Homelessness
Homelessness
☑️ This element is an expansion of the content of Lawi's courses, guides, tools and other solutions. It offers facts, commentary, and analysis on this topic. Do you like what you read? Can I ask a favor from you? Like and share it with your family and friends so that others can discover it too. If you have been forwarded this element, please subscribe here.
Homelessness Definition
Homelessness may be defined as the condition of people who lack regular legal access to adequate housing.
Introduction
Homelessness has been recognized as a significant social problem in the United States since the early 1980s, when a rapid increase in the number of homeless people was caused by a weak economy and cuts in federal aid for housing and income assistance. Other periods of increased homelessness also have occurred many times in history, including during the colonial era. Most other industrialized societies also have experienced increases in homeless populations in recent decades.
The Homeless Population
The number of homeless people in the United States has been a matter of considerable dispute. Advocates for the homeless claim that there are several million homeless people; however, recent studies suggest that the homeless number from 600,000 to 700,000. Precise numbers are impossible to collect because researchers define homelessness in different ways and because the homeless are transitory. The number of people predicted to become homeless in any given year is estimated to be three to five times the number of people who are homeless at any given moment. The U.S. Census Bureau attempted to count homeless people in the 1990 census
. However, most analysts regard this attempt as a failure. The homeless population is largely made up of adult men, but the proportion of women, children, and youth has steadily increased. This group now comprises more than 40 percent of the total homeless population. Most homeless people are also extremely poor and estranged from their families and other social networks. About one-third of the adult homeless are chronically mentally ill, and about half are alcoholic or abuse drugs. During the 1950s, most homeless people were older, white, alcoholic men associated with the rundown sections of cities known as skid rows. Today's homeless, however, are mostly non-white; relatively young, with an average age in the middle 30s; and include a large number of women and children. About one-third of homeless men are veterans. In addition to the homeless population, even larger numbers are considered marginally housed; they are in danger of becoming homeless because of poverty or inadequate housing. About half the nation's poor households spend 70 percent or more of their monthly income on housing, which puts them at risk of becoming homeless if faced with an economic problem. Because the number of people living in poverty numbers some 37 million, the marginally housed would amount to nearly 20 million people, thus creating the potential for a vast increase in the size of the homeless population. Those who are housed only because they have been able to stay with family or friends are known as the hidden homeless.
Causes
Many reasons have been advanced to explain the dramatic increase in the number of homeless people in the 1980s and 1990s. The total poverty rate tended to increase throughout this period, and this was especially true in the inner city areas where most homeless people live. At the same time, the supply of low-income housing declined precipitously in some cities. Waiting lists for public housing are often many years long and increases in welfare payments have not kept pace with inflation. Among other factors implicated in the trend are changes in the treatment of the chronically mentally ill, drug use, the inability of some families to support dependent adult members, and an increasing rate of violence against women.
Programs for the Homeless in the United States
Nationwide, about three-quarters of help for the homeless comes from the private sector, principally from churches that run soup kitchens, operate shelters, and distribute free clothing. The main federal programs for the homeless are those established by the 1987 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. The McKinney Act established a nationwide network of health clinics for the homeless. Among other things, the act also established adult education programs for the homeless, provided emergency homelessness prevention funds, and created a number of transitional housing programs. These programs have made the lives of many homeless people more tolerable, but they do not address the low-income housing crisis. Many analysts believe that the problem will be solved only by a renewed government commitment to construction of low-income housing. Source: "Homelessness"Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia
Homelessness Contents
Topics in the encyclopedia about Homelessness include:
Suburban Homelessness
Hidden Homelessness
History of Images of Homelessness in Narrative Film
Housing and Homelessness in Developing Nations
Contemporary Homeless Autobiography and Memoir
International Perspectives on Homelessness
Patterns of Homelessness
Homeless Assistance Services and Networks
Impact of Homelessness on Children
Images of Homelessness in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century American Literature
Research on Homelessness: Overview
Causes of Homelessness: Overview
Prevention of Homelessness: Overview
Images of Homelessness in the Media
Rural Homelessness
Course of Homelessness
Homeless Court Program
Definitions and Estimates of Homelessness
National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness
Images of Homelessness in Contemporary Documentary Film
American Bar Association Commission on Homelessness and Poverty
Homeless Populations
Literature on Homelessness
Urban Homelessness
History of Homelessness
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Center on Family Homelessness
National Coalition for the Homeless
Causes of Homelessness
Populations of Homelessness
Health Issues of Homelessness
Organizations of Homelessness
Legal Issues, Advocacy, and Policy of Homelessness
Housing Issues of Homelessness
Service Systems and Settings of Homelessness
Lifestyle Issues of Homelessness
Vagrancy
Legal Advocacy
Food Programs
Disorders and Health Problems: Overview
Netherlands
Spain
Deindustrialization
Skid Row Culture and History
Great Depression
Hobo and Tramp Literature
Paris
Child Care
Cost-effectiveness Analysis
Public Opinion
Foster Care
Hiv and Aids
Nigeria
Transitional Housing
Tokyo
Homeless Organizing
Assertive Community Treatment (act)
Service Integration
Poorhouses
Photography
Child Support
Denmark
Japan
Chicago Skid Row
Sweden
African-americans
Houston
Survival Strategies
Indonesia
Germany
Gentrification
Mental Health System
Health Care
Women
Criminal Activity and Policing
Libraries: Issues in Serving the Homeless
Social Support
“housing First” Approach
Harm Reduction
Alcohol and Drugs
Marginality
Canada
Families
Service Utilization Research
Mobility
Stressful Life Events
Case Management
Family Separations and Reunifications
Fair Housing Laws
Homeless Youth
Latino(a)s
Street Newspapers
Trauma and Victimization
Ethnography
Parenting
Street Youth and Violence
Veterans
Program Evaluation Research
Zimbabwe
Single-room Occupancy Hotels
Housing Interventions
Prostitution
Hunger and Nutrition
Affordable Housing
Cuba
London
United Kingdom
Municipal Lodging Houses
Copenhagen
Montreal
Sydney
Australia
Deinstitutionalization
The Bowery
Russia
Bangladesh
Epidemiology
Mental Illness and Health
Social Welfare Policy and Income Maintenance
Egypt
Toronto
New York City
Rural United Kingdom
Clinical Interventions
Self-help Housing
Safe Havens
Low-income Housing
France
Brazil
Continuum of Care
Boston
Shelters
St. Louis
Mumbai (bombay)
Minneapolis and St. Paul
Education of Children
Calcutta
Dallas
Older Homeless Persons
U.s. Federal Legislation, Programs, and Policies
Italy
Washington, D.c.
Urban Encampments
Workhouses
Corporation for Supportive Housing
South Africa
Outreach
Soup Kitchens
Work on the Streets
Nairobi
Philadelphia
Abeyance Theory
Los Angeles
Liminality
Panhandling
Poverty
Associations and Organizations
Cinema
Media
Religion
Housing
Missions
Asia
Men
Latin America
Children
Africa
Street Life
Almshouses
Association of Gospel Rescue Missions
European Network for Housing Research
Goodwill Industries International
Homeless International
International Network of Street Newspapers
International Union of Tenants
Wilder Research Center
Bombay
Feantsa
Salvation Army
Un-habitat
Urban Institute
Resources
Professional Content and Learning Tools
Lawi offers educational solutions and professional insight, integrating content, tools, and practical technology to promote lifelong learning, personal and professional improvement, and human progress through knowledge. Our collections feature resources and solutions from a wide range of subject areas, from management and finance to law and cybersecurity. This text is only a brief introduction. If you would like us to expand on this content, please let us know in the comments. If you’re finding our platform and newsletters valuable, share it with a colleague or friend, leave a comment and consider subscribing if you haven’t already (thanks!). There are group discounts, gift options, and referral bonuses available.
See Also
Including similar content viewed by others, in case you missed it: Social Policy Housing Legislation Property
Hierarchical Display of Homelessness
Social Questions > Social affairs > Social problem
Economics > National accounts > Income > Distribution of income > Poverty
Law > Rights and freedoms > Social rights > Right to housing
Social Questions > Social protection > Welfare > Social facilities
Homelessness
Concept of Homelessness
See the dictionary definition of Homelessness.
Characteristics of Homelessness
Resources
Professional Content and Learning Tools
Lawi offers educational solutions and professional insight, integrating content, tools, and practical technology to promote lifelong learning, personal and professional improvement, and human progress through knowledge. Our collections feature resources and solutions from a wide range of subject areas, from management and finance to law and cybersecurity. This text is only a brief introduction. If you would like us to expand on this content, please let us know in the comments. If you’re finding our platform and newsletters valuable, share it with a colleague or friend, leave a comment and consider subscribing if you haven’t already (thanks!). There are group discounts, gift options, and referral bonuses available.
Translation of Homelessness
Spanish: Persona sin domicilio
French: Sans-abri
German: Obdachloser
Italian: Senzatetto
Portuguese: Sem-abrigo
Polish: Bezdomność
Thesaurus of Homelessness
Social Questions > Social affairs > Social problem > Homelessness
Economics > National accounts > Income > Distribution of income > Poverty > Homelessness
Law > Rights and freedoms > Social rights > Right to housing > Homelessness
Social Questions > Social protection > Welfare > Social facilities > Homelessness
See Also
Including similar content viewed by others, in case you missed it:
No fixed abode
Vagrancy
Without fixed abode