Why Young People Become Homeless

What first needs to be done to answer the question, why do young people become homeless and what can be done about this, two things need to be defined; the words, young and homeless. These words need to be defined to have a clearer understanding on what the question is asking. Young, according to the Oxford Dictionary means, “having lived or existed for only a short time” (Oxford Dictionary). But in more sociologic terms, the term young is also known as youth. The Dictionary of Sociology defines youth as something that is a label and is not something that is simply the biological condition of being young (Scott and Marshall, 2009). It is an expression that is used to cover certain phases of life, from early infancy to young adulthood and the transition from young adulthood to adulthood itself. …show more content…
One can simply break the word down in two words, home and less, home being the place that provides privacy and security and less being the lack of something. Being homeless itself means having a lack of a home, but in society does it actually mean this? The general definition given by the Oxford Dictionary, defines homeless as, “(Of a person) without a home, and therefore typically living on the streets” (Oxford Dictionary). It is worth noting that that definition uses the terminology, typically, meaning that there are other ways for one to be homeless. Under the law, one can have a roof over their heads and still be homeless (Shelter Factsheet, 2005: 2). All in all, the definition for homeless is widely disputed and has many variations; it can mean, not having a roof over your head, or not having a permanent home. There are many reasons for how one becomes homeless. First of all, anyone can become homeless, does not matter whether you are female or male, black or white, young or old. There are many reasons why people become homeless but the ones that are going to be discussed in this essay are the personal and economic