Homelessness The United States - 1214 Words

One regularly encounters homeless people everyday, avoiding them or looking at them in disgust. However, does her or she ever wonder how those people got to where they are and became homeless? Does that person ever realize that, in contrast to being lazy and ignorant fools, those homeless people are humans just like him or her who just so happened to run into bad luck and end up on the streets? Homeless people do not ask to live on the streets without a home to which to return and mostly are without homes because they cannot make enough money to pay to live in their previous homes. Homelessness occurs when people or households cannot afford housing. 3.5 million people yearly experience homelessness in the United States, and it is time to†¦show more content†¦One out of seven people in the United States is in danger of facing hunger (The National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness, â€Å"Overview of Homelessness in America†). People living in poverty are the ones most at risk of homelessness, and those who are most likely to experience poverty are also more likely to face homelessness. These people include the elderly, youth, families, individuals, and others. Homelessness is significantly caused by the lack of affordable housing and the few housing assistance programs. Housing wages are higher than the hourly wages earned by renters. Poor people are often unable to pay for housing, food, child care, health care, and education altogether. Because of the limited resources they have, they can only pay for some necessities. As a result, housing is given up since it takes up a large portion of their incomes. Minimum wage has decreased since the late 1960s, and minimum and low wage workers cannot afford food and shelter. The high unemployment rates have resulted in jobs being hard to find and obtain; and even if jobs are found, that does not mean those people automatically escape poverty. â€Å"The declining value and availability of p ublic assistance is another source of increasing poverty and homelessness and many families leaving welfare struggle to get medical care, food, and housing as a result of loss of benefits, low wages, and unstable employmentâ€Å" (National Coalition for the Homeless, â€Å"Homelessness in