According to The National Alliance to End Homelessness, the homeless can be divided into the following major subcategories: chronically homeless individuals, chronically homeless families, homeless veterans, and unsheltered homeless . In 2015, nearly eighteen individuals per every ten thousand in the United States fit in one or more of the above categories. This statistic exemplifies the relevance of relief for these populations, because homelessness is decimating the livelihood of people across the nation.
Causes of homelessness are varied and unique to each person, but major patterns can be discerned. Rich and Wagner explore several causes of homelessness, consisting of: a shortage of affordable housing, an increase in poverty, and decreased …show more content…
In Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, Matthew Desmond explores the lives of several families living in poverty in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. One of the characters, Lamar, is a Vietnam veteran and previous drug addict with two prosthetic legs that was denied Supplemental Security Income because “he could still work.” His sole source of income is a welfare check of $628, and his rent takes $550 of that amount, leaving him with $78 for the rest of the month. He falls behind on his rent because the welfare agency sent him a mistaken check, which he spent, and they deducted the amount spent from his next welfare check. Throughout his story, he is struggling to complete odd jobs to make up the difference to his landlord. Eventually, she decides to evict him but one of the other tenants has a fire in their apartment and the building is bulldozed before she formally evicts him. Lamar is an example of someone living in impoverished conditions due to a lack of public assistance programs. He is failed by the stigma around drug addiction and treatment, the limited support system for veterans, and United States medical …show more content…
Kane, Green, and Jacobs conducted a study of human service students and their perceived conception of elderly homeless persons and their communal responsibilities. Examples of the responses received were that the respondents were likely to believe that elderly homeless people have lice, tuberculosis, are smelly, and are dirty. Further, most of the respondents were in agreement that elderly homeless people were lonely, isolated, fearful, and felt neglected. The research is quoted as saying, “Overall, perceptions regarding communal responsibility for older homeless persons are heavily influenced by perceptions of the vulnerability of older homeless persons.” Essentially, if one of the respondents perceives the homeless person in question as more vulnerable, they would be more likely to give
Causes of homelessness are varied and unique to each person, but major patterns can be discerned. Rich and Wagner explore several causes of homelessness, consisting of: a shortage of affordable housing, an increase in poverty, and decreased …show more content…
In Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, Matthew Desmond explores the lives of several families living in poverty in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. One of the characters, Lamar, is a Vietnam veteran and previous drug addict with two prosthetic legs that was denied Supplemental Security Income because “he could still work.” His sole source of income is a welfare check of $628, and his rent takes $550 of that amount, leaving him with $78 for the rest of the month. He falls behind on his rent because the welfare agency sent him a mistaken check, which he spent, and they deducted the amount spent from his next welfare check. Throughout his story, he is struggling to complete odd jobs to make up the difference to his landlord. Eventually, she decides to evict him but one of the other tenants has a fire in their apartment and the building is bulldozed before she formally evicts him. Lamar is an example of someone living in impoverished conditions due to a lack of public assistance programs. He is failed by the stigma around drug addiction and treatment, the limited support system for veterans, and United States medical …show more content…
Kane, Green, and Jacobs conducted a study of human service students and their perceived conception of elderly homeless persons and their communal responsibilities. Examples of the responses received were that the respondents were likely to believe that elderly homeless people have lice, tuberculosis, are smelly, and are dirty. Further, most of the respondents were in agreement that elderly homeless people were lonely, isolated, fearful, and felt neglected. The research is quoted as saying, “Overall, perceptions regarding communal responsibility for older homeless persons are heavily influenced by perceptions of the vulnerability of older homeless persons.” Essentially, if one of the respondents perceives the homeless person in question as more vulnerable, they would be more likely to give