Three Factors Affecting Homelessness In The United States

When we leave school or work, we usually say that we are going home. But over 600,000 people in the U.S. don’t have a place that they can call home. Homelessness is a widespread issue that affects each corner of the United States, from Hawaii (which interestingly has the highest rate of homelessness among the states)1 to Alaska. Homelessness is a complex problem with no easy solution. Hopefully by understanding homeless people more, they can be helped better. All people are different, but there are some categories that the majority of homeless people fit into. The three factors that affect homelessness the most are domestic violence, unaffordable housing, and mental illness.
The first factor that affects homelessness is domestic violence. A …show more content…
Homeless shelters are also quickly filling up with domestically abused women and children. “Between 1983 and 1987 the number of people entering shelters for battered women increased 100 percent. In 1988 more than three hundred thousand women and their children in the United States sought admittance to eleven hundred shelters and safe houses.” (DOC 1). It seems that the number of women and children entering these shelters is increasing in almost every major city and metropolitan area. Battered people that are homeless can also have trouble finding housing because the renters refuse to provide it to them. “...a 2005 investigation by a fair housing group in New York City found that 28 percent of housing providers either flatly refused to rent to a domestic violence victim or failed to follow up as promised when contacted by an investigator posing as a housing coordinator for a domestic violence survivor assistance program.” (ACLU). This could help explain why the women have such a tough time finding housing. A landlord acts in the best interest of his/her business, which means that they do not want to associate at all with crime, even if they may be