What Are The Causes Of Homelessness?

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What are the causes of homelessness?
Homelessness is a situation where a person lacks housing without considering whether the individual is a member of a family or not. The person lacks permanent housing and may live in shelters, streets, missions, hotels, or abandoned vehicles. Currently, the issue of homelessness has raised several questions regarding its causes, especially in the US. Therefore, the work focuses on the causes of homelessness to provide people with adequate knowledge which will help them to analyze the situation better.
The first cause of homelessness is unemployment, which results from losing a job or being unable to find a one. The issue is considered one of the primary causes of the problem and it has been greatly observed among the youths. Most of the youths have just completed their education and are looking for jobs to give them income to start their own lives. The people who are unemployed have no income and are unable to afford living expenses which make them homeless — also, unemployment results from poor economic conditions which offer few opportunities for people to exploit ((Warnes, Anthony and Maureen 408). The economic conditions had been deteriorating where most industries where people were employed previously continues to collapse. Further, the industries have seen reduced profitability which has forced them to lay off most of their workers in an attempt to cut operational costs and improve their profits. However, the strategy of laying off employees results in increased rates of unemployment and homelessness in a nation.
Another cause of homelessness is a family crisis, which is a state where personal emergency emerge which forces a person to be homeless. Specifically, the problem occurs in situations where the person who experienced the problem was the major provider within the family. The emergencies may include health problems which result in the loss of a job or the death of a family member who had a steady flow of income (Brown et al. 9). Moreover, divorce can lead to homelessness as families who have separated will experience a significant impact on their income. However, homelessness that is caused by family crisis generally tends to be a temporary challenge. The government has enforced certain programs to help those who cannot support themselves after losing their sole breadwinners.
Additionally, the increase in housing prices due to an inadequate supply of the basic need has also led to homelessness. Particularly, people with low-income levels that live in places where housing is not affordable will experience difficulties in renting apartments. Moreover, the problem has extended outside urban areas where people now feel the crunch of rising cost of living (Fazel et al. 1534). The recent economic crisis that affected the whole world and mostly the US and Europe negatively increased the prices of housing as the world’s inflation level continue to rise. The crisis caused inflation where the prices of various commodities and services drastically improved, thereby, lowering the living standards of people. The cost of renting increased which made several families move to cheaper houses or become homeless or even share the few that are available. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has reported that families who relied on one person would be unable to afford a two-bedroom house priced at the prevailing market values (Rapoport 264). Most families spent almost half of their income or more towards housing. Therefore, the problem of affordable housing has been seen to be one of the contributions of homelessness.
Further, increasing urban population has been seen to reduce the supply of houses. Generally, more youths move from rural places after completing their education to look for jobs in urban regions. As a result, the urban centers become densely populated leading to the problem of homelessness as the amount of the available housing cannot meet the demand of the improved population (Gmelch, George and Petra 63). Nevertheless, other factors have made people move from their homes and travel to the cities where they become homeless. The factors include discrimination and harassment towards the youths by the older people in the society which force them to look for alternative housing. Also, rejection based on gender identity and sexual orientation has led to increasing the number of homelessness as the people who face the challenges are forced to leave their families and decide to stay in new places where they have no homes. The variation in ideologies between the older adults and the youths has been experienced in most parts of the nation,and several people have complained about the issue.
Similarly, lack of a support network has contributed to homelessness in the nation. The support comes from co-workers, friends, family members, or even the community at large. The support maybe both financial and emotional aid where the less fortunate rely on some few people for financial aid, and, even those who are depressed may require emotional support to help them through their situations instead of becoming isolated (Piat et al. 2380). State-Funded programs are not considered adequate in avoiding the issue of homelessness. The US government has set aside specific houses to support the homeless by allowing them to live in suburb structures until they find a stable income to start their independent lives. However, most people do not love living in such structures and will even prefer living in the streets than staying in such places. Hence, no support network has also contributed to the rise in homelessness as it improves the number of people who move away from their homes and stay on the streets.
Also, substance abuse has contributed to homelessness as it affects the minds of those who are engaged in using such drugs. The problem has been seen in most homeless veterans who are struggling with mental depressions due to the challenges which they are experiencing in life (Warnes, Anthony and Maureen 412). Almost 20% of those who are homeless have a serious mental illness. The population has resorted to abusing drugs in an attempt to reduce their stress levels (Lippert, Adam and Barrett 351). However, the abuse of the substances affects their mental health,and they end up struggling to recover from the mental issue by going to rehabilitation centers instead of looking for adequate ways of owning or renting a house. As a result, such individuals will continue relying on other people and the government for support, including the need for shelter which is a basic good.
The problem of homelessness has both health and personal effects on the people who are affected by the issue. First, such people often encounter several health challenges in their lives as they lack medical professionals to attend to them in case they become ill. The lack of attention from the health experts makes their situations, even worse every time (Fazel et al. 1532). Also, they have no attention from husbands, wives, and family members which greatly deteriorate their health. As a result, the homeless majorly suffer from several diseases such as cold injury, mental illness, mortality, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, skin diseases, sleep deprivation, and sexual and physical assault.
Another effect is personal challenges which results from inadequate social life as the people are separated from other members of the society. The reality of lacking a roof to live under is difficult to believe and will make an individual be more depressed as they suffer psychologically (Piat et al. 2379). The psychological torture will result in several consequences such as loss of self-esteem, development of behavioral challenges, becoming institutionalized, improved violence and abuse, increased substance abuse, and high chances of engaging in crimes — generally, the homeless struggle to eat as they have no source of income. As a result, people will engage in criminal activities to get money for survival even though they do not intend to participate in such acts.
Also, the problem of homelessness has an effect on the community at large. The local community will have a large number of people depending on them for food and other basic needs. The issue leads to increased liability and low production within the nation. Additionally, there will be high numbers of people engaged in substance abuse such as drinking alcohol. Further, the rate of pro...