Poverty and Homelessness Essay examples - 723 Words

Poverty and Homelessness Usually when a person thinks of the poor and the homeless, they think about those that are living and sleeping on park benches or under bridges. They think of those who are dirty, with ragged clothing, worn out shoes, and those begging or panhandling for food. The truth of the matter is that poverty and homelessness can affect people of any age, race or gender. More Americans are at the risk of poverty and homelessness today. There are many circumstances that can cause a person to live in poverty and become homeless. The lack of affordable housing, low paying jobs or lack of employment, and insufficient federal aid all contribute to poverty and homelessness. The lack of affordable housing is a significant†¦show more content†¦Still, some Americans have become homeless due to the loss or lack of employment. With the recent economic recession, many companies have moved to other parts of the country or have outsourced, leaving many without jobs. Displaced workers face difficulty finding new employment. Others lack the minimum job skills to attain employment. The lack of education increases the likelihood of a low income. It is difficult for those with little education to find work that provides a decent wage. They have less of a chance of making a desirable income. Education and basic skills are needed in acquiring jobs. Those with more education generally earn more than those that are less educated. The lack of education and training, combined with low wages, keep many families from moving up. Furthermore, the declining availability of public assistance has also increased the number of families that are in poverty or home less. Fewer families are receiving the help they need. There were once many federal and state assistance programs that were available for those in need, but because of budget cuts, most of the funding for these programs have been cut or eliminated. As a result of loss of benefits many continue to struggle. In Anna Quindlen’s, â€Å"Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids, Quindlen states how â€Å"[a] study done in San Diego in 1998 found that a third of homeless families had recently hadShow MoreRelatedHomelessness And Poverty And Homelessness1699 Words   |  7 PagesCenter on Homelessness and Poverty 7) While a portion of today’s society turns a blind eye to the subject of the criminalization of homelessness, an even larger quantity of people are not aware of the situation that is happening in every major city of America. For those living an affluent lifestyle, it can be difficult to discuss the amount of poverty and homelessness that is constantly occurring. The definition and meaning behind the absence of home is also arduous to discuss. While homelessness is commonlyRead MorePoverty And Homelessness1715 Words   |  7 PagesPoverty and homelessness are very serious problems in the United States. In January of 2013 the count of people identified as homeless was larger than 600,000 (Segal, Gerdes, Sue, 2016). Many factors go into what makes this population so large, however this paper will focus on how much race plays a role in homelessness and poverty. Systems (Ecological) Theory Systems theory is a perspective that places emphasis on understanding how people fit into their environments (Segal, Gerdes, Sue, 2016)Read MorePoverty and Homelessness1143 Words   |  5 PagesAmanda Germain Mrs. Leeker ENG111 2/25/14 Poverty and Homelessness: An Annotated Bibliography. â€Å"Black Parents Demand ‘World-Class’ Education, Too.† Washington Informer. 20. Mar 2013. ProQuest. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. In the article ‘World-Class Education’, it said that education need to be affordable for the community of African American. Some African American children are dropout which had damaged the community. Without education, the middle class people wouldRead MorePoverty and Homelessness1942 Words   |  8 PagesPoverty and homelessness are serious issues in the U.S. today, especially because of the current recession, with levels of poverty and unemployment higher than at any time since the 1930s. Blacks and Hispanics are being affected disproportionately by homelessness, as well as poverty and unemployment in American society. This is just another example of the racial caste system and institutional racism that goes far beyond that of social class, and has always been the case in recessions and indeed withRead MorePoverty, Hunger, And Homelessness971 Words   |  4 PagesPoverty, hunger, and homelessness in America are much more common despite being the wealthiest nation in the world. Poverty is well-defined as having inadequate income to provide the food, shelter and clothing needed to preserve good health. Hunger is quite simply not knowing where your next meal will be coming from, to a certain extent simply being food insecure. Homelessness is homeless who are most often unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, secure, and adequate housing. To live belowRead MoreThe Problem Of Poverty And Homelessness1604 Words   |  7 Pagesissue of poverty and homelessness in America. In fact, a study taken in 2015 gathered that with more interaction and willingness to help the homeless, the more empathy and compassion is gained for them, later resulting in a larger contribution from society creating a social change. I obtained this information based on a survey taken by Lindsay Phillips, a physiologist, that took it upon herself to ask working, undergraduate college students to describe their perceptions of homelessness, willingnessRead MoreHomelessness a nd the Cycle of Poverty717 Words   |  3 Pagespassed on to their children. Reported by Barbara Ehrenreich, an author with many books on the subject of homelessness in America, â€Å"Catholic Charities saw a spike of domestic violence... attributed to the unemployment and overcrowding.† (325)ï€  Ã¯â‚¬  Not having the funds to support oneself and one’s family causes stress and tension while otherwise might not have been there. Sadly homelessness and poverty have and will always go hand in hand. Many people due to financial hardships have to relocate constantlyRead MoreThe Problem Of Poverty And Homelessness956 Words   |  4 Pagestransportation and I see a person who is homeless I do one of two things: 1) Avoid eye contact and act as if they don’t exist or 2) I give them some extra food or my loose change. Poverty is something that most people tend to ignore, or act like someone else is there to fix it. This image critically argues that poverty and/or homelessness isn’t something that can be fixed with some coins it requires an actual change. This image makes this argument with its size and color, play on words that targets a specificRead MoreA Survey On Homelessness And Poverty1404 Words   |  6 Pagespoint in time by a survey provided by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an estimated 740000 individuals are experiencing homelessness at any particular time in America (Aratani). Additionally, an approximated 3.5 million individuals are at risk of e xperiencing temporary homelessness at a certain point in a particular year with some 1.35 million children based on the report by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (Aratani). In 2005, 50 percent of the cities in the US were surveyedRead MoreThe Problem Of Poverty Of Homelessness950 Words   |  4 PagesPoverty WHAT I ALREADY KNOW/WHY THIS TOPIC Down my building street, a homeless lives there. I always wonder what brought him here. What was his previous occupation before living down the street and annoying everyone else. Questions started to rise. Are they really homeless? poor? or faking it up to attract people’s attention? I had an experience that made these questions rise weirdly. One day, I was sitting in Starbucks, located in Cary street beside Chili’s and I saw the homeless that howl beside