Homlessness In America

7 Pages 1729 Words

vety and stubbornness that has served to enable the growth of homelessness and will continue to do so if we do not finally reckon with poverty in this nation. (8)
Homelessness can be caused by a variety of problems. The main cause is unaffordable housing for the poor. The largest cut was from 1993 through 1995, when there was a loss of 900,000 or 10 percent of affordable housing units. In order to find an explanation for the shortage, we can simply look to Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) budget in 1995, which is one-third of what it was in 1980. (3) Secondary causes include mental illness, physical illnesses, substance abuse, lack of incentives to work, poor work ethics, and lack of a decent education. The National Law Center for Homelessness and Poverty reports that over 3 million men, women, and children were homeless over the past year – about 30% of them persistently and the others temporarily. (1) In many cases people are in and out of the homeless system, which includes shelters, hospitals, the streets, and prisons. In the United States today 49 percent of homeless people are in their first experience of homelessness, while 34 percent have been homeless three or more times. For 28 percent ...