Chronic Homelessness In America

More than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year in the U.S. 35% of homeless persons are families with children, 23% are U.S. military veterans, 25% are children under 18 years of age, 30% have experienced domestic violence, and 20-25% experience a mental illness. There are three types of homelessness: chronic homelessness, transitional homelessness, and episodic homelessness. Homelessness in America is a bigger issue than people may realize. Chronic homelessness is defined by a person being entrenched in a shelter system and is in a long-term housing arrangement rather than an emergency arrangement ("National Coalition for the Homeless Homelessness in America - National Coalition for the Homeless," n.d.). People who …show more content…
A series of changes have been taken to better help the homeless population, but these procedures undercount the homeless population by failing to visit many locations with homeless populations. Therefor, the “changes” that were made may not be as drastic as people would like to think. The numbers for homeless people in America are still huge. Housing and Urban Developments Point-In-Time Survey, January 2013, states that 619,042 people were homeless in a single night in January. 85% were homeless, 15% in family households, 33% of all homeless youths under 24 years of age. 57, 849 veterans were homeless on one night in January 2013. 60% of which residing in shelters or transitional housing programs and 40% were without shelter. California (22%), New York (13%), Florida (8%), Texas (5%), and Massachusetts (3%) accounted for more than half the homeless populations for the U.S. in 2013. It’s an urban phenomenon that people are mostly homeless in cities. However, people find difficulties in small towns and rural areas as well. Homelessness is miscalculated due to the people using the service sites. Rural homelessness is a result of poverty and a lack of affordable housing. The odds for becoming poor are between 1.2 and 1.3 times higher in non-metropolitan areas. The people that tend to be homeless in rural areas are white, females, currently working, and homeless for the first time. These people tend to be …show more content…
44% of Americans don’t make enough to obtain or retain affordable permanent housing, or unable to earn an income due to permanent or temporary disability. Health is a cause or a result of homelessness. Family homelessness is experienced by thousands of families per year, and is the fastest growing homeless population in families with children. Children under the age of 18 who lack parental, foster, or institutional care. Family problems, economic problems, residential instability are three categories that define youth homelessness. One fourth to one fifth of all homeless persons are veterans. People are forced to carry their worldly goods with them. Instead of responding with added housing resources, cities have increased criminal of life-sustaining activities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender homeless people have great difficulty finding shelters and people that accept them. As a result, these people are often raised at risk for violence, abuse, and exploitation compared with their heterosexual peers. The truth is homelessness has increased dramatically over the years. It is becoming a serious issue. I challenge you to take part in this problem and become homeless. Talk with people about opening more services for homeless people, spread the word about this issue that’s taking place all across the U.S., donate