Why are people homeless?
Poverty and Homelessness are undeniably linked. Many times poor peoples are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, child care, health care, and education. Many choices must be made when limited resources cover very few necessities. Many times it is housing, which can cost by far the highest proportion of income, that must be dropped. Poverty means you could be just an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets.
In 2000, 11.3% of the U.S. population, or 31.1 million people, lived in poverty While the number of poor people has decreased a bit in recent years, the number of people living in extreme poverty has increased. The Bureau of the Census reported that in 2000, 39% of all people living in poverty had incomes of less than half the poverty level. This statistic remains unchanged from the 1999 level. Forty percent of persons living in poverty are children; in fact, the 2000 poverty rate of 16.2% for children is significantly higher than the poverty rate for any other age group.There are many causes of homelessness, but there are two major factors that help account for increasing poverty: disappearing employment opportunities for vast amounts of the workforce, and the declining availability of public assistance.
(U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2001).
Other Causes:
Mental Illness:
Approximately 22% of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2001). Despite the disproportionate number of severely mentally ill people among the homeless population, increases in homelessness are not attributable to the release of severely mentally ill people from institutions. Most patients were released from mental hospitals in the 1950s and 1960s, yet vast increases in homelessness did not occur until the 1980s, when incomes and housing options for those living on the margins began to diminish rapidly. According to the Federal Task Force on Homelessness and Severe Mental Illness, only 5-7% of homeless persons with mental illness need to be institutionalized; most can live in the community with the appropriate supportive housing options (Federal Task Force on Homelessness and Severe Mental Illness, 1992). However, many mentally ill homeless people are unable to obtain access to supportive housing and/or other treatment services. The mental health support services most needed include case management, housing, and treatment.
Addiction Disorders:
The relationship between addiction and homelessness is complex. Rates of alcohol and drug abuse are extremely high among the homeless population, the increase in homelessness over the past two decades cannot be explained by addiction alone. Many people who are addicted to alcohol and drugs never become homeless, but people who are poor and addicted are clearly at increased risk of homelessness. During the 1980s, competition for increasingly scarce low-income housing grew so intense that those with disabilities such as addiction and mental illness were more likely to lose out and find themselves on the streets. The loss of easily affordable housing, a source of stability for many poor people suffering from addiction and/or mental illness, was a major factor in increased homelessness in many communities.
Addictions may doom one's chances of getting housing once on the streets. Homeless people often face extreme barriers to obtaining health care, including addictive disorder treatment services and recovery supports. The following are among the obstacles to treatment for homeless persons: lack of health insurance; lack of documentation; waiting lists; scheduling difficulties; daily contact requirements; lack of transportation; ineffective treatment methods; lack of supportive services; and cultural insensitivity. An in-depth study of 13 communities across the nation has shown that service gaps in every community in at least one stage of the treatment and recovery continuum for homeless people (National Coalition for the Homeless, 1998).
