Analyze The Causes Of Homelessness

Homelessness emerged as a national issue in the 1870s. Many homeless people lived in emerging urban cities, such as New York City. Into the 20th Century, the Great Depression of the 1930s caused a devastating epidemic of poverty, hunger, and homelessness. There were two million homeless people migrating across the United States. In the 1970s, the de-institutionalization of patients from state psychiatric hospitals was a precipitating factor which seeded the homeless population. The resin in homelessness is hurting the economy in many ways, and sadly the number of homeless people and families are increasing. Many people that end up on the streets and become homeless are dealing with problems that many of us don't, they become homeless because
“A 2008 survey by the United States Conference of Mayors asked 25 cities for their top three causes of homelessness. Substance abuse was the single largest cause of homelessness for single adults”. (Substance Abuse and Homelessness)What is Substance abuse? Substance abuse’s meaning is overindulgence in or dependence on an addictive substance, especially alcohol or drugs according to dictionary.com. Substance abuse can disrupt relationships with family and friends and often cause people to lose their jobs. For people who are already struggling to pay their bills, the onset or a worsening of an addiction may cause them to lose their housing and become homeless. Another cause of homeless ness is natural disasters. “Natural disasters can increase significantly the number of homeless people in a matter of hours. After Hurricane Katrina the number of homeless was around, four times the previews amount.”(NPACH.ORG) Natural disaster can increase the number of homeless because many people may lose their home in a flood, earthquake, hurricane and
“The cost of housing, rent assistance, and full time care management, was $19,500.” (Stoehr). Homelessness hurts the nation’s economy in many ways for example the tax payer is going to pay for those people and it is going to cost us money because there are a lot of people that are homeless and need help, but it is going to cost us money. We have to provide the homeless with shelters and food. If the homeless person is arrested it’s the tax payer that is going to have to pay for the cost of jail like the prison bed “A typical cost of a prison bed in a state or federal prison is $20,000 per year.”(cost_of_homelessness) It costs $20,000 for one person a year to provide a prison bed which can add up and cost the tax payer a lot of money. “When Utah officials added up the amount going into medical treatment and law enforcement the cost to the state per homeless individual was more than $216,300 a year.” (Stoehr). The state is spending money on medical and law enforcement which is costing the economy and it's not solving the problem. Many homeless don’t care if they are going to jail because they know that they are going to at least get a place to stay and sleep. These cost that come up don’t really help the actual problem itself. Many of these costs are just for one individual but there aren’t just a few homeless