Homelessness: A still-Important issue
Homelessness is not just a housing problem. As noted by PLoS Medicine "there is a substantial prevalence of mental disorders among homeless people in Western countries. Among prior studies meeting criteria for consideration, the prevalence of alcohol dependency ranged from 8.1% -- 58.5%, and drug dependence ranged from 4.5% -- 54.2%. For psychotic illnesses, the prevalence ranged from 2.8% -- 42.3%, with similar findings for major depression." Homelessness is an issue which is dealt with on federal, state, and local levels. Federal policies such as healthcare reform can impact the ability of people to receive treatment for substance abuse, for example. State and local ordinances can impact access to affordable housing, how drug crimes are prosecuted, and whether it is legal to panhandle or even to offer assistance to the homeless.
The plight of the homeless was thrown into sharp relief recently when the city of Fort Lauderdale recently passed a law to make it more difficult to feed the homeless, ostensibly out of health and safety concerns. The city "cited two Christian ministers and volunteer Arnold Abbot, 90, who runs the advocacy group, Love The Neighbor… They each now face 60 days in jail and $500 fines"...
In years before, America was a collection of Chinese, Germans, Italians, Scots, Croats, etc., all craving freedom. Today, even the simple concept of an English-speaking nation is fading off the continent. In the past, immigrants were taught in English in the public schools. In America today, children are taught in German, Italian, Polish, and 108 other languages and dialects. Most of these schools are funded by 139 million federal
Homelessness Among the Veteran Community: America's Forgotten Heroes Each year, thousands of citizens wind up homeless and living on the streets in America, as well as all over the world. The issue of homelessness in the U.S. has become widespread especially within the last few decades. Homelessness does not discriminate among people on caliber since any unexpected event or poor decision can leave a person homeless with very little warning. Some
et al. (2005) Facts on Trauma and Homeless Children. National Child Traumatic Stress Network - Homelessness and Extreme Poverty Working Group. Online available at http://www.nctsnet.org/nctsn_assets/pdfs/promising_practices/Facts_on_Trauma_and_Homeless_Children.pdf Burt, Aron, Douglas, et al., (1999) Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve: Summary Report - Findings of the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 1999 Burt, Martha, (2001) What Will it Take to End Homelessness? Washington, DC: The
Crime is not the only issue where homelessness is concerned, however, and homelessness in and of itself can be very difficult for someone to deal with, especially if the homelessness was unexpected or there are many familial obligations that suddenly will not be met (such as in the case of a single mother, for example). When homelessness occurs this way and causes these kinds of problems, there can be very
In general, any business organization can help the homeless by contributing money or volunteers to local shelters and to promote the availability of jobs for those whose circumstances are mainly attributable to their inability to find steady work and income. Private Individuals Unfortunately comparatively few private individuals take the initiative to do anything to help the homeless, mainly because they underestimate how far even a little help goes. The simplest way
" How many people are homeless? The number of homeless is difficult to ascertain because estimates vary depending on the methodology used. Numbers also vary substantially depending on whether a measurement is taken on a single night or is extrapolated to a given year. One approximation of the annual number of homeless in America is from a study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, which estimates between 2.3 and
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