Causes of Homelessness
- Dec 27, 2022
- 6 min read
Hi there! Thank you so much for being here, I am so excited to share this blog post with you! The topic I have been focusing on has been causes of homelessness and how we can help make a change. Be sure to check out our instagram and the community on our website as well! I wanted to take note that homelessness is a hard topic and is not a pretty thing to talk about. It can get sensitive and I do not intend on offending anyone in these blog posts.
Homelessness is a major issue in this world today. There are many people suffering and several avenues as to how people end up in those situations. Similarly to many issues the biggest step is admitting that there is a problem. Once that step is taken, the next big step is figuring out the cause of that problem and creating a plan of action follows. So we know that there is a problem in our world with homelessness and numerous causes for it. The top causes include overpopulation, domestic violence, demographics, lack of affordable housing and there are many other paths that may lead to homelessness as well. Be sure to check out the links I have below on more information about the causes of homelessness.
If there are five houses that hold about four people, then twenty people or about five families can reside in that area. However, if there are five houses that hold four people and there are about fifty people in the area, then only twenty, maybe thirty people can reside in that area. In the second scenario, at least twenty people end up without stable housing. Now picture this on a larger scale and with actual families, people, children and maybe even someone close to you. There is a large amount of people for the room we have today and the recurring financial crises do not benefit the ability for individuals to afford housing. Overpopulation, unfortunately, has caused many individuals to become homeless, simply because there are too many people and not enough houses. I am not saying for people to have less children or that we should mechanically shrink the population. The point I am trying to get across is education. Education on menstrual cycles, pregnancy, how to stay protected in general and sexually. There is a gap of information in some areas that would be beneficial for women if they wanted to not have as many children. A trend in Africa over the past century shows that there is a decline in the amount of children women had, an increase in their life span and the children’s life span all because of education. There are so many resources out there, it is just a matter of having access to them.
Domestic violence is a great cause of homelessness, one that is not discussed as much as it should be. To start, I wanted to define domestic violence. According to the un.org domestic violence is “defined as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner.” They also wrote that abuse can come in many forms, whether physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually or financially. Abuse can be underlying, manipulative or in plain sight. A majority of victims fall into the trap of their abusers and leaving is not always an option. Help hotlines and places to stay can be hard to reach depending on the situation. One of the biggest things that allows for domestic violence to grow is isolation. Individuals are trapped without a way out and may not see any options which sometimes lead to homelessness. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world shut down where a majority of individuals had to remain in isolation to stay healthy. However, many were rather unsafe. In order to get out of the house and out of a bad situation, many end up homeless. They are unable to stay safe in their own homes and unfortunately end up without a home. Hotlines and shelters can only provide so much support. Individuals need help in getting out of the situation and taking the next step. Domestic violence is a large cause of homelessness which is sometimes unseen. Hotlines are starting back up again and more shelters are being opened as the pandemic loosens up. However, change still needs to be made, and people still need help. Getting all aspects of abuse sorted out is one of the first steps and the following ones are situation dependent. Finding resources to become financially stable, safe and protected are all necessary steps that need to be offered and taken.
Although it's hard to look into, another cause of homelessness is due to our long history of racial inequality. There is a larger percentage of minority groups that experience homelessness than others unfortunately. According to endhomelessness.org this may be due to long developing racism. It has been embedded into several generations worth of perspectives and mentalities that minority groups were denied rights for so long and are still not given the same opportunities as those who are white. This article also mentioned that there is an uneven ratio of white to colored individuals which alters how many of each can fill job openings. Additionally where there are inequalities is in housing rental opportunities, misdemeanor attacks with the police, and more are naturally in poverty due to segregation. For these reasons and more, it is imperative that there is support for all individuals without a stable home or stable income. From my personal perspective, I think that everyone deserves the same opportunity or at least the same starting place (what you do with the opportunity is up to you). With that being said, a lot of people who start life homeless or end up homeless due to lack of opportunity should get a second chance. The underlying issue is that these individuals do not have the same opportunity, thus it is important to provide the necessary resources to get access to those opportunities. For example, providing a homeless individual with resume building assistance, job outlook or internship choices. Whatever the assistance, these opportunities allow individuals, no matter their color, to show their strengths in our world and give them the chance to financially support themselves. As a society, the bottom line is that we have to change. Giving all individuals a clean slate to start on with the same opportunities is going to take a while. Big success and large change comes from small efforts. Helping someone with their resume or sharing a contact with a friend can truly go a long way towards equal opportunity.
The last (that I will discuss) of the major things that leads to homelessness is a lack of affordable housing. It is not a surprise how expensive housing has become and how little minimum wage has changed to accommodate that. Many people work for minimum wage and cannot afford rent payments along with other necessary payments such as groceries or clothing. This is not even including medical expenses or random fees that come up throughout the year. With that being said, a frequent choice that individuals have to make is what they will pay for that week or month. One should not have to sacrifice groceries, housing payments or medical costs to afford something else at the time. Affordable housing is one step to take towards getting individuals off the streets. The COVID-19 pandemic made this initiative even harder. Although there are some government systems in place to assist individuals in these positions, not all can even afford “affordable housing”. Therefore, we need to help people find good paying jobs by building up resumes, experience and pure opportunity. The homes for hope shelter in CT supports this mission as do numerous other shelters across the nation. It is the small efforts that lead to a larger impact. Affordable housing is possible for everyone, it will just take many more small steps to get there.
Homelessness is a large issue. There are many pieces to the puzzle and even more when you look closer. We can all take a step towards helping others. So I ask you, what small steps can you take in your own community? I hope this blog helped you get a general understanding of the main causes of homelessness and that you may share it with a friend! Have a great day friends!!
More links to check out below!
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