It affects people in different ways and on many different levels. Being homeless and the whole experience of
Dealing with the situation is different
for everyone.
1.Understand who the homeless are - Help dispel the stereotypes about the...