Describe how your perspective has evolved or
changed through this course and how you believe it will continue to
evolve after the course. Explain how this experience has influenced
your ability to create positive social change beyond the term of
this
course.If you choose to engage in the social issue you researched in this course, address how you will prevent burnout and engage others in your causeThis
is on homelessness
Running head: HOMELESSNESS CAMPAIGN
Homelessness
Angela Bailey
Walden University 1 HOMELESSNESS 2
Homelessness Introduction
The problem of homelessness is challenging because there are
ideological, social and
economic factors that impact both how people become homeless
and how societies address the
issue. While it is common to blame the homeless for their
plight, others believe that sociological
factors and mental health problems play the largest role in
preventing all Americans from having
a roof over their heads. In assessing this problem and
potential solutions, it is important to
acknowledge the breadth and scope of the issue and define
some of the primary causative factors.
Summary of the Problem
According to a HUD report, there were over 640,000 homeless
in the US in January of
2010 (Curtis, Corman, Noonan, & Reichman, 2013). This
included nearly 80,000 families with a
total of over 240,000 family members (Curtis et al., 2013).
Though social depictions of the
homeless often show single, unemployed, and potentially
functional adults as the primary
population of poor Americans, the HUD report openly
challenges this view. Homelessness not
only impacts individuals but overwhelmingly affects families
and young children.
As a culture, we believe ideologically that people should
strive to have a roof over their
heads and provide for their families. Subsequently, when we
see homeless people living on the
streets, we perceive this as a failure of these individuals
to take the basic steps necessary to
function in a modern society. There was a dramatic increase
in homelessness in the 1980s that
was a product of some economic conditions, lack of a social
response, and the
deinstitutionalization of mental illness in many states
(Curtis et al., 2013). Homelessness has
led to unprecedented income inequality and a sharp increase
in the cost of housing, putting many
low-income families out on the streets (Curtis et al., 2013).
Skyrocketing rents and the high cost HOMELESSNESS 3 of living in
many urban settings led to a rise in homeless resulting from the
inability to match
low-wage earning income with basic living expenses (Poppe,
2011).
Potential Solutions
In defining options, it is important to recognize the factors
that influence homelessness.
The National Coalition for the Homeless (2009) maintained
that about 20-25 percent of homeless
people in the United States suffer from some form of mental
illness. These researchers
compared this figure to the general population, which only
has about a 6% mental illness rate.
Subsequently, the NCOH and the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration
contend that assessing the connection between mental illness
and homelessness could help to
address this problem. Specifically, these organizations
maintained that people with severe
mental illness are unable to carry out essential activities
of daily living, including self-care and
timely attendance to work duties (NCOH, 2009). Though mental
illness is not a contraindication
for satisfactory job performance, it is a risk factor for
poor attendance and workplace turnover,
which can contribute to the economic conditions that result
in homelessness.
Also, homelessness begets homelessness. It is more likely for
the children of parents who
have had shelter, food, or income insecurity to raise
children with similar problems (Fargo,
Munley, Byrne, Montgomery, & Culhane, 2013). Like
poverty and substance use disorders,
there are cyclical elements that impact the continuation of
homelessness in families that should
be taken into consideration when assessing this problem.
Correspondingly, people who are
homeless are at greater risk of contracting life-altering
diseases, including tuberculosis, HIV, and
hepatitis B, making it more difficult for them to achieve
employment and secure housing
(NCOH, 2009). Potential solutions must address the underlying
social problems that translate
into homelessness, including cycles of mental illness,
substance abuse, and shelter/food/income HOMELESSNESS 4 insecurity.
Individual Actions and Outcomes
People often mistake the concept of individual actions for
different behaviors. Whether a
person’s behaviors around homeless people are altered by
open discussion of the issue or not, it
is unlikely that personal actions will make a considerable
impact on this matter. It is more likely
that the most beneficial individual actions are those that
help to define public perspective, drive
public policy, and create a voice for the underserved. This
can include becoming an advocate for
public policies that support programming for the homeless.
This can include public health
programming, improved education, job resource support, and
services that are oriented around
creating pathways to reduce insecurity. The following are
three individual actions and the
desired outcomes that can support this kind of necessary
change to reduce homelessness:
1. Become a volunteer to support advocacy for the homeless in
an urban setting. The expected
outcome would be to provide direct support and services to
help homeless integrate strategies to
find shelter, participate in activities of daily living, get
proper medical treatment, and transition
off the streets.
2. Vote and become a public voice for change. Increasingly,
our society is becoming less
paternalistic and more exclusionary. As a result, our
government has lost sight of the role that it
should play in protecting the needs of those who cannot take
care of themselves. The homeless
is a population in need of social, political, and economic
support. The expected outcome of this
would be maintaining support for social programs that can
help transition the homeless off the
streets.
3. Contribute monetarily or of your time to charities that
provide direct services for the
homeless. If the government is unable to address the needs of
this population effectively, it is HOMELESSNESS 5 important that
charitable organizations develop strategies for support. Support
may include
organizations that directly address the needs of individuals
with mental illness who may be
unable to seek out employment or secure income in other ways.
Organizations like Goodwill
Industries commonly work with populations that are
underserved and cannot make headway in
reducing their income/housing/food insecurity.
Homelessness is a greater issue in some areas than others and
will demand a different solution
according to one's community and their resources (Fargo,
Munley, Byrne, Montgomery, &
Culhane, 2013).
Objectives for Now and 5-10 Years
Current goals include meeting the mental health, immediate
safety and nutritional needs
of people who are homeless. This can include supporting
organizations through monetary or
time donations that can contribute to providing food and
shelter resources for the homeless.
Public health organization can also use social support and
volunteers to provide direct care and
services for those who are mentally ill, unable to provide
for themselves, and unable to make
transitions through work or education programs. An individual
can also support an explicit
social message of the importance of a response to the needs
of the homeless that reflects a
paternalistic approach and respect for the dignity of all
people. We can try and project that over
the next five to 10 years, these kinds of actions should not
only fuel local programming but must
also define a national agenda to improve conditions for the
homeless. Without this kind of
driving force, it may be impossible to creating lasting
change for people who have slipped
through the cracks. HOMELESSNESS 6 Conclusion
The problem of homelessness is difficult to address because
there are many different
types of homeless people. Individuals with mental illness who
cannot care for themselves may
be unable to pay for and maintain the shelter. These people
also experience income and food
insecurity. Mental illness, though, only makes up about
one-fourth of all individuals who are
homeless. The other three-fourths include individuals who are
unable to work, people who
cannot find the resources necessary to secure employment and
families with young children who
cannot dig their way out of a deep economic hole.
Subsequently, the problem of homeless
requires a variety of strategies to reduce its impacts.
HOMELESSNESS 7 References: Curtis, M. A., Corman, H., Noonan, K.,
& Reichman, N. E. (2013). Life shocks and
homelessness. Demography; Silver Spring, 50(6), 2227-2253.
Fargo, J., Munley, E. A., Byrne, T. H., Montgomery, A. E.,
& Culhane, D. P. (2013). Communitylevel characteristics
associated with variation in rates of homelessness among families
and single adults. American Journal of Public Health, suppl.,
103(2), S340-7.
National Coalition for the Homeless (2009). Mental Illness
and Homelessness. Retrieved from
https://allaplusessays.com/order
Poppe, B. (2011). Interagency collaboration moves U.S. closer
to ending homelessness. Public
Manager; Alexandria, 40(4), 28-31.
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