About the Number of Homeless People

The number of homeless people within the United States continues to grow. Issues surrounding the economy and a failure to meet vocational and housing needs has created a vacuum within which those of limited means are most susceptible. Economic lack coupled with untimely crisis events affect different population groups in different ways. This article will address the issues surrounding homelessness and the population groups most susceptible to its plight.

Theories/Speculation

As of 1995, U.S. statistics show anywhere from 30,000 to 7,000,000 homeless people. Transiency patterns within the population make obtaining an exact number nearly impossible. Attempts to explain the occurrence of the number of homeless people has centered around two prevailing theories. Societal conditions are attributed as one reason why some individuals wind up lacking stable living environments. The inability of minimum wage pay to meet basic, everyday living expenses, coupled with limited access to public assistance and mental health services is said to create a vacuum that overtakes individuals of limited means. The second theory views personal problems--be it a lack of money management skills, a refusal to seek employment or substance abuse--as the cause for the number of homeless people.

Identification

Substance abusers and mentally ill individuals make up a large number of the homeless population; however, this only accounts for 50 percent of the total. The other 50 percent consists of single mothers with children, as well as two-parent families. Government surveys from the late 1990s show that 22 percent of the single mothers became homeless as a result of leaving an abusive relationship. With few, if any, friends or family to turn to, homelessness became the only viable option. Such is the case with many of those using drugs, and those who are mentally unstable. In the face of a weak or nonexistent support network, any form of crisis--be it health, financial or abuse--leaves individuals helpless with nowhere to turn but the streets or shelters.

Features

More oftentimes than not, homelessness is a lifestyle that's entered into as a course of last resort. Depending on available resources, not all who enter into this circumstance remain there indefinitely. Actual classifications of homelessness show three primary categories:
* Chronic--Individuals who have been without shelter on two separate occasions, for 650 days or more
* Transitional--Individuals who have been without shelter on one occasion for fewer than 59 days
* Episodic--Individuals who have been without shelter on four to five occasions, all totaling 266 days

Effects

Both societal limitations and personal problems are identified as cause for the number of homeless people within our society today. The incidence of substance abuse, mental illness and limited job skills is not enough to cause one to lose her home, as can be seen by the number of people who have maintained housing in spite of these problems. However, without adequate support networks, problems like these can eventually develop into a homeless situation. A lack of treatment facilities, vocational opportunities or a caring family/friend network becomes most pronounced when individuals reach the end of their rope.

Potential

A survey done in 30 U.S. cities in 1998 showed that 1 in 5 people who lived in homeless shelters held a full-time job. The lack of adequate assistance in the form of low-income housing and vocational learning opportunities led to a population of people unable to meet housing expenses. Should inflation rates continue to surpass the minimum wage requirement, homeless populations will continue to grow.
The potential for solving homelessness lies in community, state and federal efforts to address the economic disparities within our society. Whether causes stem from personal or societal lack, there are specific areas in which assistance can be applied. Areas such as affordable health care, low-cost housing, adequate mental health facilities and vocational training are needed to solve, as well as prevent, the continued growth in the number of homeless people within our society.

Resources

• Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Homelessness resource
• Homelessness Resource Center