Problem Statement
As mentioned above, homelessness is a pressing problem that needs to be addressed in society. There are a multitude of macro factors that affect individuals and lead to homelessness. However, the needs, situations, and experiences of individual groups that make up the overarching homeless population are varied (Stalker, 2014). Homeless families are affected by many of the factors that impact other homeless groups, such as poverty, regulations and laws, and lack of affordable housing. However, there are some unique challenges and problems that affect homeless families, most important of which are the fact that this group consists of parents with young children who are homeless. Children who are part of homeless families are at an increased risk of behavioral and developmental problems, and face greater chances of suffering from mental or physical health problems (Fertig & Reingold, 2008). McChesney (1992) discusses the unique challenges faced by homeless families, and Fertig and Reinhold (2008) have provided evidence to show that policies designed to improve labor market or local housing conditions do not necessarily reduce homelessness among families, even though they have been beneficial in assisting other homeless groups. This suggests that the challenges and needs of homeless families need to be …show more content…
This in turn will allow for the opportunity to create programs that will be better capable of meeting the needs of homeless families, especially those needs not faced by other homeless groups, such as healthcare for children, education access for children, etc. This study also has the potential to uncover root causes of homelessness among families, which will allow for a deeper understanding of the problem of homelessness as it exists in society
As mentioned above, homelessness is a pressing problem that needs to be addressed in society. There are a multitude of macro factors that affect individuals and lead to homelessness. However, the needs, situations, and experiences of individual groups that make up the overarching homeless population are varied (Stalker, 2014). Homeless families are affected by many of the factors that impact other homeless groups, such as poverty, regulations and laws, and lack of affordable housing. However, there are some unique challenges and problems that affect homeless families, most important of which are the fact that this group consists of parents with young children who are homeless. Children who are part of homeless families are at an increased risk of behavioral and developmental problems, and face greater chances of suffering from mental or physical health problems (Fertig & Reingold, 2008). McChesney (1992) discusses the unique challenges faced by homeless families, and Fertig and Reinhold (2008) have provided evidence to show that policies designed to improve labor market or local housing conditions do not necessarily reduce homelessness among families, even though they have been beneficial in assisting other homeless groups. This suggests that the challenges and needs of homeless families need to be …show more content…
This in turn will allow for the opportunity to create programs that will be better capable of meeting the needs of homeless families, especially those needs not faced by other homeless groups, such as healthcare for children, education access for children, etc. This study also has the potential to uncover root causes of homelessness among families, which will allow for a deeper understanding of the problem of homelessness as it exists in society