Homelessness Causes

Homelessness is amongst the prime social concerns that plague developing as well as developed countries in the world. About 11% of US population is homeless with more than 1 million homeless children. Homelessness is defined as a state in which a person is unable to afford a permanent nighttime shelter. There are several socio-economic causes of homelessness, which differ for each country. Basically there are three different categories of homelessness, transitional, which refers to a period of homelessness for 59 days or less, episodic, with 4 to 5 incidents of homelessness amounting to a total of 266 days or less and chronic with 2 or more incidents, accounting to a total of 650 days of homelessness. Earlier, unemployment was considered as the most common cause of homelessness. However, statistics reveal that more than 25% of homeless population is employed.

Homelessness Causes and Effects

Poverty
Poverty is the most significant of all causes of homelessness in America, as well as the rest of the world. Low income deprives people of housing, education, health care, child care, etc. Since, housing eats away major portion of people's minimal income, they opt to do away with it. Poverty often paves way for various other socio-economic issues.

Mental Illness
Homelessness and mental illness are closely related. About 22% of homeless people suffer from some sort of mental illness. People are often abandoned by families and friends who cannot support a mentally ill person. This condition also hinders the chances of gaining employment for a person. In worst cases, mental illness encourages substance abuse.

Illiteracy
Lack of education or illiteracy limits one's ability to find a decent job. As a result, people have to put up with jobs that pay less and offer long working hours. The wages are not enough to cover the housing expenses of the concerned individual or family.

Substance Abuse
Drug abuse or alcohol abuse often results in people being thrown on streets. Broken relationships, loss of loved ones, depression, financial woes, etc. force people to resort to substance abuse. This worsens the situation of a person as he or she is unable to find an employment. Substance abuse is one of the leading causes of youth homelessness.

Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is mainly associated with homeless women and children. About 50% or more women leave their homes owing to abusive relationships. Physical, sexual relationships are the main causes of teenage homelessness. Most of the homeless children and women flee domestic violence by embracing shelters on streets.

Institutional Discharge
People who are released from jails after serving a long sentence often take shelter on streets, since they have no families to go back to. Similar is the case with people released from mental asylums or other such institutions. Lack of government interest to support such individuals by providing permanent shelter often results in homelessness and crime.

Legal Issues
Legal issues prevent people from becoming eligible to government subsidiaries and other housing finance assistance programs. Inability to produce a permanent address or means of communication also hinders one's prospects of acquiring an employment. Immigration issues also lead to homelessness in the United States, as one is unable to produce legal documents to claim a residence.

Lack of Community Support
Families that suffer from major setbacks such as death of sole earning member or other such grave problems are often supported by community support groups or some other social organizations. Lack of such solid support system leads to homelessness for the family.

Besides, certain other social factors like ethnicity, color may also offer challenges for some families in establishing a roof over their heads. The ever rising cost of housing has aggravated the problem of homelessness all over the world. Homelessness has serious implications upon the entire society. Not only does it lead to increase in crimes but it also poses a threat to social security and integrity. People living in streets are more vulnerable to attacks than those living inside homes. Similarly, it also exposes them to various infections and other health hazards.

Homelessness causes a state of unrest amongst an entire section of society. Nevertheless, various programs like housing assistance as well as employment opportunities have been launched to support homeless people. These programs enable underprivileged people to join the mainstream society.