Patterson 1

Coby Patterson

Mrs. Brunner

Comp 1

11/01/2019

Homelessness in America

Last semester I took a Cultural Anthropology class. For my final I was tasked to do an

interview study project where I was to find a subculture in my city and conduct multiple

interviews asking them questions that pertained to their way of life within their community. I

chose to interview the homeless of downtown Kansas City. To do so, I began volunteering at a

homeless shelter and interviewing several homeless people on the streets. What I found stunned

me; these people were not the stereotypical homeless people I have been taught about; the lazily

incompetent, estranged and hateful bunch that many imagine. These people seemed normal; just

a little unlucky. Interestingly enough, half of the interviewees said they felt that they were

homeless due to reasons that were out of their control, like the rising cost of living or medical

issues.

In 2015, Habitat for Humanity estimated there are 150 million people who find

themselves homeless worldwide. That is 2.14% of the world’s population. This means that one

could say that about one of every fifty people are homeless. In the United States, homelessness

has been on the rise for the last four decades. In the early 1980s, the U.S government referred to

homelessness as a “national epidemic.” With that in mind, know that the U.S. homeless

population from the year 1980 had doubled by the year 2000, and has since grown. This leaves

most shelters near peak compacity. It is estimated that tonight there will be 553,200 people

without a roof over their heads in the U.S. Today we find ourselves in a society with a rising
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homeless populace that is underequipped to deal with their situations. We must look towards

innovations and solutions to help quell this issue before it gets even more out of hand. What has

caused this disaster to unfold? Homelessness in America has become an epidemic because of the

rise in the cost of living, the underorganized natures of the systems in place, and the

underfunding of government institutions and non-profits.

One of the leading causes for the steady rise of homelessness is imbedded in the steady

rise of poverty. Over the last three decades, the cost of living has risen quicker than inflation.

This is a new trend for the U.S. Economy. The dollar doesn’t go as far as it did last century. An

increasing amount of families are having hard times making ends meet with the widening

housing affordability gap. The National Poverty Center found in 2011 that there are more than

1.65 million households (average of three persons) living in extreme poverty in the United

States. Extreme poverty being defined by the World Bank as, “[a household] Surviving on less

than $2 per day, per person, each month.” It’s not difficult to see how this could be a factor into

the rising homeless demographic; the more impoverished a person is, the more likely that person

is to become homeless.

It is important to remember that the process of becoming homeless isn’t very linear. Each

case of homelessness can differ widely from another. Although there a few factors that are

becoming more common among then homeless. One of those factors is the mishandling of care

towards the mentally ill. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration, 20 to 25% of the U.S. homeless population suffer from severe mental illness.

The reason for many with mental health issues becoming homeless often stems from a lack of

follow up on the end of the mental health service providers. “Contrary to popular belief, many

homeless people with severe mental illnesses are willing to accept treatment and services.”
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(National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009) Those who are mentally ill often push away those

they are closest to and need the most. There is no way to enroll these people into a program or

prescribe the correct medication to them if they have no one to point them in that direction.

Ultimately, due to lack of self-care and daily routine, they end up evicted on the streets. Many

who are on the street today would be likely to accept help from an institution if they were offered

it. However, without the necessary funding that is needed, there are very few programs that seek

out the mentally ill on the streets to offer help. For most who find themselves in those types of

scenarios, that help doesn’t exist.

Another large issue with at play here is the lack of funding and resources provided to

homeless shelters and work-assistance programs. Most homeless shelters are chiefly funded by

non-profits and religious institutions. The grants they receive from the government have been

dwindling more and more over the years. Thus, the shelters are almost totally reliant on

donations, which can be hit or miss. With no consistent, adequate funding, the shelter system is

crippled. They are fortunate to be able to have enough beds for everyone, but often they must

charge their stay. Pricing can often be as high as Section 8 housing, which is precisely what they

cannot afford, thus rendering them homeless. The average stay in a shelter is seven months out of

the year. The lack of ability to provide a financial respite defeats the purpose of the programs.

Yet even so, the shelters from coast to coast are facing higher demands than ever seen before as

the homeless population continues to increase. Los Angeles, for example, currently has over

58,000 homeless living within its confines. This has maxed out the capacity for homeless relief.

This year they are calculating there are three beds for every four homeless on a given night. With

nowhere to go, whole communities of homeless are being formed in the LA streets like those of

the infamous Skid Row neighborhood.

Homelessness is an epidemic. Prospects for its future look grim. However, that doesn’t

have to be the end of the story. If politicians were to take the issue more seriously, we could see

some real change. The implementation of a few government-mandated social programs might

lead to great progress. New York City has a great city-funded permanent supportive housing

program for those living with mental illness, HIV/AIDS, or other serious health problems. The

city helps provide them stable housing at a cost cheaper than funding a shelter would be. A new

type of program could be implemented in dense metro areas around the nation for those who are

homeless due a lack of treatment for mental illnesses. Studies have shown that both public and

federal housing are very effective in reducing homelessness in urban areas. Couple the housing

with access to certain amenities such as assistance in employment/employment opportunity

awareness, temporary access to health care and/or mental illness services, and education on

money management and daily living skills. If more programs like this existed, they could help

more people out of the hole, and more effectively too.

If everyone in a given community were to make a conscious decision to recognize the

homeless in their metro area and chose to play a part in helping someone in need, the issue

would resolve substantially. Homeless shelters are always in need of volunteers to make things

run smoother. They are always in need of monetary or material donations. If a quarter of the

people who passed by the homeless man on street were to give him an article of clothing, a gift

card, a meal, a dollar or a reference or two, the homeless population would plummet. We need to

stop judging those less fortunate than us and begin to put ourselves in their shoes. If a person

truly tries to see from their perspective, compassion will rise. The fact of the matter is, we can all

make a small difference ourselves.

Nobody chooses to be homeless. The road to homelessness is unique for each individual;

it is a complicated process and a culmination of multiple underlying social and economic

problems. People don’t choose to end up there. However, as a culture we have made a practice of

assuming they do. We avoid and chastise them, depicting them as lazy. They are not “our

problem.” If that statement is true, then we need to be funding the ones whose problem it is, like

non-profits, public housing or assistance programs. We should petition for government to take a

stance and create a more organized and comprehensive system in solving the situation. Along

with that, distribute more funding to those systems. As well, we should all look to see how we

may be able to do our part by helping those in need.

Works Cited

Admin. “Global Homelessness Statistics.” Homeless World Cup, Homeless World Cup, 28 Oct.

2019, https://homelessworldcup.org/homelessness-statistics/.

Coalition, 17 May 2013, https://nlihc.org/resource/extreme-poverty-rise-united-states.

“Extreme Poverty on the Rise in the United States.” National Low Income Housing

Church, Jonathan. “Methodology.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor

Investopedia. “How Does the Current Cost of Living Compare to 20 Years Ago?” Investopedia,

Investopedia, 8 Sept. 2019, https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/101314/what-

does-current-cost-living-compare-20-years-ago.asp

Mental Illness and Homelessness. National Coalition for the Homeless,

https://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/Mental_Illness.pdf, July 2009, pp. 1-2,

Mental Illness and Homelessness

Nisbet, Elisabeth, and William M Rodgers. “National Poverty Center Working Paper Series #13-

07.” National Poverty Center Working Paper Series  , vol. 13, no. 07, June 2013,

http://npc.umich.edu/publications/u/2013-07-npc-working-paper.pdf.

“Proven Solutions.” Coalition For The Homeless,

https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/ending-homelessness/proven-solutions/.
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Rideau, Adam. “A Solution for Homelessness: Community-Based Problem Solving.” USC

Homelessness Initiative, TEDx, 31 Oct. 2017,

https://homelessness.usc.edu/strategies/policy-advancement/housing-supply/a-solution-

for-homelessness-community-based-problem-solving/.

Smith, Doug. “L.A. County Now Has 58,000 Homeless People. So Why Are There Thousands

Fewer Shelter Beds than in 2009?” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov.

2017, https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-los-angeles-shelter-shortage-

20170929-htmlstory.html.

Statistics, June 2015, https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-4/the-cost-of-basic-necessities-has-

risen-slightly-more-than-inflation-over-the-last-30-years.htm.