Homelessness

Homelessness is a serious problem in our society. Every night in our nation thousands of people are on the streets. This type of behavior is considered deviant because it does not reflect the norms and values of our society. In many cases the homeless people in our country are treated as total outcasts. Many of these people have severe mental disorders. Some are victims of an economy that has failed them. One may ask how such harsh situations exist in such an advanced society. With all the money and programs created to help people it seems ridiculous that this behavior exists. In a society where people have so much how is it possible that there are still people that have so little. The homeless are humans, no different than anyone else. They have rights and privileges just as any other citizen. As fellow humans we are obligated to help those in need. The homeless are in need. They are not only in need of money, but they are also in need of our attention and our support. Homelessness is something that we as a society need to address and eliminate completely.

In the past few years the number of homeless people has increased tremendously gaining the attention of the public eye. While there is debate over how many homeless people are in the United States, few disagree that the numbers are overwhelmingly high and they are growing. In the past the homeless population mainly consisted of white men who were alcoholics. Now the homeless consists of many different types of people ranging in ethical background. They have also become a younger group of people and have a variety of different reasons for their homelessness (Farr, 1986).

Homeless people have no bed to keep warm in if they get a fever or if the weather is cold. They do not have a cabinet with aspirin or cough syrup. They do not have a stovetop to make soup. They have no ice from the refrigerator and they do not have a bathtub to soak in. These things are taken for granted by the people who have them. These seem as necessities for most adults, but even more so for children.

Children that do not have homes grow up at risk for diseases that are not a threat to the general part of the nation. Illnesses such as whooping cough or tuberculosis that seem so rare in society are commonly found in homeless shelters. These children have not been given their vaccines over the years and therefore are not allowed to attend school. The homeless children that do attend school are sometimes as far behind as two grade levels. Many of the children are very hungry and tired which makes it almost impossible for them to concentrate. Other children are embarrassed to go to school because the other children know their situation and ridicule them. Sometimes a teacher might even keep away from a child that they believe to be dirty or may be sick. Most of these children are. They do not smell good because they do not take baths. They grow up being outcasts (Connolly, 2000).

The National Health Care for the Homeless project showed that children up to twelve years of age that are homeless, are twice as likely to come down with an ear or upper respiratory infection. They are three times as likely to have a gastrointestinal problem and four times as likely to have a skin problem and ten times more likely to have bad teeth. For children thirteen to nineteen there was a similar pattern. They had higher rates of alcohol and drug abuse. Teen pregnancy was much higher for homeless children also. Asthma, hypertension, mental disorders, elevated blood lead levels, and chronic health problems were significantly higher for all homeless children.

Today families and children are fastest growing group of homeless people. Ten years ago families and children were about ten percent of the homeless population. Today families and children make up half of the homeless population. Homeless families are more common in rural area then urban ones. Children under the age of six are the fastest growing group of the homeless. Teens that do not live with there parents are also growing extremely fast. The rural poor are at the most disadvantaged of all Americans. In 1987 the U.S. Conference of Mayors Study found that in America homelessness increase by twenty percent every year and by the year 2003 eighteen point seven million Americans will not be able to find an affordable housing unit. Homelessness could be increasing faster than this. A study done at a Columbia University done in 1993 indicated that thirteen point five million Americans have been forced to live on the streets or in a shelter at some point in there lives. Also six million of them had reported being homeless in the past five years. If you count those people who were forced temporarily