Research Paper on Homelessness
Abstract
Homelessness has been a significant problem in the United States. More than half a million Americans experience homelessness on a single night in America. There are a lot of myths and assumptions that people have developed on homelessness. Some believe that homelessness is associated with problems such as chronic abuse of drugs and alcohol, poverty, and mental illnesses. However, homelessness is a big challenge to American society as it affects people of different categories. The demystification of the misconceptions that have been developed will help in finding the best solutions to the challenge. The government plays a significant role in addressing the problem of homelessness. The policies and regulations that the government puts in place in addressing homelessness will play a significant impact in solving the problem or worsening it. Homelessness is mainly caused by poor housing policies that make the available houses quite unaffordable to a particular population. Poverty levels play an essential role in homelessness because once the poor cannot afford to pay the rent for the houses, the majority of them will simply move to the street. This paper has carried out a literature review to understand the causes of homeless and how the problem can be addressed. The statistics that are provided in the paper will demystify some of the myths and misconnection that some of the people have held about homelessness in America.
Introduction
There are several misconceptions in American society about the issue of homelessness. A majority of Americans believe that those who are homeless are those who have problems with drug and substance abuse, alcoholism, poverty, or suffer from mental illnesses. The assumption may not be wrong in its entirety. However, such assumptions may overlook a big social problem, such as the effects of high unemployment rates and poverty. To some extent, homelessness is a problem caused by the effects of poor housing policies, a failing economy, and also poor financial decisions that people may get into in the society (Shinn, 2010). The issue of homelessness presents a number of challenges to the federal and state governments. The government has a responsibility to ensure that all its citizens have a place to call home and that they can afford safe housing. The strategy should include ensuring that the prices of houses are as stable and affordable as possible.
Addressing the problem of homelessness in America has not become an easy task. The challenge is compounded by the fact that it is hard to accurately determine the number of people who lack adequate housing facilities and those who spend in the streets. The challenges in accurately determining the number of people who are homeless arise from the fact that the numbers keep on fluctuating daily (Shinn, 2010). It should also be noted that many factors may drive a person to the streets (Finley, 2003). Unless such factors are conclusively addressed, no doubt solving the problem of homelessness in America will not be an easy task. This paper will provide a careful evaluation of homelessness and poverty by looking at the statistics on homelessness in America, its effects in the society, the links with gentrification, and the role that the government has to play in addressing homelessness.
Literature Review
Introduction to Homelessness and Poverty
The term homelessness was first used in the 1870s to refer to the people who were moving around America in search of work (Finley, 2003). At that time, the main problem that necessitated people to be considered as homeless was the lack of employment. The current definition of homelessness refers to people who lack appropriate shelter. According to Evans et al. (2019), more than half a million Americans go homeless on a single night in the United States. More than 200,000 people spend their night on the streets in places that are not intended for human habitation, such as in sidewalks, in the park, cars, and in abandoned buildings. There is also a significant number of the homeless population who spend their nights in emergency shelters and transitional housing programs. There is no doubt that the homeless population in America faces desperate situations and extreme hardship as they go on with their lives without a place to call home (Evans et al., 2016). The homeless face a lot of challenges such as substance abuse disorders, untreated mental illnesses, and also unintended consequences as a result of government policies on housing. There is no doubt that effective government policies on housing can go a long way in addressing some of the major underlying causes of homelessness in America and effectively solve the problems of the most vulnerable members of American society.
Major Causes of Homeless in America
- Price of Housing
Several causes can be attributed to the prevalence of homelessness in America. According to Evans et al. (2016), one of the major causes of homelessness is the price of housing. Many people have been driven to the streets because they are unable to pay rent for the houses where they stay. Whenever housing prices increase, there are some people who will face the difficulty of paying rent for the houses, and, in some cases, they may end up being evicted from their houses. Corinth (2017) demonstrated that higher home prices are associated with higher rates of homelessness. The economic argument that was explained by Corinth (2017) is that a one percent increase in the median rent is associated with a one percent increase in the rate of homelessness. Other studies have shown a strong positive association between rates of homelessness and housing prices, although the association varies from one state to another. There are instances where changes in the housing market regulations have occasioned the increases in housing prices. Some tax policies may discourage investment or re-investment in the housing sector, which may lead to a reduction in the supply of housing and, as a result, drive up home prices, although in most cases, tax policies support the creation of affordable housing (Glaeser & Gyourko, 2018).
- The supply of homeless shelters
Another factor that can be used to explain the prevalence of homelessness in America is the availability of substitutes to housing. There are homeless shelters that are available in some streets. However, no research shows that providing homeless shelters will increase homelessness as the shelters may become more desirable to some people in the general population and not desirable to other people. It should be noted that while the homeless shelters enhance the quality of life of the homeless, it may, at times, bring people who would have otherwise had their own houses hence increasing the number of those who are homeless (Glynn, 2018). Some of the free shelters are indeed safe, hygienic, and are therefore attractive enough to bring on board people who would have otherwise not been sheltered. The supply of homeless shelters is also related to the tolerability of sleeping on the streets because it makes sleeping on the streets rewarding, and the government policies that have been put in place appear to drive more people to the street.
- Individual Factors
Certain individual factors may drive people towards or away from the streets. There are many risk factors for homelessness, and the prevalence of such factors simply increases the number of people who are homeless in society. Some of the individual-level factors that have been associated with homelessness include mental health, drug and substance abuse, incarceration, poverty, and lack of social ties in the family and family violence (Shinn, 2015). A significant number of people who are homeless have also been found to suffer from severe mental illness, chronic substance abuse, poverty, and had some form of disability. According to Evans et al (2019), the 2018 homeless point-in-time count found that 20 percent of the homeless had a severe mental illness, and 16 percent were suffering from severe drug and substance abuse. It was also noted that more than 40 percent of the adults who were homeless also had a disability. It should also be noted that many people who are homeless mostly have low incomes, and that is what sometimes drives them to live in the streets. Poverty is associated with homelessness because poor people may not be able to pay for the houses (Mabhala et al., 2017). Poverty is also associated with relatively weaker social ties, which are also a factor that drives some people to live in the streets.
According to Corinth and Rossi-de Vries (2018), the lifetime incidence of homelessness is reduced by 60 percent for individuals who have strong ties with their families, the religious community, and with their friends. It is important to note that not a single factor alone can drive a person to a state of homelessness. Not everyone who has mental illness, chronic substance abuse, had been incarcerated, poor, and having weak social ties will be at a higher risk of homelessness. The majority of Americans who suffer from the mentioned conditions are not homeless. Subsequently, it is essential to say that other factors also come into play when determining who becomes homeless in the long run.
The Statistics on Homelessness
The latest report on the state of homelessness in America by the Council of Economic Advisers (September 2019) places the number of people who are homeless in America to slightly above half a million (Evans et al., 2019). According to the report, a total of 552,830 people experienced homelessness on a single night in 2018 in the United States. The number represented 17 people out of every 10,000 people in the United States (Evans et al., 2019). About 65 percent of the people who are homeless live in homeless shelters while the remaining 35 percent are found unsheltered on the streets. The report also states that most of the people (67 percent) who experience homelessness are individuals while the rest, 33 percent, are people in families and even with children. One of the groups that are adversely affected by homelessness is the youths, especially those below the age of 25 and living on their own. The youth below the age of 25 and who live without their parents or children constitute 7 percent of the total homeless population (Evans et al., 2019). It should be noted that most of the efforts in addressing the problem of homelessness in America have previously targeted the veterans and the chronically homeless people (Finley, 2003). The veterans constituted 7 percent of the homeless population, while the chronically homeless individuals comprised of 18 percent. The chronically homeless people are described at individuals with disabilities and who have been in the state of homelessness for an extended period or have been repeatedly homeless.
Total number of people experiencing homelessness in 2018 by type (Retrieved from The Council of Economic Advisers (2019)
It is also essential to explore the issue of homelessness in the dimensions of gender and racial demographics. Notably, the majority of the homeless population in America is male. According to the statistics, in the individual adult population who are homeless, 70 percent of them are male, while the remaining 30 percent are female. With regard to racial affiliations, White Americans constitute a higher percentage of those who are homeless. The White Americans account for 49 percent of the homeless, although the African Americans and American Indians also represent unprecedented percentages in the overall population of the homeless in America (Evans et al., 2019).
Racial Comparisons of the Homeless Population in America retrieved from The Council of Economic Advisers (2019)
Effects of Homelessness
The effects of homelessness can be categorized into two: effects on society and the effects on the homeless population. According to Mabhala et al. (2017), homeless individuals normally face a myriad of health-related problems. The local conditions that they face will dictate the nature and extent of the issues that they face. For example, some of the homeless sleep in the cold and without clean water and food. Some of them also lack proper clothing while others are exposed to pollutants. The homeless individuals also experience feelings of isolation, and that can increase their chances of involvement in drug and substance abuse and experiencing physical or mental problems (Phillip, 2015). The homeless may also develop anti-social behavior such as involvement in crime because they feel that they have been abandoned. Homelessness also affects society in many ways. First, homelessness causes an economic downturn as putting ineffective programs that address the problems of the homeless can be costly (Glynn, 2018). Homelessness also leads to an increase in poverty in society as the homeless people are not entirely productive as other people. They tend to beg for food, water, and clothing. Homelessness also causes family dysfunction as a person who had a family decides to abandon the family and instead to go live on the streets. Being homeless puts a lot of burden on public health as some of the homeless live in inhumane conditions with poor hygiene that can witness the emergence of certain diseases in the United States (Evans et al., 2019).
Links of Homelessness with Gentrification
One of the catalysts of homelessness that have been identified by researchers is gentrification. According to Chum (2015), gentrification has an influence on both eviction and homelessness rates, in addition to the social capital of the minority groups. Gentrification occurs when wealthier people arrive in an existing urban neighborhood and cause a significant change in the neighborhood. The changes may be very complicated and contradictory, such as an increase in the median income of the neighborhood and an increase in rents and home prices. The wealthier individuals may also develop luxury housing (Mabhala et al., 2017). Gentrification causes homelessness because it makes the houses to be quite expensive, which may not be affordable to other low-income earners in society. The increase in the media housing prices may force some people to the streets as they may not be able to continue living in the houses.
The Role of the Government in addressing Homelessness
The government has a significant role to play in addressing the issue of homelessness in America. The Federal Government provides funding to communities with a view of supporting homeless assistance programs. However, the government has to be cautious about the type of homeless assistance that they support. Some programs may contribute to increasing the rate of homelessness in America. Consequently, caution should be placed that the programs do not contribute towards driving more people to live in the street once the streets become more tolerable to them (Finley, 2003). The role of the government should be to develop policies and regulations that would increase the supply of safe and affordable houses. The government should also develop policies that protect the poor from unnecessary and unjustified increases in rent and house prices that may adversely affect them (Mabhala et al., 2017). Another role of the government is to provide the homeless with supportive housing with no preconditions. The government should also address the risk factors that drive the homeless population back to the streets. Issues such as mental health, family violence, chronic use of drugs, and substance should be adequately addressed by the government. There are also some tax policies that the government may impose, which may have an adverse impact on the housing sector. The tax policies could reduce the supply of housing, thereby increasing the demand for houses. With the increase in demand and low supply, it is evident that the prices of the houses will rise, making it difficult for those with low incomes to have a shelter.
Methodology Section
Introduction
This section highlights the research design that has been employed by the researcher in gathering data and also justifies the use of the design. The section will thus document the source of the data that will be used in making inferences in the study and the data collection procedure. The section will also identify the major concepts, such as the dependent variable and what the data would represent. The section will also explain sample selection and the actual procedures that will be employed to get access to the data.
Research Question
The research question that this paper attempts to answer is: what is the link between joblessness or high unemployment rate and the cost of housing to homelessness. The study will be an explorative research that will extract statistics to understand how high unemployment rates and high cost of housing are associated with many people lacking a place to call home. The researcher believes that high unemployment rates and high cost of housing are vital determinants for homelessness in America. The researcher will obtain data that will be used to make inferences by examining the life stories of homeless people and those who work with the homeless in New York City. The data will be obtained from two centers for the homeless people in New York, where a sample population of the homeless, together with the people who work closely with them, will be recruited into the study. The data obtained will be compared with historical data that will highlight whether homelessness has been reducing or it has been growing about the unemployment rates. The historical data that will be used will be census data on the homeless population and other government data on homeless people and the main determinants for homelessness. The statistics will also show the average cost of housing over the years and how much is spent in housing compared to what the people earn. Such information will help in understanding whether the people who are unemployed are able to afford the house and how they are affected by the problem of homelessness in America. In addition, the research study will explore the effects of homelessness on the homeless and to society and whether gentrification is a cause of homelessness.
Research Design
Setting and Sampling Strategy Used
As noted, the researcher will obtain data that will be used to make inferences by examining the life stories of homeless people and those who work with the homeless in New York City. The data will be obtained from two centers for the homeless people in New York, where a sample population of the homeless, together with the people who work closely with them, will be recruited into the study. The sample strategies that will be used in the study are purposive and theoretical. The purposive sampling method was considered appropriate because it will enable the researcher to select a sample with predetermined characteristics, such as individuals who were homeless and those who were working with the homeless in the centers. The respondents will then be issued with a questionnaire that they will be required to respond, and the researcher will then analyze the questionnaire. There will be two types of questionnaires that the respondents will respond to. The first questionnaire will be for the homeless people who are in the center while the second questionnaire will be administered to those who work with the homeless in the centers.
One of the main considerations for the recruitment of participants for the study will be to ensure that the study complies with the ethical standards. Involvement and participation in the study will be voluntary, and all the homeless people in the centers will be given equal opportunity to participate. Any respondent will also be free to withdraw from the study at any time. To ensure equal opportunity for everyone, all the homeless people and the workers in the two centers who will be available at the time of the study will be offered an opportunity to participate in the study. However, in order to help the potential respondents to make reasoned decisions on whether to participate, the researcher will take the potential respondents through the objectives and purpose of the study. The potential respondents, however, will be required to meet certain criteria in order to start the process of registering for the study. The respondents should not be under any influence of substance or drugs and alcohol, and should also not have a diagnosis of a mental ill-health. The respondents should also be free from any physical pain or discomfort that may impair the quality of the decisions that they make.
Data analysis
The researcher will perform an analysis of the existing data, which means that the researcher will extract data from existing literature on homelessness and unemployment in the United States and compare it with the data obtained from the respondents. The analysis of the existing literature appears to be an appropriate design given the research objective because it will provide the researcher with essential data required to make a relationship between homelessness and unemployment, which is a determinant of poverty. The researcher believes that the available data on homelessness will not be adequate in predicting the relationship between homelessness and poverty. The researcher will provide a summary of the collected information and then provide an interpretation. The information that will be used in testing the hypotheses for this research paper will be obtained from external sources. Government censuses, government departments, journals, libraries, and the internet will form useful sources of secondary data to be used in the study. It is important to note that only the information that will be relevant to the researcher will be considered. The researcher will carry out a comparison of the data collected from various sources and then perform an interpretation before coming up with a conclusion.
Limitations of the Research Method
The first limitation of secondary data analysis is that the available data may not address the particular research question or test the specific hypothesis of the researcher. It is also possible that other variables may not have been included or could have been excluded during the data collection. Another limitation is that the data collected may not be inclusive for all the population subgroups of interest or cover the required geographic regions of interest. Another limitation is that some of the data that the researcher may require may not be available as a way of protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the respondents of the study. Such data such as age, race, ethnicity, primary sampling units, and location of the respondents may be important in the intended analysis. The omitted variables may be crucial to the researcher. Another limitation is that the researcher who is analyzing the data will not be the same person who collected the data. The researcher will, therefore, not be aware of certain conditions or situations of the research that could have affected the data collection process.
References
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