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Essays on Homelessness

Homelessness essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: homelessness in america: root causes, consequences, and strategies for solutions.

Thesis Statement: This essay examines the multifaceted issue of homelessness in America, identifying its underlying causes, analyzing its social and economic consequences, and proposing comprehensive strategies for addressing and preventing homelessness.

• Introduction
• Defining Homelessness: A Complex and Diverse Challenge
• Root Causes of Homelessness: Poverty, Housing Affordability, and Mental Health
• The Human Toll: Health, Safety, and Vulnerability of Homeless Individuals
• Governmental and NGO Initiatives: Shelters, Services, and Support Systems
• Housing First Approach: Providing Stable Housing as a Foundation for Recovery
• Prevention and Advocacy: Collaborative Efforts to Combat Homelessness

Essay Title 2: Hidden in Plain Sight: Exploring the Lives of Homeless Youth and Their Struggles for Stability

Thesis Statement: This essay focuses on the often-overlooked issue of youth homelessness, delving into the unique challenges faced by homeless young people, the factors contributing to their predicament, and the importance of specialized support and intervention programs.

• The Invisible Crisis: Understanding the Scope of Youth Homelessness
• Causes of Youth Homelessness: Family Dynamics, LGBTQ+ Youth, and Foster Care
• Survival on the Streets: Vulnerabilities and Exploitation
• Education and Future Prospects: Overcoming Barriers to Stability
• Innovative Solutions: Transitional Housing, Mentorship, and Education Programs
• Advocacy and Awareness: Mobilizing Support for Homeless Youth

Essay Title 3: Homelessness and Mental Health: The Interplay of Vulnerabilities, Stigmatization, and Access to Care

Thesis Statement: This essay explores the intricate relationship between homelessness and mental health issues, examining the challenges faced by homeless individuals with mental illness, the stigmatization they endure, and the importance of accessible mental health services.

• Homelessness as a Consequence and Contributor to Mental Illness
• Stigmatization and Discrimination: The Dual Burden of Homelessness and Mental Health Challenges
• Barriers to Accessing Mental Health Services: A Critical Gap in Care
• Models of Integrated Care: Collaborative Approaches to Addressing Mental Health Needs
• Community Support and Rehabilitation: Empowering Homeless Individuals on the Path to Recovery
• Policy and Advocacy: Promoting Systemic Change and Mental Health Equity

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Homelessness and Its Effects on Children

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The Problems Caused by Homelessness and Ways to Solve Them

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Homelessness refers to a complex societal issue characterized by individuals or families lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. It encompasses a state of not having a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, which often leads to individuals residing in temporary shelters, transitional housing, or public spaces not intended for human habitation.

Homelessness remains a significant issue in the United States, with a complex set of factors contributing to its prevalence today. Despite efforts to address the problem, homelessness continues to affect individuals and communities across the country. In the US, homelessness is influenced by a combination of economic, social, and systemic factors. Economic inequality, lack of affordable housing, unemployment, mental health issues, and substance abuse are among the primary contributors to homelessness. Additionally, systemic issues such as systemic racism and discrimination can disproportionately affect marginalized communities, leading to higher rates of homelessness among minority populations. Efforts to combat homelessness involve a range of strategies, including emergency shelters, transitional housing, and supportive services. Nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and community initiatives play crucial roles in providing assistance, outreach, and advocacy for the homeless population. However, challenges persist in addressing homelessness effectively. The scarcity of affordable housing, limited access to mental health services, and gaps in social support systems continue to hinder progress. Additionally, the recent economic downturns and the COVID-19 pandemic have further exacerbated the issue, leading to an increase in homelessness in certain areas.

In the early stages of civilization, homelessness was often a consequence of natural disasters, wars, or displacement due to economic or political upheavals. However, with the rise of urbanization and industrialization, homelessness took on a new dimension. The growth of cities and the widening wealth gap led to overcrowded slums and impoverished conditions, pushing many individuals and families into homelessness. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, mass unemployment and economic collapse resulted in a significant increase in homelessness. The government response to the crisis led to the establishment of social welfare programs and the construction of public housing. In subsequent decades, the deinstitutionalization of mental health facilities, the decline in affordable housing, and the impact of structural inequality further contributed to the persistence of homelessness.

Street/Homeless Shelter: This is the most visible form of homelessness, where individuals lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. They often live in public spaces, such as streets, parks, or makeshift shelters, or rely on emergency shelters for temporary accommodation. Hidden/Homeless Families: This form of homelessness includes families or individuals who do not have a permanent home but seek temporary accommodation with friends, family, or in motels. They may double up with other households or live in overcrowded conditions. Chronic Homelessness: This category refers to individuals who experience long-term or repeated episodes of homelessness. They may struggle with multiple complex issues, such as mental health disorders, substance abuse, and lack of stable employment. Youth Homelessness: Young people who do not have a safe and stable place to live fall into this category. Veteran Homelessness: This refers to veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Factors such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), lack of social support, and difficulties transitioning to civilian life contribute to their housing instability.

1. Poverty and Lack of Affordable Housing 2. Unemployment and Low Income 3. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues 4. Domestic Violence 5. Family and Relationship Breakdowns 6. Systemic Factors

1. Health Challenges 2. Education and Employment Barriers 3. Social Isolation and Stigma 4. Increased Risk of Victimization 5. Economic Burden

Film: "The Pursuit of Happyness" (2006) is based on the true story of Chris Gardner, who faces homelessness while trying to provide for his young son. The film portrays the challenges faced by a single father and sheds light on the experiences of homelessness. Documentaries: "Dark Days" (2000) directed by Marc Singer captures the lives of people living in an underground tunnel in New York City. The documentary provides an intimate and raw portrayal of the daily struggles and resilience of those experiencing homelessness. News Coverage: News outlets often cover stories related to homelessness, showcasing the experiences of individuals and the impact on communities. They shed light on policy issues, challenges faced by homeless individuals, and initiatives aimed at addressing the issue. Photography: Numerous photographers have documented the lives of people living on the streets, capturing their humanity and the harsh realities they face. Notable photographers like Diane Arbus, Mary Ellen Mark, and Lee Jeffries have produced impactful images that challenge stereotypes and elicit empathy.

1. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), on any given night, over half a million people experience homelessness in the United States. 2. Youth homelessness is a significant issue, with an estimated 4.2 million young people experiencing homelessness each year in the United States. 3. Approximately 35% of the homeless population in the U.S. consists of families with children, highlighting the impact of homelessness on families and the need for support systems. 4. Chronic homelessness, defined as long-term or repeated homelessness, affects around 25% of the overall homeless population. 5. Veterans are disproportionately affected by homelessness. On a single night in January 2020, an estimated 37,252 veterans experienced homelessness in the United States. 6. The cost of homelessness is significant. Studies have shown that providing housing and support services to individuals experiencing chronic homelessness can be more cost-effective than leaving them on the streets, as it reduces costs associated with emergency healthcare, incarceration, and other public services.

The topic of homelessness is of utmost importance to explore and address in an essay due to its profound impact on individuals, communities, and society as a whole. Understanding the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to homelessness is crucial in fostering empathy, raising awareness, and driving meaningful change. Writing an essay about homelessness allows us to shed light on the underlying factors that contribute to homelessness, such as poverty, lack of affordable housing, mental health issues, and systemic inequalities. By examining these root causes, we can challenge societal norms and advocate for social policies that address homelessness effectively. Additionally, exploring the effects of homelessness on individuals and communities helps us recognize the immense hardships faced by those experiencing homelessness, including physical and mental health challenges, social isolation, and limited access to education and employment opportunities. This understanding can cultivate compassion and inspire action to provide support, resources, and pathways to stability for those in need. Moreover, discussing the topic of homelessness encourages us to consider innovative solutions, such as affordable housing initiatives, supportive services, and community-based programs. By analyzing successful interventions and best practices, we can contribute to the ongoing efforts aimed at preventing and alleviating homelessness.

1. Lee, B. A., Tyler, K. A., & Wright, J. D. (2010). The new homelessness revisited. Annual review of sociology, 36, 501-521. (https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-115940) 2. Hwang, S. W. (2001). Homelessness and health. Cmaj, 164(2), 229-233. (https://www.cmaj.ca/content/164/2/229.short) 3. Waldron, J. (1991). Homelessness and the Issue of Freedom. UCLA L. Rev., 39, 295. (https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/uclalr39&div=16&id=&page=) 4. McCarthy, B., & Hagan, J. (1991). Homelessness: A criminogenic situation?. The British Journal of Criminology, 31(4), 393-410. (https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article-abstract/31/4/393/498747) 5. Hopper, K. (2015). Reckoning with homelessness. In Reckoning with Homelessness. Cornell University Press. (https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7591/9780801471612/html?lang=en) 6. Gaetz, S., O'Grady, B., Kidd, S., & Schwan, K. (2016). Without a home: The national youth homelessness survey. (https://policycommons.net/artifacts/2237953/without-a-home/2996006/) 7. Gelberg, L., Linn, L. S., Usatine, R. P., & Smith, M. H. (1990). Health, homelessness, and poverty: a study of clinic users. Archives of Internal Medicine, 150(11), 2325-2330. (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/614142) 8. Bassuk, E. L. (2010). Ending child homelessness in America. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(4), 496. (https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-25070-006) 9. Quigley, J. M., Raphael, S., & Smolensky, E. (2001). Homeless in America, homeless in California. Review of Economics and Statistics, 83(1), 37-51. (https://direct.mit.edu/rest/article-abstract/83/1/37/57244/Homeless-in-America-Homeless-in-California) 10. Bowdler, J. E. (1989). Health problems of the homeless in America. The Nurse Practitioner, 14(7), 44-47. (https://europepmc.org/article/med/2748030)

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How To Write Essay About Homelessness

Homelessness remains a severe crisis among the low-income earners in most parts of the world. Statics reveal that in the United States alone, over 500,000 people are homeless every single night. That said, writing an excellent essay on homelessness to your examiner not only awards you a top grade but also positions you as a student passionate about everything that revolves around homelessness.

How to Organize an Essay on Homelessness

What matters most in your homelessness essay, what to write in your homelessness essay: essay topics on homelessness, common types of essay about homelessness, are homelessness essay examples helpful.

But here’s the thing: writing solutions to homelessness essay, homelessness essay cause, and effect, or any other topic you settle on is not a walk in the park. You need to research extensively, follow the necessary instructions, and exhaust the topic in a precise and detailed approach. Luckily, our essay for homelessness writers will make everything easy for you.

What Is Homelessness Essay?

A homelessness essay is a piece of writing that allows the students to showcase their thoughts on homelessness without deviating from their chosen topic. A good example is writing a homelessness solutions essay or what causes homelessness essay to your professor. It must come out nicely from the start to the conclusion of the homelessness essay.

Your essay about homelessness might address the episodic, transitional, or chronic types of homelessness. It’s because people are considered homeless whenever they lack a roof over their head, whether staying with friends, on the streets, or in a shelter. But how do you structure your homelessness essay?

Your homelessness essay needs well-written thoughts expressed in a way your examiner finds it easy to read all the sections, understand your idea, and internalize to see whether you present facts appropriately. All this is possible if you use the recommended format. Here’s what you need:

• Attractive introduction: Your homelessness essay introduction should have the reader’s attention from the word go. It’s here where you claim your idea and create some anticipation. Your last introductory sentence is a debatable thesis statement you’ll be arguing.
• Idealistic main body: Support your cause and effect essay on homelessness or anything else you’re writing with well-researched data. Write and cite your logical ideas. Your examiner will primarily focus on the facts and flow of your solution to homelessness essay.
• Satisfactory conclusion: Do you know that homelessness essay conclusions are the most assumed sections? Your conclusion paragraph homelessness essay’s main goal is to summarize the essay. If you write your homelessness conclusion essay right, the examiner knows how to end homelessness essay is not a problem to you and awards you a high score.

Whether you are writing a one-page problem solution essay about homelessness, the cause, and effect of homelessness essay, or a longer essay on homelessness in America, there are things you can’t assume. It’s because they define your prowess and determine the quality of your final paper. Here’s what we’re talking about:

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Are you looking for homelessness essay topics to write for your professor? There’s a lot to write about. You can get a topic idea from the following types of homelessness essays:

• Mental illness and homelessness essay . Topic idea: how homelessness results in mental illness in young street mothers.
• Essay about homelessness cause and effect . Topic idea: to what extent does the shortage of affordable homes in America contribute to homelessness?
• Causes of homelessness essay . Topic idea: fundamental reasons why evictions continue to cause homelessness severely.
• Solution for homelessness essay . Topic idea: is there’s a need for changing policies on homelessness where a whole family is involved?
• Youth homelessness essay . Topic idea: factual prove that mandatory drug testing will reduce homelessness in youths.
• Homelessness social problem essay . Topic idea: homelessness vs. settled citizens concerning the view on community responsibilities.
• Homelessness in America essay . Topic idea: how can discrimination reduce homelessness in America?
• Poverty and homelessness essay . Topic idea: government rental assistance and its effectiveness in solving the modern homelessness crisis.

Every student must understand different essays to write what suits the examined context. High school, college, and university examiners are very concerned about the essay you choose to write because it helps them weigh your understanding and skills. These essays include:

• Argumentative essay on homelessness: a homelessness argumentative essay must convince anybody who reads the essay. The secret here is to give both sides of the story and let your professor see your reasoning.
• Persuasive essay about homelessness: looking forward to writing a persuasive essay on homelessness? A homelessness persuasive essay without expert touch, opinions, logic, and facts won’t earn you a good grade. Do the necessary.
• Descriptive essay on homelessness: Sometimes, you might need to describe specific issues revolving around homeless people. In such an essay, focus on the event and visualize it in detail to bring out your imagination and creativity.

A resounding yes! You can depend on previous examples to learn what a homelessness essay requires. It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing a homelessness and mental illness essay, causes, and effects of homelessness essay, essay about homelessness in America, or essay on homelessness in Ireland; examples make your writing easy and clearer.

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Solving Homelessness from a Complex Systems Perspective: Insights for Prevention Responses

Patrick j. fowler.

1 The Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA; ude.ltsuw@relwofjp , ude.ltsuw@dnamvohp , ude.ltsuw@lacramek

Peter S. Hovmand

Katherine e. marcal.

2 Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA; ude.ltsuw@yamnas

Homelessness represents an enduring public health threat facing communities across the developed world. Children, families, and marginalized adults face life course implications of housing insecurity, while communities struggle to address the extensive array of needs within heterogeneous homeless populations. Trends in homelessness remain stubbornly high despite policy initiatives to end homelessness. A complex systems perspective provides insights into the dynamics underlying coordinated responses to homelessness. A constant demand for housing assistance strains service delivery, while prevention efforts remain inconsistently implemented in most countries. Feedback processes challenge efficient service delivery. A system dynamics model tests assumptions of policy interventions for ending homelessness. Simulations suggest that prevention provides a leverage point within the system; small efficiencies in keeping people housed yield disproportionately large reductions in homelessness. A need exists for policies that ensure reliable delivery of coordinated prevention efforts. A complex systems approach identifies capacities and constraints for sustainably solving homelessness.

1. HOMELESSNESS AS A COMPLEX PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT

1.1. scope of homelessness.

Homelessness poses an enduring public health challenge throughout the developed world. Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared housing a basic right in 1991, the United Nations continues to identify homelessness as an urgent human rights crisis ( 109 ). Definitions vary, but homelessness generally refers to the lack of safe accommodations necessary for respite and connection with people and places ( 11 , 47 , 110 ). Homelessness includes living on the streets or in shelters, as well as patterns of housing insecurity such as overcrowding or excessive cost burden. The most recent global survey of countries estimates that more than 1.5% of the world’s population lack basic shelter, while as many as one in five people experience housing insecurity ( 109 ).

Trends of homelessness suggest stubbornly stable or expanding rates. Most of Europe has seen large increases in rooflessness as well as housing instability in recent years ( 80 , 110 ). For instance, the homeless populations of Germany and Ireland have increased by approximately 150% from 2014 to 2016 and from 2014 to 2017, respectively ( 92 ). Point-in-time counts of homeless persons in Australia suggest increases in per capita (PC) rates from 2006 (45 per 10,000) to 2016 (50 PC) ( 3 ). The United States shows decreases in PC rates of homelessness based on annual point-in-time counts of sheltered and unsheltered persons ( 47 ); however, changes have leveled off despite substantial reorganization of homeless assistance.

Housing insecurity represents the much larger problem of hidden homelessness. On average, poor families (earning less than 60% of the median national income) in the European Union spent more than 40% of their income on rent in 2016 ( 92 ). More than 80% of US households below the federal poverty line spent at least 30% of their incomes on rent. Frequent moves and doubling up represent additional common indicators of inadequate housing ( 20 ). Foreclosure and evictions are endemic in certain communities; estimates suggest that nearly one million US households experienced eviction in 2016, while eviction represents a major challenge across Europe ( 23 , 53 ). Trends demonstrate the challenges of solving homelessness and the need for innovations.

1.2. Impact of Homelessness

Homelessness and associated poverty have life course implications for physical and mental health. Many adverse health and socioemotional outcomes are linked to homelessness in children ( 26 , 117 ). Homeless adults face increased mortality from all causes, and those with severe mental illness display significantly worse quality of life compared with nonhomeless individuals with mental illness ( 61 ). Education levels and employment rates among homeless adults are low compared with the general population ( 9 , 16 ). In Europe, average life expectancy of people who experience homelessness is 30 years less than nonhomeless populations ( 11 ).

In addition to human suffering, public expenditures associated with homelessness are substantial. In the United States, estimated costs (all adjusted to 2018 USD) of a homeless shelter can exceed $7,000 per month per family ( 19 , 45 , 98 ) with additional costs attributed to inpatient hospitalization, incarceration, and public assistance ( 36 , 99 ). Cost estimates in Europe are limited but suggest substantial expenditures associated with shelter and outside services such as emergency departments, psychiatric care, and jail or prison ( 78 ). In Australia, the government estimates spending at $30,000 per homeless person per year ( 4 ). Few rigorous studies quantify the additional social losses in productivity and well-being. Communities around the world struggle to manage the human and financial burdens of homelessness.

2. COMPLEXITY IN CAUSES AND RESPONSES TO HOMELESSNESS

2.1. complex causes of homelessness.

Experiences of homelessness depend on a complex interplay between individual, interpersonal, and socioeconomic factors. Research has long identified mental illness and addiction as risk factors for homelessness ( 37 , 47 , 48 ). Personal struggles also strain interpersonal relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners; in a vicious cycle, conflict undermines well-being as well as erodes potential housing supports ( 21 , 77 ). However, socioeconomic factors often dictate the likelihood of displacement.

Globally, marginalized communities disproportionately experience homelessness. Homelessness is much more common among the poor and minorities in terms of race/ethnicity, sexual orientation and identity, and institutionalization and among those with physical and mental disabilities compared with the general population ( 105 ). For instance, members of Aboriginal communities in Australia comprise a quarter of people receiving homeless services, while representing less than 3% of the total population ( 3 ). A similar disparity exists in Canada, with Indigenous people 10 times more likely to use homeless shelters than non-Indigenous ( 37 , 91 ). Due to structural inequalities associated with marginalization, the accessibility of jobs and affordable housing remains constrained; availability of appropriate accommodations is more or less random ( 11 , 74 ). Household-level shocks to housing stability such as job loss, termination of assistance, or eviction require a scramble for housing that may or may not be available, given market constraints. Homelessness results when other formal or informal housing supports remain inaccessible; lack of supports can reinforce vulnerability to crises that threaten stable housing. Thus, entries as well as exits into homelessness among vulnerable populations become a matter of bad timing and bad luck. The presence of personal and interpersonal barriers exacerbates vulnerabilities but fails to explain homelessness.

2.2. Implications of Complexity for Homeless Responses

Complexity underlying housing insecurity carries important implications for systematic responses to homelessness. First, extensive heterogeneity exists in homeless populations and in the types of services needed to address housing instability. Individuals with severe mental illness, for example, may require ongoing intensive supports to avoid falling back into homelessness, whereas pregnant teens with few connections to supportive adults have a different set of needs. This variation requires considerable flexibility and tailoring of resources to promote stability.

A related implication concerns variation in the timing and patterns of homelessness. Some households experience single episodes of homelessness, while chronic homelessness refers to instability for more than two years (one year for families with children) with ongoing barriers to stability [HEARTH Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 112–141)]. Research that investigates patterns of housing insecurity reveals distinct subpopulations based on housing trajectories ( 18 , 31 , 33 , 106 ). For instance, studies show that chronic patterns of homelessness affect a relatively small number of persons ( 33 , 34 ). Homeless assistance continuously interacts with households at different stages of different trajectories, which makes accurate prediction of risk as well as response to interventions exceedingly difficult ( 5 , 38 , 44 , 58 , 95 ).

The complex causes of homelessness require complex solutions. Homeless assistance typically requires the provision of multifaceted supports that adapt in response to shifting household demands and often includes unique combinations of residential and nonresidential supports. Recurrent constraints on the availability of supports often require further tailoring of homeless assistance on the basis of resource accessibility. The resulting combinatorial complexity of housing interventions challenges sustained, systematic responses to homelessness ( 35 ).

Finally, the complex causes of and responses to homelessness present substantial challenges for screening and resource allocation. Efficient service provision depends on accurate assessments of risk and potential responses to interventions ( 10 , 58 , 72 ). Tools, such as the Vulnerability Index—Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI SPDAT), purport to categorize households seeking homeless assistance for appropriate interventions from responses to screening questions; high vulnerability requires supportive housing, moderate requires temporary housing with less intensive supports, and households with low risk are diverted from the system ( 22 ). VI SPDAT developers report item reliability and claim use in communities around the world ( 75 ). However, little evidence exists on the tool’s accuracy, and available research suggests poor sensitivity and specificity with common scoring procedures ( 7 , 15 ). The VI SPDAT intervention assignments poorly differentiate households, resulting in extensive false positives (false alarms) and false negatives (missed hits) ( 6 , 108 ). Other screening tools show similar challenges for targeting preventive services ( 13 , 28 , 44 , 94 ). The difficulty in prediction reflects the complexity that underlies homelessness ( 5 , 38 , 58 ).

2.3. Complex Systems and Coordinated Responses to Homelessness

Nations have adopted various strategies to address homelessness. Responsibility for serving homeless populations in European Union nations generally falls under common social welfare policies, while federal policies and funding structure local responses to homelessness in Australia, Canada, and the United States (11, 116; Pub. L. 112–141). Although communities differ in how supports are organized, a common structure connects the delivery of homeless assistance. Delivery of housing plus supports leverages interorganizational networks composed of governmental and nongovernmental agencies ( 10 , 41 , 81 , 87 ). Formal and informal partnerships work together to screen and respond to individuals and families experiencing housing crises.

Figure 1 illustrates the underlying framework for homeless services from a complex systems perspective. In the center, households experience countervailing supports and strains that influence stability, represented as virtuous and vicious cycles. When strains exceed supports, a need for housing triggers the demand for homeless assistance. Access to homeless services depends on local and national contexts; formal and informal policies determine eligibility, timing, and funding of resources, while socioeconomic conditions influence demand chains for services ( 27 , 74 ). The resulting dynamics allow homeless services to adapt and evolve over time.

Coordinated responses to homelessness as a complex system. Solid lines reflect a treatment first approach, whereas dashed lines represent housing first philosophy. Circular nodes represent examples of key supports in keeping people housed; ties between nodes generally refer to information exchanges, such as communications, service referrals, or funds. The + and − signs indicate the direction of correlation between variables.

The top layer in Figure 1 represents the general structure of homeless or residential services. Although heavily based on a North American perspective, the model captures a number of common elements in local and national responses to homelessness ( 10 , 11 , 25 ). Screening aims to identify need and allocate households to the most appropriate and available service. Emergency responses address immediate housing crises; in many countries, this represents homeless shelters that provide short-term accommodations. Temporary housing provides time-limited accommodations with case management and other nonresidential services. Supportive housing refers to permanent connection to housing plus case management to address substantial barriers to stability. Rapid rehousing and homelessness prevention represent efforts to provide immediate access to stable accommodations.

Movement through the system depends on organizing philosophies for solving homelessness. Screening attempts to forecast the level of need, ranging from low (prevention), moderate (rapid rehousing), and high (supportive housing) risk for ongoing homelessness ( 75 ). Treatment first assumes people need services to address the underlying barriers that led to homelessness ( 88 , 107 ). A staircase model structures services so that households progress from shelters to temporary housing in addition to the provision of services to permanent supportive housing. Transitions expose people to higher levels of supports that make them more prepared for stable housing. In contrast, housing first considers stable accommodations as a precondition for any treatment needed to reduce homelessness ( 107 ). The structure of residential services attempts to place people in stable housing as quickly as possible.

The bottom layer in Figure 1 illustrates the extensive networks of formal and informal supports engaged in addressing household instability. Conceptually, connections can be informal interpersonal communities or formalized through agreements and contracts. Homeless services at the hub denote efforts to weave a safety net of supports for households. Systems vary in the extent to which nonresidential supports are specific to the residential service or carry over with households as they transition into and out of homelessness ( 11 , 30 ). Regardless, homeless systems rely on extensive cross-systems collaboration to promote stability and remove barriers that prolong homelessness ( 10 , 19 , 90 ).

Use of interagency networks responds to the complexities of addressing homelessness. Foremost, referral networks allow for quicker access to a wide range of supports, which can handle the extensive heterogeneity of needs among homeless populations. Networks also provide flexibility to expand and contact with shifts in demand for services ( 10 , 19 , 73 , 87 ). A timely example concerns displacement due to conflict that triggers surges in refugee populations with various needs within a community or country; Germany, for example, saw a 150% increase in homelessness from 2014 to 2016 composed primarily of refugees ( 92 ). In times of greater need such as an influx of refugee families, interagency networks allow for sharing information and resources to respond more quickly. Likewise, collaborative organizations avoid hierarchal approval processes; instead, decision making on service delivery is distributed across providers within agencies that potentially speed up resource allocations ( 82 ). A network structure provides a dynamic and adaptive response to homelessness.

Collaborative networks introduce their own complexities for homeless service delivery. Actual efficiencies of the system depend on the mutually agreed upon rules that drive resource allocation ( 8 , 82 ). Partnerships must continuously devote time toward planning and monitoring mutually agreed upon goals, which shifts resources away from the core service missions of each agency ( 35 ). Given the constant pressure for social services, a dynamic emerges that threatens continued investment in collaboration ( 59 ). Instability can create oscillations in the quality of network performance toward ending homelessness ( 35 ). Virtuous cycles emerge within collaborations that have clear goals, strong leadership, and investments in backbone supports ( 62 ). Challenges exist for sustainable efforts.

Taken together, coordinated approaches to homelessness must consider the extensive heterogeneity in the population, as well as in the types and timing of services. Given the multiple pathways into homelessness and the diversity of the homeless population, a one-size-fits-all approach is inadequate. Collaborations represent a flexible strategy to address homelessness. However, system performance toward ending homelessness depends in large part on continuous investments in partnerships.

3. TRANSFORMING COORDINATED RESPONSES TO HOMELESSNESS

3.1. housing first as an organizing philosophy.

The complex systems delivering homeless assistance organize around key theories on ending homelessness. Formal and informal policies operationalize these theories, and structure emerges to coordinate resource allocation across intersecting networks ( 8 ). A paradigm shift has moved homeless systems toward a housing first philosophy ( 76 ). Although housing first also refers to a specific case management intervention, the philosophy more generally aligns services to stabilize accommodations quickly and without preconditions. This approach contrasts with the earlier treatment first, or staircase, approach that require homeless persons to demonstrate housing readiness or compliance with service plans as a condition of obtaining and maintaining housing supports. Fundamentally, the shift in philosophies moves toward a person-centered and recovery-oriented approach that assumes housing serves as a platform for reintegrating into communities.

Housing first interventions provide access to housing plus ongoing supports ranging in duration and intensity ( 11 , 107 ). Examples include assertive community treatment (ACT), critical time intervention (CTI), and Pathways to Housing. Early experimental studies in the 1980s and 1990s showed that homeless persons experiencing severe mental illness achieved stability more quickly and more consistently when randomly assigned to housing first instead of to treatment first services ( 87 , 102 ). Moreover, early studies suggested that the delivery of case management yielded savings from avoided costs for shelter, hospitalization, and criminalization ( 51 , 85 ). The initial evidence challenged assumptions of housing readiness to highlight cheaper and more effective options for homeless service delivery.

Well-designed studies subsequently tested the implementation and impact of housing first models with different homeless populations. Several large experiments in the United States and Canada randomly assigned homeless individuals and families to different housing interventions and carefully monitored the impacts of service delivery on a host of outcomes ( 2 , 45 , 87 ). Evidence from these and other studies generally support permanent housing approaches for improving stability ( 84 ). Benefits of permanent housing on well-being and quality-of-life improvements are more elusive; treatment effects are smaller and less consistent across outcomes and populations ( 32 , 45 ). Additionally, emerging evidence on rapid rehousing interventions providing time-limited rental assistance shows little impact on stability or well-being ( 14 , 45 , 58 ). As a whole, the body of evidence firmly dismisses housing readiness requirements for homeless assistance.

3.2. Dissemination and Implementation of Housing First

Numerous rigorous investigations into widespread dissemination and implementation of housing first provide important considerations for complex homeless systems. Studies show that fidelity to specific housing first models promotes household outcomes ( 2 , 40 , 87 ). Yet, model adherence requires substantial investment in training and technical assistance ( 2 , 40 , 69 ). Using the interactive systems framework ( 115 ), a national rollout of Pathways to Housing in Canada showed that fidelity diminished in communities with less initial buy-in and support ( 2 , 69 ).

Similar findings emerged from an initiative to provide housing first to 85,000 veterans across the United States ( 55 , 56 ). The organizational transformation model ( 63 ) directed substantial investment and technical assistance to deliver supportive housing as part of the health care system for veterans. Housing readiness requirements diminished through transformational efforts; however, model fidelity for client-centered supportive services remained inconsistent ( 54 ). Both studies emphasize the necessity of strong leadership and buy-in for achieving housing first model adherence ( 2 , 39 , 40 , 54 ). The studies show the difficulty in shifting cultures toward housing first principles even in well-resourced initiatives.

Systems integration of services for housing first also proves challenging. An innovative early experiment of supportive housing for homeless individuals experiencing severe mental illness also tested impacts on systems of care ( 43 ). The study randomly assigned individuals to receive supportive housing, as well as communities to receive technical assistance for systems transformation to integrate services. Community-level interagency networks were assessed over time to see if resources for supportive housing triggered new and stronger partnerships for nonresidential services. Findings suggested little change in systems of care, and technical assistance failed to integrate services ( 73 , 86 , 88 ).

3.3. Housing First Adoption and Adaptations

Despite implementation challenges, the housing first philosophy has been broadly adopted within homeless services around the world ( 11 , 76 ). This shift is most apparent in the integration of housing first principles into national strategies for addressing homelessness in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and the United States ( 76 ). Policies focus on the provision of housing as a platform for connection to other services necessary for ending homelessness ( 79 , 112 ). However, considerable variation exists in adherence to evidence-based interventions as well as adaptations for system-wide implementation ( 11 , 76 ).

The United States provides an example of both broad adoption and adaptations of housing first philosophy. The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 112–141) introduced federal legislation that required every community across the country to develop and implement coordinated responses to homelessness. Guided by housing first principles, policies focus on procedures for community-wide screening and allocation of homeless assistance based on level of need; resources are prioritized for homeless persons deemed most vulnerable ( 62 , 113 ). The emphasis on vulnerability coincides with a shift in resources toward the literal homeless and away from the broader demand for supports to maintain housing ( 10 , 19 , 94 ). The housing first tenets were codified in a redefinition of homelessness and eligibility for services, as well as national agendas for ending homelessness ( 113 ; Pub. L. 112–141).

Figure 2 illustrates the implementation of housing first policies through shifts in new and reallocated resources. Plotting year-round beds available for homeless persons since 2007, the system has increasingly used housing first rapid rehousing and supportive housing, whereas use of shelters and temporary housing has declined. Trends in total federal funding for homeless assistance also demonstrate increases in capacities. Although annual budgets fail to disaggregate funds by service type, increases in funding correspond with shifts toward rapid rehousing and supportive housing. Decreases in the number of persons served through homeless assistance over the same period further suggest that the homeless systems provide more intensive services ( 46 ).

Capacity trends of homeless assistance in the United States. Bars indicate the number and type of year-round beds according to Continuum of Care Housing Inventory Counts; the red trend line represents overall federal funding of homeless services through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Veterans Affairs (VA), and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Other abbreviations: ES, emergency shelter; OPH, other permanent housing; PSH, permanent supportive housing; SH, safe haven.

3.4. Housing Insecurity and Coordinated Responses to Homelessness

Capacity shifts also signal the role of housing insecurity in the coordinated response to homelessness. Although US policy requires communities to include prevention in coordinated responses to homelessness, the availability and funding for such efforts are not tracked. Moreover, annual assessments of homeless system performance required by federal regulations do not consistently measure successful prevention efforts (Pub. L. 112–141). A similar pattern emerges in countries across the world; European countries that record funding show disproportionate spending on homeless interventions relative to prevention ( 66 , 78 ). Only Wales systematically monitors the total demand and response to prevention services ( 66 , 68 ). In the absence of metrics that track the implementation and outcomes of prevention, it is difficult to understand how well-coordinated responses address overall demand for homeless assistance.

Crises in affordable housing throughout the United States and globally suggest widespread unmet demand. Figure 3 , for instance, presents an indicator of housing insecurity in the United States. The figure plots the annual number of renting households paying more than 50% of income toward rent, referred to as severe rent burdened ( 111 ). A spike of 10 million households in 2012 has declined in recent years, and the trend line of severely burdened as a proportion of all renting households suggests some relief for the lowest-income households. Yet, reductions have yet to return to prehousing crises levels ( 52 ). Markets around the world face similar shortages in affordable housing that create a constant demand for homeless assistance ( 27 , 60 , 92 ).

Number ( blue bars ) and percent ( red line ) of households in the United States with severe rent burden 2007–2017. Data obtained from the American Community Survey 1-year estimates ( 111 ).

3.5. Prevention in Coordinated Responses to Homelessness

The lack of focus on housing insecurity reflects ambivalence in national policies regarding prevention ( 67 ). On one hand, most countries emphasize prevention as a key component of housing first strategies ( 11 , 37 , 66 , 113 ). Prevention frameworks are based on a public health conceptualization of homelessness and generally refer to policies and practices that promote connections to stable homes ( 37 , 67 , 94 ). As illustrated in Figure 4 , prevention efforts target populations at varying levels of risk for homelessness with evidence-based resources that increase in intensity ( 42 , 67 , 94 ). Universal prevention is broadly available to ensure access to housing, such as the right to housing legislation that guarantees access to housing supports, as well as duty to assist policies that require governments to respond to requests for housing supports ( 11 , 67 , 103 ). Selective prevention targets resources toward groups vulnerable for homelessness, for instance families under investigation for child maltreatment, youth aging out of foster care, and veterans returning from combat ( 14 , 32 , 33 ). Indicated prevention focuses on populations demonstrating vulnerability for homelessness, such as households facing evictions and foreclosures and low-income families screening high for housing instability ( 44 , 95 , 114 ). Coordinated prevention initiatives combine multiple intervention types to stem the inflow into homelessness. National policies aspire to avoid human and social costs through timely assistance that addresses housing insecurity.

Homelessness prevention targets based on population and intensity of housing supports.

On the other hand, policy agendas struggle to reconcile aspirations with the feasibility of meeting the broad demand posed by housing insecurity ( 11 , 19 , 67 ). Prevention proves challenging, given the difficulty in predicting whether timely assistance averts homelessness that would have occurred otherwise; inefficiencies in targeting create false alarms that diminish cost-effectiveness ( 12 , 94 , 95 ). Moreover, prevention efforts that fail to address societal determinants of homelessness—including structural poverty, violence, and marginalization—are perceived as misguided ( 12 , 94 ). In the context of scarcity, persuasive arguments suggest a responsibility to deliver services for households most likely to avoid homelessness and associated costs ( 12 , 19 , 94 ). Prevention efforts shift toward avoiding reentry into homelessness instead of promoting connections to housing ( 14 , 67 , 104 ).

Policy ambivalence results in inconsistent applications of prevention across countries ( 67 ). Debates over prevention-oriented approaches to homelessness have persisted over three decades ( 19 , 50 , 94 ). Few national strategies currently include structured processes for delivering and monitoring prevention activities, and instead, countries vary considerably in basic definitions on targeting of services ( 67 , 68 ). In the United States, coordinated responses allow allocation of homeless funds for prevention without guaranteeing access. Even most communities that recognize housing as a basic right ensure only connection with supports (regardless of appropriateness and legality) and not accommodations ( 12 , 67 ). Homeless assistance relies on diverting demand driven by housing insecurity toward community-based services and other social welfare resources outside of homeless systems ( 12 , 19 , 72 ). If the adage that what gets measured gets done is correct, the lack of accountability reveals the unsystematic role of prevention within coordinated responses to homelessness ( 67 , 68 ).

4. SOLVING HOMELESSNESS FROM A COMPLEX SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE

4.1. homeless assistance from a complex systems perspective.

Complex systems provide a critical perspective on the delivery of coordinated responses to homelessness. Complex systems are composed of multiple interacting agents that produce nonlinear patterns of behaviors, and they continually adapt and evolve in response to conditions within the system ( 24 , 64 , 93 , 101 ). Dynamics emerge from feedback mechanisms, influencing future system behaviors. Reinforcing feedback generates patterns of growth (positive or negative), whereas balancing feedback limits unconstrained growth (homeostasis). Interactions between feedback processes often produce counterintuitive results when trying to change a system. Given the nature of homelessness, complex systems offer a unique tool for evaluating coordinated responses.

Complexity characterizes homelessness and systematic responses. At the household level, transitions between stable and unstable accommodations create oscillations over time that characterize homelessness ( 83 , 89 , 96 ). The patterns challenge accurate predictions and effective responses to homelessness ( 38 , 44 , 95 ). The elaborate ties across persons, agencies, and service systems enable extensive customization to unique and dynamic demands for services ( 1 , 57 , 81 ).

A complex systems perspective offers insights into sustainable solutions to homelessness. Framed as a dynamic problem ( 49 , 100 ), total homelessness is a function of the initial levels plus the ongoing movement of people in and out of homelessness. Mathematically, the dynamic is articulated in the differential equation:

where d represents change, homelessness represents total persons homeless, t represents time, entries represents persons entering homelessness at a given time, and exits represents persons exiting homelessness at a given time. Homelessness trends depend on the population size plus the rate of entries and exits over time. This stock-and-flow dynamic is analogous to water levels in a bathtub and produces counterintuitive results ( 100 , 101 ). For instance, to drain a tub, the volume of water from the tap must be less than the volume of outflow after pulling the stopper. Thus, water levels will continue to rise after opening the drain completely without also closing the tap. Likewise, closing the tap will raise water levels if the drain remains blocked. As anyone who has dealt with an overflowing toilet knows, the complexity can trigger poorly timed and counterproductive reactions.

Community-wide coordinated responses to homelessness attempt to manage stock-and-flow dynamics under conditions of far greater uncertainty. Efficient solutions likely address the net flow of homelessness, as opposed to one part of the system. However, the interacting processes that respond to the need for homeless assistance (see Figure 1 ) produce nonlinearities that obscure optimal choices for system-wide strategies ( 71 , 100 ). A number of common results from intervening in complex systems challenge decision making, such as delayed effects, tipping points, and worse-before-better scenarios ( 100 ). The dynamics make decisions about resource allocation toward housing first adaptations or prevention approaches difficult.

4.2. A System Dynamics Model of Coordinated Responses to Homelessness

A system dynamics model allows investigation into coordinated responses to homelessness. The systems science method uses informal and formal models to represent complex systems from a feedback perspective ( 49 , 64 , 100 ). Computer simulations test assumptions of the system, as well as help identify leverage points that represent places to intervene in the system for maximum benefit ( 70 ).

Figure 5 represents a dynamic hypothesis for solving homelessness. Historical trends present the annual number of persons receiving homeless services in the United States ( 97 ). Hoped and feared trajectories represent theorized responses to homelessness. The trajectories define the dynamic problem as a need for innovative policies that disrupt the status quo ( 49 , 67 , 100 ). Although the example uses annual national data on homeless persons served in the United States, similar hopes and fears likely emerge in many local and national contexts ( 35 ).

Dynamic hypothesis of coordinated responses to homeless in the United States. Historical trends ( black ) present the annual number of persons receiving homeless services. Hoped ( blue ) and feared ( red ) trajectories represent theorized responses to homelessness. Based on trends in the United States, the vertical axis reports the number of persons served by homeless assistance annually, whereas the horizontal axis represents time as 10 years in the past and future. The left half of the graph shows the observed linear decline in homeless, which is interpreted as progress ( 97 ). The right half of the graph articulates the hopes and fears of coordinated responses to homelessness.

Policy shifts toward housing first adaptations as well as prevention-oriented approaches hypothesize a sharp and sustainable downward trajectory of homelessness. However, the mechanisms underlying the dynamic differ on the basis of philosophy. Housing first adaptations assume moving more homeless persons into stable housing more quickly will drive down demand for homeless assistance, whereas prevention-oriented approaches hypothesize that supports provided before homelessness will reduce demand. A third hypothesis from a complex systems perspective suggests that a combination of approaches disrupt homeless trajectories. Articulating the theories of change allow researchers to model the dynamics.

Figure 6 presents an informal model of coordinated responses to homelessness. The structure elaborates on the previous formulation to capture stock-and-flow dynamics, and a formal computational model incorporates additional differential equations to capture dynamics ( 100 ). Using system dynamics conventions, stocks refer to accumulations of people, whereas flows represent transitions in and out of stocks. People exit stocks into stable housing defined as not needing housing assistance. In addition to homelessness, the model tracks individuals experiencing housing insecurity who are seeking assistance versus hidden homeless, which incorporates the different targets of prevention. Dynamics emerge as people transition in and out of stable housing. The model assumes that the average time in homeless assistance is 3.5 years, and housing insecurity represents a transitional state through which most exit within two years, loosely based on definitions of chronic homelessness ( 97 ).

System dynamics model of people receiving homeless assistance and those experiencing housing insecurity and hidden homelessness. Boxes represent accumulations of people, arrows represent transitions in and out of stocks, and clouds represent stable housing.

Computer simulations test a series of policy experiments for solving homelessness. The first experiment tests efforts to improve housing first by decreasing time spent in homeless assistance before exiting to stability. The second experiment expands universal, selective, and indicated prevention by reducing each inflow into homelessness assistance. The third experiment tests combined housing first and prevention strategies. Each experiment improves performance by 50%, and combined interventions do not exceed 50% effects. All analyses were conducted within Stella Architect Version 1.2.1. A web-interface provides access to the model and allows real-time experiments ( https://socialsystemdesignlab.wustl.edu/items/homelessness-and-complex-systems/ ).

4.3. Simulation Results

Initial analyses assessed confidence in the model. Simulations replicate observed trends in persons seeking homeless assistance ( Figure 3 ) and housing insecurity ( Figure 2 ) in the United States between 2007 and 2016. Moreover, exploratory analyses suggest that the model is insensitive to initial values; similar patterns emerge when increasing stocks and reducing transition times ( 100 ). Different indicators of homelessness and insecurity produce similar results, which further suggests that the model captures the population-level dynamics of homelessness.

Figure 7 displays results from policy experiments on trends of homeless assistance and total housing insecurity (seeking assistance plus not seeking assistance). Findings demonstrate support for the complex systems perspective. Optimizing housing first approaches results in incremental reductions in the number of persons in homeless assistance with no impact on the rates of housing insecurity; results suggest that the system is already optimized for reducing homelessness quickly, and it currently strains to keep up with the constant demand for homeless assistance. By reducing the demand for homeless assistance, prevention improvements qualitatively shift the trajectory of housing insecurity, while generating similar incremental improvements in homeless assistance trends as housing first optimization. The same shifts occur when experimenting with smaller improvements in efficiencies; prevention always outperforms housing first adaptations. For instance, a 5% improvement in prevention generates a similar decrease on total need for housing as a 5 0% improvement in housing first adaptations. Thus, prevention represents a leverage point to enhance coordinated responses to homelessness, and tests reveal that universal plus indicated preventions account for the greatest shifts. However, the optimal response to homelessness comes from a multipronged approach that incorporates prevention with housing first, which generates shifts in housing insecurity and homeless assistance. As hypothesized by the complex systems perspective, managing the net flow achieves desired outcomes of moving toward solving homelessness.

Policy experiments showing the impact of housing first and prevention efforts on the number of people in homeless assistance ( a ) and number of hidden homeless ( b ) with services as usual ( dark blue line ); housing first only ( light blue line ); universal, selective, and indicated prevention ( red line ); and housing first plus universal, selective, and indicated prevention ( yellow line ).

Results must be considered in context. Simulations use US national data to build confidence that the model replicates trends; however, the forecasts are not meant as point estimates for planning purposes. Likewise, national data aggregate across communities that may experience different outcomes from coordinated responses. Using local data and different indicators of system performance would improve confidence in the simulation, as well as in the dynamics of homeless assistance. Finally, the simulations fail to provide an oracle; malleability exists in how policy responds and adapts to trends in homelessness that may alter the system dynamics. The models also make no assumptions about the implementation of prevention. Reducing demand by 50% may exceed realistic expectations, and the simulations fail to consider policy resistance generated from current paradigms. Regardless, simulations suggest small improvements in prevention generates qualitative shifts in demand for assistance.

4.4. Implications for Coordinated Responses to Homelessness

Homeless systems across the world are optimizing policies toward solving chronic homelessness. Resource allocation increasingly prioritizes on the basis of vulnerability and moral preference (e.g., households with children, veterans, seniors). However, simulations warn of unintended consequences that arise from constant pressure for stable housing. Systems that focus on the most vulnerable risk ignoring the unseen needs of the many households unable to access timely supports. Effective responses need to manage both the inflows and outflows to produce intended declines in homelessness rates.

A complex systems perspective presents a number of implications for homeless policies and practices. First, prevention represents a necessary component for sustainable reductions in homelessness. Although declines are achievable and have been demonstrated through coordinated efforts ( 67 ), the dynamics of the system challenge population-level reductions in the absence of considerable ongoing investment of resources. Second, the efficiency of prevention questions the fairness of current policies that prioritize on the basis of vulnerability. Not only does accumulating evidence question the reliability of prioritization tools ( 6 , 108 ), but also simulations suggest that withholding prevention potentially harms a large population of individuals who are unable to access useful services. Policies must consider an equitable distribution of both benefits and harms in resource allocation strategies. Third, history warns of resistance to reorienting systems toward prevention ( 17 , 19 , 94 ). A shift requires longer-term investment and introduces delays in observing results, which proves challenging in the presence of human suffering associated with current homelessness, as demonstrated by the well-meaning appeal of prioritization on the basis of vulnerability. Policies, and especially system performance goals, need to create incentives for balancing crisis response with upstream interventions. Fourth, an immediate step toward a prevention framework requires communities to track and actively monitor broader demand for housing assistance beyond entry into homeless services. As communities increasingly move toward a coordinated entry into homeless services, existing policies typically emphasize or require a homelessness determination for access and, thus, fail to connect with the delivery of prevention services. The oversight results in limited information being provided to assess and improve prevention responses; for instance, communities may be unable to track demand for prevention beyond those who receive the limited services available. The lack of success of disorganized resources further undermines investments in prevention. System performance metrics contingent on homelessness reductions must also reward prevention successes. Finally, rights-based housing policies provide the most conducive framework for broad-scale prevention ( 29 , 66 ). Duty to assist legislation enacted in Wales ensures households seeking housing supports receive best effort responses, which include counseling plus short-term housing only if necessary ( 67 , 68 ). Households that still need assistance and those already homeless enter more intensive interventions. Policies structure services to capture demand for and effectiveness of prevention responses in ways that allow for ongoing system improvements.

Homelessness represents a global public health challenge. Coordinated responses leverage flexible networks to deliver a range of services tailored to complex needs. However, current policies that prioritize services on the basis of vulnerability miss opportunities for prevention, thus contributing to overwhelming pressure on the service system. To achieve broad and sustainable reductions in housing insecurity, homelessness prevention must be fully integrated into existing service networks. Prevention-oriented policies that ensure timely responses to housing insecurity extend the housing first philosophy and leverage the considerable capacity of homeless services.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This project was supported by award number 90CA1815 (principal investigator: Fowler) from the Administration for Children and Families–Children’s Bureau. We acknowledge Kenneth Wright and Katie Chew for their research assistance and help with visuals. We are also very grateful for the many consumers and providers of homeless services who greatly informed our thinking.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

The authors are not aware of any affiliations, memberships, funding, or financial holdings that might be perceived as affecting the objectivity of this review. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Children’s Bureau.

LITERATURE CITED

5 Essays About Homelessness

Around the world, people experience homelessness. According to a 2005 survey by the United Nations, 1.6 billion people lack adequate housing. The causes vary depending on the place and person. Common reasons include a lack of affordable housing, poverty, a lack of mental health services, and more. Homelessness is rooted in systemic failures that fail to protect those who are most vulnerable. Here are five essays that shine a light on the issue of homelessness:

What Would ‘Housing as a Human Right’ Look Like in California? (2020) – Molly Solomon

For some time, activists and organizations have proclaimed that housing is a human right. This essay explores what that means and that it isn’t a new idea. Housing as a human right was part of federal policy following the Great Depression. In a 1944 speech introducing what he called the “Second Bill of Rights,” President Roosevelt attempted to address poverty and income equality. The right to have a “decent home” was included in his proposals. Article 25 of the Universal Declaration also recognizes housing as a human right. It describes the right to an “adequate standard of living.” Other countries such as France and Scotland include the right to housing in their constitutions. In the US, small local governments have adopted resolutions on housing. How would it work in California?

At KQED, Molly Solomon covers housing affordability. Her stories have aired on NPR’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and other places. She’s won three national Edward R. Murrow awards.

“What People Get Wrong When They Try To End Homelessness” – James Abro

In his essay, James Abro explains what led up to six weeks of homelessness and his experiences helping people through social services. Following the death of his mother and eviction, Abro found himself unhoused. He describes himself as “fortunate” and feeling motivated to teach people how social services worked. However, he learned that his experience was somewhat unique. The system is complicated and those involved don’t understand homelessness. Abro believes investing in affordable housing is critical to truly ending homelessness.

James Abro is the founder of Advocate for Economic Fairness and 32 Beach Productions. He works as an advocate for homeless rights locally and nationally. Besides TalkPoverty, he contributes to Rebelle Society and is an active member of the New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness.

“No Shelter For Some: Street-Sleepers” (2019)

This piece (by an unknown author) introduces the reader to homelessness in urban China. In the past decades, a person wouldn’t see many homeless people. This was because of strict rules on internal migration and government-supplied housing. Now, the rules have changed. People from rural areas can travel more and most urban housing is privatized. People who are homeless – known as “street-sleepers” are more visible. This essay is a good summary of the system (which includes a shift from police management of homelessness to the Ministry of Civil Affairs) and how street-sleepers are treated.

“A Window Onto An American Nightmare” (2020) – Nathan Heller

This essay from the New Yorker focuses on San Francisco’s history with homelessness, the issue’s complexities, and various efforts to address it. It also touches on how the pandemic has affected homelessness. One of the most intriguing parts of this essay is Heller’s description of becoming homeless. He says people “slide” into it, as opposed to plunging. As an example, someone could be staying with friends while looking for a job, but then the friends decide to stop helping. Maybe someone is jumping in and out of Airbnbs, looking for an apartment. Heller’s point is that the line between only needing a place to stay for a night or two and true “homelessness” is very thin.

Nathan Heller joined the New Yorker’s writing staff in 2013. He writes about technology, higher education, the Bay Area, socioeconomics, and more. He’s also a contributing editor at Vogue, a former columnist for Slate, and contributor to other publications.

“Homelessness in Ireland is at crisis point, and the vitriol shown towards homeless people is just as shocking” (2020)#- Megan Nolan

In Ireland, the housing crisis has been a big issue for years. Recently, it’s come to a head in part due to a few high-profile incidents, such as the death of a young woman in emergency accommodation. The number of children experiencing homelessness (around 4,000) has also shone a light on the severity of the issue. In this essay, Megan Nolan explores homelessness in Ireland as well as the contempt that society has for those who are unhoused.

Megan Nolan writes a column for the New Statesman. She also writes essays, criticism, and fiction. She’s from Ireland but based in London.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

Homelessness as a Global Social Issue Essay

Homelessness is a serious social issue affecting the society globally. In the US, homelessness is on the increase because of economic melt- down and foreclosures. Homelessness affects young adults, people dismissed from prisons and people without health insurance. In addition, these groups have severe problems such as physical disabilities; suffer from alcoholism and mental illnesses and poor health besides having family issues.

National Alliance to End Homelessness cites that people staying with friends because of economic conditions increased from 6 million to 6.8 million in 2009 and 2010 respectively (National Alliance to End Homelessness). Moreover, young people released from foster care system experiences 1 out of 194 chances of being rendered homeless. This is similar to those people recently released from prisons.

National Alliance to End Homelessness also notes the odds of an individual living doubled up are 1 out of12; those released from prison are 1 out of 13, and for young adult the chances are 1 out of 11 (National Alliance to End Homelessness). In 2010, individuals without proper health insurance cover increased from about 47.2 million to 48.8 million in 2009 and 2010 respectively (National Alliance to End Homelessness).

Poor parenting is cited as a contributory cause to homelessness in the US. Poor parenting creates rebellious children’s who are difficult to control; hence, many parents place them in foster facility as the solution. Besides, parent-child conflict has caused many children to abandon their homes and resort streets for shelter (National Alliance to End Homelessness).

Similarly, children of homelessness parents grow knowing ‘street ‘is home. Hence, even when they mature to adulthood, the only place they call home is the street (Karger et al., 56).

Psychological reasons have also contributed to the high rate of homelessness in the US. National Alliance to End Homelessness shows that about 30 percent of homeless people were brought up by parents with psychological problem connection (National Alliance to End Homelessness). The psychological problem cited include; dependence on drugs, alcohol addiction and criminal backgrounds among others.

Moreover, differences in perception of homelessness by liberal and conservative on homeless have increased homelessness in the US. The liberals note that homelessness occurs as a result of weak and poor organizational policies (Karger et al., 56). Thus, people experiencing homelessness are not provided with support in terms of good healthcare and housing.

On the other hand, the conservation demonstrates that homelessness is a creation of the society (National Alliance to End Homelessness). They view that majority of people do not like working so as to uplift their standards of living. When a person does this, then, there is no need in supporting him/her.

Rather than being connected to deviance or poverty, homelessness is perceived as a component of social exclusion, that is, something that is viewed as a process by which people are secluded from key societal mechanisms providing social resources. The policies developed to address this issue thus, need to factor welfare of homeless people and social circumstances.

As elements of social integration policies, they need to support effective reintegration and involve issues of personal security, empowerment, control and social participation. This is because; homelessness groups are prone to social exclusion by the society.

The US has moved with pace to contain the issue. This is demonstrated through various policies already in place. Acts such as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvement Act of 2000 have played a significant role in protecting and educating rights of youth and children.

Besides, the government has fixed a wide range of private and public initiatives tailored towards reducing homelessness. They include National Center on Family Homelessness and National Health care for the Homeless Council (National Alliance to End Homelessness).

Works Cited

Karger, Howard Jacob and David Stoesz. American Social welfare policy: Apluralist approach, Boston: Allyn and Bancon, 2010. Print.

National Alliance to End Homelessness . The State of Homelessness in America . 2012. Web.

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• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, March 28). Homelessness as a Global Social Issue. https://ivypanda.com/essays/homelessness/

"Homelessness as a Global Social Issue." IvyPanda , 28 Mar. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/homelessness/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Homelessness as a Global Social Issue'. 28 March.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Homelessness as a Global Social Issue." March 28, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/homelessness/.

1. IvyPanda . "Homelessness as a Global Social Issue." March 28, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/homelessness/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Homelessness as a Global Social Issue." March 28, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/homelessness/.

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• Peter Singer on Resolving the World Poverty
• Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the USA

Essays About Homelessness: Top 8 Examples Plus Prompts

Everyone has heard of homeless people at some point in their lives; if you are writing essays about homelessness, read our top essay examples and prompts.

Poverty is one of the greatest evils in the world. Its effects are seen daily, from people begging on the streets to stealing to support their families. But unfortunately, one of the most prominent and upsetting diversity is homelessness. Homelessness is a significant problem in even the most developed nations, including the U.S. and Canada. Despite all the resources used to fight this issue, countries often lack the means to reduce homelessness significantly. With the proper aid, homelessness can be entirely eradicated in the future. 

If you want to write essays about homelessness, keep reading to see our essay examples and helpful writing prompts.

2. A journey with the homeless by Sujata Jena

3. i chose to be homeless: reflections on the homeless challenge by emily kvalheim, 4. my experience being homeless by scott benner, 5. what people get wrong when they try to end homelessness by james abro, 1. causes of homelessness , 2. how can homelessness be reduced, 3. mental illness and homelessness, 4. reflection on homelessness, 5. is homelessness a “personal problem”.

Are you looking for more? Check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays

1. That Homeless Man is My Brother by Megan Regnerus

“But the subtext of my friend’s statement is really Why should I give money to someone who’s lazy; who isn’t willing to work for money like I do?’ And to that I say, her opinion that people who ask for money are freeloaders who could work but choose not to, is based on assumption. It relies on the notion that the two things that shape us into able-bodied adults who can hold down a regular job, nature and nurture, are level playing fields. And they’re not.”

Regnerus writes about a friend’s claim that the homeless are “lazy,” reminding her of her homeless brother. She cites genetics and circumstance as contributing factors to homelessness. Despite the other woman being her friend, Regnerus strongly refutes her belief that the homeless are non-disabled freeloaders- they should be treated with empathy. For more, check out these articles about homelessness .

“I realize that the situation of poverty and homelessness is a huge social problem around the world. But when I meet them, I face fellow human beings, not some abstract “social problem.” The very phrase, “What would Jesus do at this scene?” haunted me.  I ventured to ask their names, age, where they came from, where they live (street, bridges, cemetery) and the reason they are on the streets. Their stories are poignant. Each one has a unique story to tell about his/her reason to be homeless, how they were forced to leave distant rural villages to live on the city streets. I tried to listen to them with empathy.”

In her essay, Jena remembers the homeless people in Manila, Philippines. She can see them beyond some “aspect of society” as human beings. She empathizes with them extensively and recalls the words of Jesus Christ about loving others, particularly the neediest.

“I, too, have not been compassionate enough, and I have allowed my prejudices to distort my view of the homeless. One woman, who sat across from me at a feeding program, talking to herself erratically, may have seemed strange to me before the Homeless Challenge. But when I really saw myself as her equal, and when I took the time to watch her get up and laugh as she danced to the music playing in the background, I thought she was beautiful. She had found her own happiness, amidst despair.”

Kvalheim details her experiences during an immersion challenge with the homeless. She recalls both the discrimination and generosity she experienced and her experiences with other homeless people. She was amazed to see how they could stay positive despite their terrible circumstances. We should be thankful for what we have and use it to help others in need. 

“As my funds dwindled, and the weather got colder, I sought shelter at Father Bill’s in Quincy Ma. When you are homeless, sometimes very small things mean a lot. A dry pair of socks, shoes without holes, a pocketful of change. You begin to realize how much you value your personal space. You begin to realize other people want space too. A lot of people have issues or have suffered in one way or another and you can see their pain. I think that there are people who for a variety of issue are chronically homeless and a larger portion of homeless are transitioning through a series of bad events.”

Benner’s essay, written for the company ArtLifting, reflects on his experience of being homeless for a brief while. Then, he and his wife grew ill, and Benner sought refuge at a homeless shelter after his company shut down. After that, he realized how his struggles were very different from those of others and the value of the more minor things he previously took for granted. Luckily, he escaped homelessness by making art with the help of ArtLifting. 

“The court denied my sister’s request and named me our mother’s legal guardian, but it appointed my sister as guardian of her property.  In 2009, when my mother passed away, my sister evicted me. The day I was scheduled to move out, I stood in a convenience store, dazed, as I stared at microwaveable meals.  These would be my new staple when I moved into the motel room. My phone rang—my sister.  She told me she needed me out of the house in a couple of hours—she was a real estate agent and a client wanted to see the house. ‘No hard feelings,’ she said.”

Similar to Benner, Abro narrates the circumstances surrounding his homelessness. After his mother’s death and a conflict with his sister led to his eviction, he ended up homeless. While his situation was unfortunate, he believes that there are many people worse off than him and that something must change to address the housing and poverty crises in America.

Top 5 Prompts On Essays about Homelessness

For your essay, it would be interesting to write about how people become homeless in the first place. Research the different causes of homelessness and elaborate on them, and be sure to provide sources such as statistics and anecdotes. 

What solutions to homelessness can you think of? In your essay, propose at least one way you think the homelessness problem can be solved or at least reduced. It must be concrete, realistic, and defensible; be sure to explain your solution well and defend its feasibility, backing up your claims with facts and logic. 

Homelessness and mental health can be linked—research into declining mental health and how homelessness can impact a person’s mental well-being. Make sure to use research data and statistics to show your findings. Conclude whether poor mental health can cause homelessness or if homelessness causes poor mental health.

You can write about what homelessness means to you in your essay. Perhaps you’ve heard stories of homeless people, or maybe you know someone who is or has been homeless. Use this essay to highly the effects of homelessness and how we can work together as a society to eradicate it.

Many say that homeless people “choose to be homeless” and are underachievers; otherwise, they would simply “get a job” and lift themselves out of poverty. Is this true? Research this topic and decide on your stance. Then, write about whether you agree with this topic for a compelling argumentative essay.

If you’re still stuck, check out our general resource of essay writing topics .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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City of Boston workers clear encampments in the area known as Mass and Cass.

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Experts cite complexity of problem, which is rooted in poverty, lack of affordable housing but includes medical, psychiatric, substance-use issues

It took seven years for Abigail Judge to see what success looked like for one Boston homeless woman.

The woman had been sex trafficked since she was young, was a drug user, and had been abused, neglected, or exploited in just about every relationship she’d had. If Judge was going to help her, trust had to come first. Everything else — recovery, healing, employment, rejoining society’s mainstream — might be impossible without it. That meant patience despite the daily urgency of the woman’s situation.

“It’s nonlinear. She gets better, stops, gets re-engaged with the trafficker and pulled back into the lifestyle. She does time because she was literally holding the bag of fentanyl for these guys,” said Judge, a psychology instructor at Harvard Medical School whose outreach program, Boston Human Exploitation and Sex Trafficking (HEAT), is supported by Massachusetts General Hospital and the Boston Police Department. “This is someone who’d been initially trafficked as a kid and when I met her was 23 or 24. She turned 30 last year, and now she’s housed, she’s abstinent, she’s on suboxone. And she’s super involved in her community.”

It’s a success story, but one that illustrates some of the difficulties of finding solutions to the nation’s homeless problem. And it’s not a small problem. A  December 2023 report  by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said 653,104 Americans experienced homelessness, tallied on a single night in January last year. That figure was the highest since HUD began reporting on the issue to Congress in 2007 .

Abigail Judge of the Medical School (from left) and Sandra Andrade of Massachusetts General Hospital run the outreach program Boston HEAT (Human Exploitation and Sex Trafficking).

Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer

Scholars, healthcare workers, and homeless advocates agree that two major contributing factors are poverty and a lack of affordable housing, both stubbornly intractable societal challenges. But they add that hard-to-treat psychiatric issues and substance-use disorders also often underlie chronic homelessness. All of which explains why those who work with the unhoused refer to what they do as “the long game,” “the long walk,” or “the five-year-plan” as they seek to address the traumas underlying life on the street.

“As a society, we’re looking for a quick fix, but there’s no quick fix for this,” said Stephen Wood, a visiting fellow at Harvard Law School’s Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics and a nurse practitioner in the emergency room at Carney Hospital in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. “It takes a lot of time to fix this. There will be relapses; there’ll be problems. It requires an interdisciplinary effort for success.”

A recent study of 60,000 homeless people in Boston found the average age of death was decades earlier than the nation’s 2017 life expectancy of 78.8 years.

Illustration by Liz Zonarich/Harvard Staff

Katherine Koh, an assistant professor of psychiatry at HMS and psychiatrist at MGH on the street team for Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, traced the rise of homelessness in recent decades to a combination of factors, including funding cuts for community-based care, affordable housing, and social services in the 1980s as well as deinstitutionalization of mental hospitals.

“Though we have grown anesthetized to seeing people living on the street in the U.S., homelessness is not inevitable,” said Koh, who sees patients where they feel most comfortable — on the street, in church basements, public libraries. “For most of U.S. history, it has not been nearly as visible as it is now. There are a number of countries with more robust social services but similar prevalence of mental illness, for example, where homelessness rates are significantly lower. We do not have to accept current rates of homelessness as the way it has to be.”

“As a society, we’re looking for a quick fix, but there’s no quick fix for this.” Stephen Wood, visiting fellow, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics

Success stories exist and illustrate that strong leadership, multidisciplinary collaboration, and adequate resources can significantly reduce the problem. Prevention, meanwhile, in the form of interventions focused on transition periods like military discharge, aging out of foster care, and release from prison, has the potential to vastly reduce the numbers of the newly homeless.

Recognition is also growing — at Harvard and elsewhere — that homelessness is not merely a byproduct of other issues, like drug use or high housing costs, but is itself one of the most difficult problems facing the nation’s cities. Experts say that means interventions have to be multidisciplinary yet focused on the problem; funding for research has to rise; and education of the next generation of leaders on the issue must improve.

“This is an extremely complex problem that is really the physical and most visible embodiment of a lot of the public health challenges that have been happening in this country,” said Carmel Shachar, faculty director of Harvard Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation. “The public health infrastructure has always been the poor Cinderella, compared to the healthcare system, in terms of funding. We need increased investment in public health services, in the public health workforce, such that, for people who are unhoused, are unsheltered, who are struggling with substance use, we have a meaningful answer for them.”

“You can either be admitted to a hospital with a substance-use disorder, or you can be admitted with a psychiatric disorder, but very, very rarely will you be admitted to what’s called a dual-diagnosis bed,” said Wood, a nurse practitioner in the emergency room at Carney Hospital.

Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer

Experts say that the nation’s unhoused population not only experiences poverty and exposure to the elements, but also suffers from a lack of basic health care, and so tend to get hit earlier and harder than the general population by various ills — from the flu to opioid dependency to COVID-19.

A recent study of 60,000 homeless people in Boston recorded 7,130 deaths over the 14-year study period. The average age of death was 53.7, decades earlier than the nation’s 2017 life expectancy of 78.8 years. The leading cause of death was drug overdose, which increased 9.35 percent annually, reflecting the track of the nation’s opioid epidemic, though rising more quickly than in the general population.

A closer look at the data shows that impacts vary depending on age, sex, race, and ethnicity. All-cause mortality was highest among white men, age 65 to 79, while suicide was a particular problem among the young. HIV infection and homicide, meanwhile, disproportionately affected Black and Latinx individuals. Together, those results highlight the importance of tailoring interventions to background and circumstances, according to Danielle Fine, instructor in medicine at HMS and MGH and an author of two analyses of the study’s data.

“The takeaway is that the mortality gap between the homeless population and the general population is widening over time,” Fine said. “And this is likely driven in part by a disproportionate number of drug-related overdose deaths in the homeless population compared to the general population.”

Inadequate supplies of housing

Though homelessness has roots in poverty and a lack of affordable housing, it also can be traced to early life issues, Koh said. The journey to the streets often starts in childhood, when neglect and abuse leave their marks, interfering with education, acquisition of work skills, and the ability to maintain healthy relationships.

“A major unaddressed pathway to homelessness, from my vantage point, is childhood trauma. It can ravage people’s lives and minds, until old age,” Koh said. “For example, some of my patients in their 70s still talk about the trauma that their parents inflicted on them. The lack of affordable housing is a key factor, though there are other drivers of homelessness we must also tackle.”

The number was the highest since the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development began reporting on the issue to Congress in 2007 .

Most advocates embrace a “housing first” approach, prioritizing it as a first step to obtaining other vital services. But they say the type of housing also matters. Temporary shelters are a key part of the response, but many of the unhoused avoid them because of fears of theft, assault, and sexual assault. Instead, long-term beds, including those designated for people struggling with substance use and mental health issues, are needed.

“You can either be admitted to a hospital with a substance-use disorder, or you can be admitted with a psychiatric disorder, but very, very rarely will you be admitted to what’s called a dual-diagnosis bed,” said Petrie-Flom’s Wood. “The data is pretty solid on this issue: If you have a substance-use disorder there’s likely some underlying, severe trauma. Yet, when we go to treat them, we address one but not the other. You’re never going to find success in the system that we currently have if you don’t recognize that dual diagnosis.”

Services offered to those in housing should avoid what Koh describes as a “one-size-fits-none” approach. Some might need monthly visits from a caseworker to ensure they’re getting the support they need, she said. But others struggle once off the streets. They need weekly — even daily — support from counselors, caseworkers, and other service providers.

“I have seen, sadly, people who get housed and move very quickly back out on the streets or, even more tragically, lose their life from an unwitnessed overdose in housing,” Koh said. “There’s a community that’s formed on the street so if you overdose, somebody can give you Narcan or call 911. If you don’t have the safety of peers around, people can die. We had a patient who literally died just a few days after being housed, from an overdose. We really cannot just house people and expect their problems to be solved. We need to continue to provide the best care we can to help people succeed once in housing.”

“We really cannot just house people and expect their problems to be solved.”  Katherine Koh, Mass. General psychiatrist

Koh works on the street team for Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program.

Photo by Dylan Goodman

The nation’s failure to address the causes of homelessness has led to the rise of informal encampments from Portland, Maine, to the large cities of the West Coast. In Boston, an informal settlement of tents and tarps near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard was a point of controversy before it was cleared in November.

In the aftermath, more than 100 former “Mass and Cass” residents have been moved into housing, according to media reports. But experts were cautious in their assessment of the city’s plans. They gave positive marks for features such as a guaranteed place to sleep, “low threshold” shelters that don’t require sobriety, and increased outreach to connect people with services. But they also said it’s clear that unintended consequences have arisen. and the city’s homelessness problem is far from solved.

Examples abound. Judge, who leads Boston HEAT in collaboration with Sandra Andrade of MGH, said that a woman she’d been working with for two years, who had been making positive strides despite fragile health, ongoing sexual exploitation, and severe substance use disorder, disappeared after Mass and Cass was cleared.

Mike Jellison, a peer counselor who works on Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program’s street team, said dismantling the encampment dispersed people around the city and set his team scrambling to find and reconnect people who had been receiving medical care with providers. It’s also clear, he said, that Boston Police are taking a hard line to prevent new encampments from popping up in other neighborhoods, quickly clearing tents and other structures.

“We were out there Wednesday morning on our usual route in Charlesgate,” Jellison said in early December. “And there was a really young couple who had all their stuff packed. And [the police] just told them, ‘You’ve got to leave, you can’t stay here.’ She was crying, ‘Where am I going to go?’ This was a couple who works; they’re employed and work out of a tent. It was like 20 degrees out there. It was heartbreaking.”

Prevention as cure?

Successes in reducing homelessness in the U.S. are scarce, but not unknown. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, for example, has reduced veteran homelessness nationally by more than 50 percent since 2010.

Experts point out, however, that the agency has advantages in dealing with the problem. It is a single, nationwide, administrative entity so medical records follow patients when they move, offering continuity of care often absent for those without insurance or dealing with multiple private providers. Another advantage is that the VA’s push, begun during the Obama administration, benefited from both political will on the part of the White House and Congress and received support and resources from other federal agencies.

The city of Houston is another example. In 2011, Houston had the nation’s fifth-largest homeless population. Then-Mayor Annise Parker began a program that coordinated 100 regional nonprofits to provide needed services and boost the construction of low-cost housing in the relatively inexpensive Houston market.

Neither the VA nor Houston was able to eliminate homelessness, however.

To Koh, that highlights the importance of prevention. In 2022, she published research in which she and a team used an artificial-intelligence-driven model to identify those who could benefit from early intervention before they wound up on the streets. The researchers examined a group of U.S. service members and found that self-reported histories of depression, trauma due to a loved one’s murder, and post-traumatic stress disorder were the three strongest predictors of homelessness after discharge.

In April 2023, Koh, with co-author Benjamin Land Gorman, suggested in the Journal of the American Medical Association that using “Critical Time Intervention,” where help is focused on key transitions, such as military discharge or release from prison or the hospital, has the potential to head off homelessness.

“So much of the clinical research and policy focus is on housing those who are already homeless,” Koh said. “But even if we were to house everybody who’s homeless today, there are many more people coming down the line. We need sustainable policies that address these upstream determinants of homelessness, in order to truly solve this problem.”

The education imperative

Despite the obvious presence of people living and sleeping on city sidewalks, the topic of homelessness has been largely absent from the nation’s colleges and universities. Howard Koh, former Massachusetts commissioner of public health and former U.S. assistant secretary for Health and Human Services, is working to change that.

In 2019, Koh, who is also the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership, founded the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health’s pilot Initiative on Health and Homelessness. The program seeks to educate tomorrow’s leaders about homelessness and support research and interdisciplinary collaboration to create new knowledge on the topic. The Chan School’s course “Homelessness and Health: Lessons from Health Care, Public Health, and Research” is one of just a handful focused on homelessness offered by schools of public health nationwide.

“The topic remains an orphan,” said Koh. The national public health leader (who also happens to be Katherine’s father) traced his interest in the topic to a bitter winter while he was Massachusetts public health commissioner when 13 homeless people froze to death on Boston’s streets. “I’ve been haunted by this issue for several decades as a public health professional. We now want to motivate courageous and compassionate young leaders to step up and address the crisis, educate students, motivate researchers, and better inform policymakers about evidence-based studies. We want every student who walks through Harvard Yard and sees vulnerable people lying in Harvard Square to not accept their suffering as normal.”

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Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Homelessness: Causes, Culture and Community Development as a Solution

Kaitlin Philipps , Salve Regina University Follow

Document Type

This thesis seeks to explain the reasons that homelessness occurs, and how it is currently being dealt with in public policy. Triggers and predictors of homelessness are explored and it is shown that triggers are almost always compounded, indicating a multitude of factors that lead to homelessness. The culture and community surrounding the homeless lifestyle is seen as playing a significant role in how the individual copes with their homelessness. The norms and values of their culture are investigated and its role in rehabilitation is explored. Current institutions for helping the homeless are analyzed for different success rates. Additionally, initiatives and solutions to homelessness from two Western countries, The United States and Denmark are compared for varying successes and failures. Based on the analyzed factors this thesis proposes what could be done to improve the situation of homeless individuals by shaping public policy. Specifically the benefits that community building programs of rehabilitation such as Assertive Community Treatment and Critical Time Intervention could offer if public policy was changed to increase their use are discussed. Specifically, Assertive Community Treatment and Critical Time Intervention are advocated for due to their ability to encourage community development in conjunction with its use of community creation as a tool in decreasing recidivism rates and creating long term solutions for homeless individuals and their reintegration into society.

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Writing About Homelessness

Essay paper writing

Academic writing

Homelessness is an extremely pressing problem nowadays, which actually has always been a burning issue. It was first documented in America in 1640. Since that time, the number of homeless people has only been growing. According to various estimates, there are almost 650,000 homeless in the USA, while the NLCHP – the National Law Center of Homelessness and Poverty declares as many as 3.5 million. The reasons why such a great amount of people has once found themselves in the streets are variable. Natural disasters, like tornado and hurricanes and some other related catastrophes, have contributed much to that.  Some people became homeless after being laid off from the job, losing their family, or surviving a house fire. So, nowadays, hundreds of thousands of people have no other option but to stay out in the streets, shelters, parks, etc.

Being a critical issue, homelessness has drawn the educators’ attention. That’s why students often write research papers and essays about homelessness and its various aspects.

Causes and reason of homelessness

In this section, we will consider the main causes of homelessness, which you can use as a basis for your paper.

• The first group of factors is applied to the personal situations of the individuals. They may be associated with certain stressful events like job loss, house fires, a crisis in personal life like divorce or cases of domestic violence, problems with addictions or mental health, brain injury, or even fetal alcohol syndrome. The reasons why people become homeless may also be extreme poverty, mental health, or substance abuse problems in the family. Violence at home also has a direct and undeniable connection to homelessness.
• Structural factors are social and economic issues, which influence the social environment and opportunities of the individuals. Lack of earnings, no access to the medical care, and discrimination are among them. Unfortunately, economic shifts countrywide and local generate challenges for citizens; they are forced to look for opportunities to earn more as they spend more on foodstuff and housing. The poor individuals often fail to cover their vital necessities such as childcare, education, housing, and healthcare.
• Finally, systems failures are the ones, which occur when the care and support systems fail, making individuals look for their new way around, but in the streets. The examples of such may become the difficulties with moving of the individuals from child welfare, release from health facilities, hospitals, and correctional facilities without proper rehabilitation; lack of backing for immigrants and refugees also belong here.

Let’s go into more detail and consider the following reasons for homelessness in the US.

• Unemployment is the main issue leading to homelessness. About 16% of US citizens live under the poverty line, meaning they fail to cover their everyday life expenditures.
• Personal or family crisis. Individuals having steady income may be kicked into the street due to an emergency of some kind, which arises in the family. Each unforeseen situation threatens housing loss for those people who live already in scarcity. It may actually be something like simple car towing, poor health condition, or the death of a family member. Divorce, being an expensive matter, also influences the earnings of each participant and may quickly spin a person into living rough.
• Unaffordable housing. In the USA, you are unlikely to be able to cover the expense of an average 2-bedroom flat anywhere around the country if only 1 family member is employed and paid a minimum wage.
• Demographics. There is little statistics for the young generation homelessness, so the term “invisible homeless” – is often applied in this case. Young people can easily hang out with friends and do not need any services, that’s why it's difficult to make accurate estimations in this age group. Approximately 8% of the homeless American population is constituted by unaccompanied young people and children 380,000 individuals are still under 18 years old. 
• Substances abuse and problems with mental health. In 2013, every fifth homeless in the US suffered from chronic substance abuse. Altogether, such people made more than 130,000 US citizens. For this category of people, permanent supportive housing is vital, as they need to have a stable place where they can stay, combined with proper assistance and essential services to benefit from. According to an estimation made in the USA, about 20% of the homeless American population suffer from mental illnesses; veterans are a part of this category, struggling not only with a mental disorder but with PST - posttraumatic syndrome. Such people have a lot of challenges every day and often stay homeless for a longer period.

The usual effects of homelessness

It is also quite important to aware of the consequences that homelessness can bring:

• Certain consequences of facing homelessness are quite obvious – it is the change in the overall lifestyle and worsening of the health conditions; some problems with health may even lead to death.
• Though mental illnesses are often viewed as the reason for homelessness, they may also be its consequence. When a person loses everything he or she has worked and lived for, he or she may have a deep emotional impact resulting in mental problems. Malnutrition, a nutritional insufficiency, is another usual problem of the homeless. People living rough can’t afford eating out or having homemade meals; they often eat spoiled or even rotten food, which is definitely unhealthy and even dangerous.
• Homeless individuals often suffer from heart diseases, colds, tuberculosis, sleep deprivation, skin infections, drug abuse, and AIDS.
• Unfortunately, people living in the street often become the victims of physical and sexual exploitation, where the risk of sexual assault is 20 times higher for women having no home than for those who have it. Besides, lots of accidents of such kind remain unreported. The US National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty has reported more than six hundred attacks with baseball bats, chains, and other kinds of weapons in the past decade.

Possible solutions to the problem of homelessness

All around the world, experts on homelessness have solutions they think will work best. Lately, the idea of “managing homelessness” has shifted to “ending homelessness” in the US. The state has focused on certain subgroups - veterans, “chronic homeless,” families, and the young generation. Such efforts may help to develop new partners and shape public information awareness of what is needed to end homelessness. So, let’s consider some effective strategies in fighting with homelessness issue:

• It’s obvious that housing is the most important base for solving the problem of homelessness.  Actually, housing equals security, safety, and care. It is a firm Launchpad, which allows a person to be employed and keep the job, as well as to find a proper place in society. The right to housing is a basic right of every human being, and stable life is impossible without it. Overall national commitment is required to guarantee affordable housing for everyone.
• The following important aspect in the struggle against homelessness is the right for shelter, which should be guaranteed as an essential legal protection for those having no home, whether it’s a family, a child, or an adult individual. In your paper, you should underline that sometimes a place to stay may become a decisive factor between life and death. It’s important to prevent the homeless from sleeping in the streets and city parks, subway, and other public places, which can lead to various cold-related injuries, like hypothermia or some others. The right to shelter protects thousands of homeless people. When individuals or families in a rough life situation have access to someplace to stay in, they may regain their life stability and start seeking permanent residence.
• Definitely, housing is important, but it is not enough. All people need services: child care, transportation, health care, treatment, case management, education, and supported employment. Without all these, people will return to the streets due to instability. Society must do its best to ensure accessible, available, affordable, and comprehensive support to those individuals who have faced penury.

What can you do?

It’s not a secret that each of us can make a difference and change this world a bit. So let’s see how can you contribute to the solution of the issue:

• Analyze possible policies and measures which can help overcome governmental bureaucracies. Housing assistance, for instance, can help escape homelessness to young people who have grown out of foster care, or low-income people with mental illness who leave hospitals, or those individuals, who exit correction institutions. Such people can benefit from such services as job training or counseling. You may prepare an essay or a speech on this topic and present it to the interested parties.
• Donate your recyclables to the homeless collecting cans and bottles. It’s a win-win, by the way.
• Donate to local shelters, food drives, churches, or coalitions.
• Help the helpers - contribute to non-profits or other similar organizations that assist the homeless. They know how to spend your dollar with maximum efficiency.
• You can also help in shelters or soup kitchens in various ways and fundraise as well at your school or workplace! You can even organize a food drive yourself, and more than that, get involved in local policymaking.

Some facts about homelessness

The facts below may be helpful in the process of paper creation.

• The overall amount of the homeless population worldwide reaches an overwhelming figure of 100 million people.
• In the US, there are almost 650,000 homeless; 37 percent of them have families, 25 percent are single women and about 20 are children, 25 percent suffer from mental disorders, while 35 percent have substance abuse problems.
• 21 percent of the homeless have graduated from high school, and 27 percent have higher education. Almost 45 percent of people in the street take occasional jobs and work about 30 hours weekly.
• New York and California are the highest homeless areas, with hotspots in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
• Above 90 percent of women found themselves in the streets due to domestic violence cases.
• Young people commonly get into the street being kicked out by parents, having no opportunities to earn their living, lacking healthcare or due to the violence at home, relationship breakdowns, social exclusion, and forced eviction.
• Homelessness is illegal. Don’t you want to discuss it in your argumentative essay on homelessness? A quarter of the US towns consider begging in public illegal, about a third prohibits to stand or wander around in the cities, almost 20 percent makes it law-breaking to sleep in the street, more than a half prohibit simply sit or lie in public places. Some cities even criminalize the feeding of the homeless according to their law.
• Public libraries play a vital role for the homeless population, not only allowing free access to the computers and the Internet but also provide them assistance in job search and even employ social workers.

How to work on your essays on homelessness

In case you’ve got your assignment and feel a bit unsettled, just follow the simple steps and your assignment guidelines, and you are guaranteed to get perfect paper.

• First of all, you should make up your mind as to the topic you’ll work on. No matter if your professor proposes a topic or you chose it yourself, try to select the one which arises your interest. Carefully study the sources available, find some decent essay examples, and approach your work with a critical spirit.
• In the course of your work, you should turn to primary sources as well as secondary ones. Primary research is the one you perform in the field or during the work with the original sources, while secondary research stands for the process of working with the findings made by the other people. Secondary research material can be obtained in various ways – libraries’ databases, mass media, websites (it’s important to turn to reputable sources, like .org, .gov, or .edu.)
• Put down the important information, facts, and sources, mind map your ideas, or use note cards to keep in mind the essential paraphrases and quotations. In order to avoid problems with citations, write down the title, author, and page number of the source used.
• Revise your paper and proofread it carefully for spelling and punctuation, double-check your reference page, and make sure your work meets all the formatting requirements.

Homelessness essay outline

Working on a homelessness essay outline is an important step of your whole writing process. That is why we have decided to describe all the important points of your outline:

• Introduction. To raise the interest of the readers, you should make the question challenging and create your homelessness essay introduction in such a way that the audience is eager to study your work up to the end. You should also think about an intriguing hook for essay about homeless as it is the first sentence your reader will see. Finally, make sure that you have developed a strong homelessness thesis statement that summarized the main idea that will be considered in the paper.
• Main body. This is the most extended part of your homelessness essay, which usually consists of 3-5 paragraphs. In this section, you need to present all the facts, arguments, and evidence.
• Conclusion. The main task in this part is restating homelessness essay thesis. You also need to write an interesting final sentence, which calls for further reflection. By the way, keep in mind that your homeless essay conclusion should not include any new information.

 Homelessness essay topics

Finally, you are struggling to find a good topic for your homelessness paper, you are free to choose among these ones:

• Homelessness persuasive essay: should homelessness be considered illegal?
• What is homelessness essay
• Helping homeless people essay
• Homelessness in America essay
• Poverty and homelessness essay
• Causes of homelessness essay
• Persuasive essay about providing shelter for homeless
• Helping the homeless essay
• Solutions to homelessness essay
• Homeless problem solution essay
• Essay on homeless youth
• Essay about homelessness cause and effect
• Essay about helping feed the homeless

How to write a research paper on homelessness?

So, here are the best tips for writing a research paper on homelessness:

• Choose a topic to research. You need to find a topic, which is both relevant for your target audience and interesting for you. Besides, you need to make sure that there is a lot of information on your topic on the Web.
• Organize your research. In this case, making an outline will be of great help. Put all the important points and research directions in your plan, and you will never miss anything in the course of writing.
• Think about the references. As it is a research paper, you need to work on a great number of sources. Make sure that they are up-to-date and reputable.
• Proofread your paper. This way, you will eliminate all the mistakes that spoil the impression from your research.

Research questions about homelessness

If you have literally no idea in what direction you should move on, get acquainted with the following research questions. Perhaps, some of them will inspire you:

• Is homelessness a serious world problem?
• What factors lead to homelessness?
• Is homelessness a first- or third-world problem?
• What are the economic consequences of homelessness?
• What steps can be taken to fight homelessness?

Homelessness research paper outline

Outlining is also a very important stage of research paper writing. Therefore, let’s pay attention to it and review the most important parts:

• Introduction. This is actually a presentation of your research. A classic intro has to be short and interesting for your audience. Make sure you used some interesting fact of statistics and paid enough attention to thesis and hypothesis.
• Homelessness research paper thesis statement and hypothesis. Thesis statement of your paper has to be brief, concise, and strong. Hypothesis is also an important part of any research. We recommend you looking for examples of statement of hypothesis for a homelessness research paper on the Web to write a really good one.
• Main part. Here, you need to conduct a literature review, collecting the ideas of the most outstanding professionals. The main thing is to rewrite all the information to avoid any plagiarism issues.
• Conclusion. In your final part, you need to restate your thesis statement and repeat some essential points of the paper. Any new information is not acceptable in this case as well.

Finally, a tip for you: if you really have no time for planning on your own, find a good homelessness research paper outline sample and modify it for the purposes of your study.

Research paper ideas about homelessness

Finally, let us present you with some really good homelessness research paper topic ideas:

• Homelessness ethics research paper
• Can homelessness ever be ended?
• Research papers on homelessness in America
• Analytical research paper on causes of homelessness
• What laws exist to control homelessness?
• Research paper on the effects of homelessness
• Economic consequences of homelessness

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150 Research Questions Homelessness Essay Topics & More

Welcome to our list of research questions about homelessness! On this page, you will find qualitative and quantitative homelessness essay topics, thesis ideas, and title options. Check them out below!

🔝 Top 7 Research Questions about Homelessness

🏆 best homelessness essay topics, 👍 good homelessness research topics & essay examples, 🎓 most interesting homelessness titles for research, 💡 simple homelessness essay ideas, ❓ homelessness research questions.

• Homelessness: Causes and Solutions
• Homelessness and Poverty in Developed and Developing Countries
• The Problem of Homelessness: Sociological Perspectives
• Homelessness in the New York City
• Homelessness Crisis in Canada
• Poverty and Homelessness in Jackson, Mississippi
• The Problem of Homelessness in Canada
• The Homelessness Issue in the World Homelessness is a severe issue that needs immediate interventions to curb the life-threatening challenges affecting people with no proper sheltering options.
• The City of Atlanta, Georgia: Poverty and Homelessness This project goal is to address several issues in the community of the City of Atlanta. Georgia. The primary concern is the high rate of poverty and homelessness in the city.
• Public Health and Health Policy: Newham’s Cases of Homelessness Newham’s cases of homelessness may be on the rise as the report indicated. The problem affects people of all ages in the borough who experience several and unique health problems.
• Arguments on Homelessness in California This paper analyzes the argument about the homelessness issue and states that the lack of access to permanent places of residence is specifically problematic in California.
• Poverty and Homelessness in Canada Poverty and homelessness figure prominently in government policies and the aims of many social service organizations even in a country like Canada.
• Homelessness in Rochester, NY Analysis Homelessness is a prevalent issue in some areas in the United States, particularly in the state of New York. People lose their places of residence and are forced to live on the streets.
• Vulnerabilities Associated With Homelessness The paper discusses the nature of vulnerabilities of the health of homeless people in the United States and its influence on society.
• Homelessness and Housing-Levels of Policy Impact on Services User The correlated causes of housing insecurity include discrimination, physical, financial, behavioral, and mental challenges, and the lack of appropriate and affordable housing.
• The Effects of Homelessness on Single-Parent Families in Black Community The paper states that single-parent families can be adversely impacted by homelessness, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
• Christopher Gardner’s Rise from Homelessness The essay demonstrates the rise of Gardner from homelessness to richness using various psychological theories.
• Hunger and Homelessness Consequences on Development The article discusses the consequences of hunger and homelessness during the early developmental years on children’s growth and development.
• Homelessness Among College Students This paper explains why there is homelessness at a high rate, stating that fewer well-paying jobs for those without a college degree is one of the reasons.
• Homelessness Among Children in the United States Homelessness among children in the United States is a growing problem. Children are particularly vulnerable because many run away from their homes.
• Encampment Project: Homelessness Eradication Encampment projects are usually helpful for few people or families. Homelessness eradication is almost impossible without efforts to combat unemployment.
• Poverty and Homelessness Among African Americans Even though the U.S. is wealthy and prosperous by global measures, poverty has persisted in the area, with Blacks accounting for a larger share.
• Homelessness in Western Australia Homelessness is a concern that has received widespread attention in Australia’s social justice framework. It remains an important issue that needs to be addressed by authorities.
• The Homelessness Problem in California Several causes can contribute to the high incidence of homelessness in California, including challenges in treating individuals with mental disorders and substance abuse.
• Homelessness and Housing in California Homelessness and rising housing expenses are two of California’s most pressing issues. California has the nation’s second-highest homelessness rate.
• Homelessness in San Bernardino Homelessness is a crucial problem not only in San Bernardino but in the whole of Southern California and the situation is generally worsening.
• Homelessness and Racial Disparities of African Americans African Americans possess the highest rate of homelessness and racial disparities in America, with the resultant causes and effects being the legacy of slavery and poverty.
• The Issue of Homelessness The paper states that homelessness is still an urgent issue nowadays, and many people still try to survive on the streets, and they often do not succeed.
• Homelessness in United States of America The increased rate of homelessness in the United States of America, particularly in parts of California, confirms to go up daily.
• Homelessness During COVID-19 in the US and Europe The paper reviews “Homelessness during COVID-19” by Rodriguez et al. and “Lifetime, 5-year and past-year prevalence of homelessness in Europe” by Taylor et al.
• Homelessness as a Social Issue in California The issue of homelessness has brought several issues in California, owing to the large population of financially unstable citizens.
• Homelessness and Housing in California The problem of unaffordable housing in California is complex and needs to be addressed by various techniques with a primary focus on fighting inequality and discrimination.
• Homelessness and Housing in California There is a need for California to change some of the housing policies by simplifying the registration process and providing more resources for developing affordable housing programs.
• The Veteran Homelessness Issue Analysis While the official statistics on homeless veterans are relatively low, the statistics do not include veterans who experience financial struggles.
• Researching the Homelessness Issues This paper presents the annotated bibliography dedicated the poverty issues and understanding the homelessness.
• Administrative Policy on Homelessness The issue of homelessness needs to be addressed with the use of national and state policies. The current measures are composed of a combination of harmful and beneficial policies.
• Homelessness in California: Homelessness in California California should rethink some of its property rules, provide more money to affordable homes initiatives, and streamline the application form.
• Strategies for Ending Homelessness in America The problem of homeless people in America is extremely worrisome in the context of the social and psychological well-being of the people of the country.
• Analysis of Homelessness in California Homelessness in California is a leading social problem due to high housing prices and increasing psychological and medical issues.
• Treating Substance Use Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness in California Homelessness puts the youths in unstable housing situations and at a higher risk of substance use. Homelessness in California has been one of the top challenges.
• Discussion of Homelessness in Modern Society Martha Stone discusses homelessness the matter sharing information on the causes of it, consequences, and what society can do about it.
• Mental Disorders and Homelessness About 15 percent of people with extreme mental illness were homeless over one year in California. Homelessness is familiar to persons with some mental disorders, like paranoia.
• Socio-Economic Plan: Homelessness The purpose of the paper is to critically evaluate the changes in socioeconomic factors that affect the homeless and the influence of various stakeholders on the issue.
• Homelessness Due to Unemployment During COVID-19 This paper is a research on how unemployment resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic has left many homeless in the United States.
• The Problem of Homelessness in America This paper reviews existing literature on homelessness to shed more light on how it impacts the homeless in New York City.
• Homelessness in Imperial Valley The two practical solutions for homelessness in Imperial Valley include providing affordable housing and mobilizing community-based initiatives and programs.
• Homelessness Policy in California There are several cities in which the number of homeless people is so big that the situation with the growth of homelessness in them is called an epidemic.
• Addressing Homelessness Issue: Current Policies This discussion identifies the latest policies intended to address the social issue of homeless Americans.
• Solving Problems Caused by Homelessness The reasons causing homelessness vary a lot. They can be both of personal or global character from a home violence to a financial crisis.
• Alleviation of Homelessness in California This paper discusses five ways that could be used to alleviate homelessness in California. For every strategy, this paper offers an opposing view and why such views fall short.
• Homelessness in Los Angeles: Causes and Solutions In this paper, a crisis of homelessness in Los Angeles will be discussed with consideration of traditional, feminist, and Pragmatic concepts.
• Homelessness and Poor Health Relationship Homeless people can be described as that group of people who lack adequate, fixed, or regular night-time shelter. Homeless people include single men and women, young families.
• Homelessness and Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy In homeless populations, the application of traditional measures for enhancing adherence to antiretroviral therapy also proves to lead to less impressive results.
• Patients Experiencing Homelessness: Mental Health Issues It is acknowledged that the association between homelessness and mental health has been explored while this link is still under-researched when it comes to specific populations.
• Homelessness and Its Primary Reasons Every country in the world, no matter how abundant or easy to live in, will have some proportion of homeless people.
• Homelessness and Depression Among Illiterate People There are various myths people have about homelessness and depression. For example, many people believe that only illiterate people can be homeless.
• Homelessness and Solutions in the United States In this paper, the researcher seeks to explain the cause of homelessness, its implications, and the effort that different stakeholders are taking to address the problem.
• Poverty and Homelessness: Dimensions and Constructions With the growth of the economy and the failure of employment, the number of people living in poverty and without shelter increases.
• Homelessness and Mass Incarceration Relationship Homelessness is an issue that affects not only those individuals who do not have their own residence but also the rest of society.
• Homelessness in Californian Public Places Public places in California house inhabitants who lack permanent residencies. It is reported that this decision is propelled by several factors.
• American Veteran Homelessness & Advocacy Practice A study by Lusk, Staudt, and Moya (2012), shows that subjecting these veterans to constant gun violence causes emotional stress to them
• Homelessness and Mass Incarceration The objective of this paper is to analyze the correlations between the homelessness and crime rates, as well as its connections to the mental disorders and substance abuse.
• Swanscombe Community’s Homelessness and Urban Health The urban health profile at hand has enabled one to examine the selected community, Swanscombe, from the perspective of a healthy environment.
• Regional-Level Challenges: California’s Homelessness The major problem connected with homelessness is that social service organizations tend to adopt narrow practice approaches reducing the human need to basic ones.
• Homelessness to Mass Incarceration The objective of this paper is to analyze the correlations between the homelessness and crime rates, as well as its connections to the mental disorders and substance abuse.
• Homelessness for Female-Headed Homes
• The Issues and Future Solutions to Homelessness in America
• Major Depression Disorder and Homelessness
• Homelessness Among NYC Youth
• Family, Resilience, Homelessness, and Mental Health
• US Citizenship Rights and Homelessness
• Domestic Violence and Homelessness Among Women
• Homelessness and Mental Health and Substance Abuse
• Social Problems and Homelessness in Savannah, Georgia
• Preventing and Reducing Homelessness
• Homelessness and Children’s Health Issues
• Veterans and Their Struggle With Homelessness
• Racial Differences Regarding Homelessness in the US
• Analyzing Homelessness and the Effect It Has on Social Health
• The Factors Associated With Youth Homelessness and Arrest
• Homelessness, Mental Illness, and Social Intervention
• The Structural and Individual Causes of Homelessness
• Homelessness and Sociological Perspectives
• Alleviating Homelessness Within New York City
• Homelessness Among Those With Mental Illness
• Homelessness Among the Veteran Community America S Forgotten Heroes
• Early Illicit Drug Use and the Age of Onset of Homelessness
• Homelessness Among the Community of Drug Addicts
• United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
• Sociology and Race, Homelessness, and Urban Life
• Homelessness and the Effects It Has on Humans
• Societal Inequalities Foster Homelessness in the United States
• The Need for Sustainability as It Relates to Homelessness in Australia
• The Relationship Between Homelessness in Australia and Rising Cases of Health Issues
• Deviance: Mental Illness and Homelessness
• The Link Between Homelessness and Mental Health
• City Life, Homelessness, Race, and Sociology
• Homelessness Amongst Marginalized LGBTQ Youth
• Family Homelessness and Its Effects on Children
• Homelessness, Mental Illness, and the Advocate Role
• Youth Homelessness Structural Factors
• Homelessness and Food Insecurity
• The Main Causes and Prevention Strategies of Homelessness
• Homelessness and Its Effects on America
• Post-1900 American Homelessness
• Homelessness and Its Effects on Licking County
• Homelessness Among American Veterans Research
• Reasons for Preventing Homelessness Among Youth
• Homelessness and Housing Problems in the United States
• Family Homelessness and the Impact on Health and Healthcare Provision
• Homelessness Affects Adults and Children
• Analyzing the Statistics and Problem of Homelessness in the U.S
• Ethnography and Homelessness Research
• Problems and Resolutions for Homelessness in the Northeast
• Child Abuse and Neglect, Homelessness, and Marital Problems
• The Growing Concern Over the Homelessness Around the Globe
• Reducing Homelessness In the United States
• Mental Illness, Homelessness, and Public Administration
• Homelessness and Permanent Supportive Housing
• Policy for Addressing Homelessness Canada
• Developing Social Theories and Perspectives on Homelessness
• The Homelessness and Its Effects on Women
• Federal Funding for Housing and Homelessness
• Homelessness Affecting the United States
• The Unemployment, Poverty, Homelessness, and Safety and Security Problem
• What Is the Impact of Homelessness on Children?
• Does Rent Control Cause Homelessness?
• Does Public Housing Reduce Homelessness?
• What Is a Longitudinal Analysis of Homelessness?
• Why Woman Headed Households Are Suffering From Homelessness?
• What Are the Structural Determinants of Homelessness in the United States?
• What Are the Definitions of Homelessness in Developing Countries?
• What Are Public Beliefs About the Causes of Homelessness?
• What Are the Prevalence of Homelessness Among Adolescents in the United States?
• What Is the Social History of Homelessness in Contemporary America?
• What Are the Risk Factors for Homelessness Among Indigent Urban Adults?
• What Is the Connection Between Severity of Homelessness and Adverse Birth Outcomes?
• What Are Some Reflections on the Policy History of Youth Homelessness in Australia?
• What Are the Risk Factors for Homelessness Among Women With Schizophrenia?
• Why Maternal Depression Is a Risk Factor for Family Homelessness?
• What Are the Pathways to Homelessness Among the Mentally Ill?
• What Are the Reasons for Youth Homelessness?
• What Are the Links Between Domestic Violence and Homelessness?
• What Is the Data Dilemma in Family Homelessness?
• What Are the Faith-based Programs and What’s Their Influence on Homelessness?
• What Is the Intersection of Homelessness, Racism, and Mental Illness?
• What Are the Complexities of Elder Homelessness?
• What Is the Impact of Homelessness on the Health of Families?
• What Are the International Perspectives on Rural Homelessness?
• What Are the Factors Associated With Youth Homelessness and Crime Rates?

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StudyCorgi. (2022, March 1). 150 Research Questions Homelessness Essay Topics & More. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/homelessness-essay-topics/

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StudyCorgi . "150 Research Questions Homelessness Essay Topics & More." March 1, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/homelessness-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2022. "150 Research Questions Homelessness Essay Topics & More." March 1, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/homelessness-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Homelessness were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 21, 2024 .

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'People in homelessness'

Create a spot-on reference in apa, mla, chicago, harvard, and other styles.

Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'People in homelessness.'

Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.

You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.

Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.

Hewitt, Jennifer. "Young people, home and homelessness : a narrative exploration." Thesis, Lancaster University, 2014. http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/71338/.

Akilu, Fatima. "A multimethod investigation into the experience of single homelessness." Thesis, University of Reading, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.307003.

Ehmling, Amelia E. "PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS WITHIN MUSIC THERAPY SETTINGS: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY." UKnowledge, 2018. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/music_etds/106.

Hodgson, Kate. "The mental health of young people with experiences of homelessness." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2014. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/59590/.

Myers, Paul Michael. "Hepatitis C testing among young people who experience homelessness in Melbourne /." Connect to thesis, 2007. http://eprints.unimelb.edu.au/archive/00003848.

Keenan, Lynn D. "Identifying risk factors for homelessness among people living with HIV disease /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/11169.

Cuncev, Alexandra. "Narratives of 'single homeless people' : reformulating and reinterpreting the homelessness experience." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2015. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/809489/.

Rosebert, Che-Louise. "The role of clinical psychology for homeless people." Thesis, Open University, 2000. http://oro.open.ac.uk/58078/.

Harding, Jamie. "Success and failure in independent living among 16-17 year olds." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.366535.

Coward, Sarah. "Home life : the meaning of home for people who have experienced homelessness." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2018. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/21626/.

Clutton, Samantha. "Young people : from homelessness to citizenship? : an evaluation of the Foyer approach." Thesis, Swansea University, 2001. https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42802.

Lenhard, Johannes Felix. "Making better lives : home making among homeless people in Paris." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2018. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/274609.

Donley, Amy Melissa. "The perception of homeless people important factors in determining perceptions of the homeless as dangerous /." Orlando, Fla. : University of Central Florida, 2008. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002261.

Phillips, Joshua Daniel. "From Losing Everything to Finding Community: How Homeless People Narrate their Lived Experiences." OpenSIUC, 2014. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/965.

Luscombe, Claire. "Mental health and social exclusion in people experiencing homelessness : the case for improved assessment." Thesis, University of Kent, 2015. https://kar.kent.ac.uk/47950/.

Donley, Amy. "THE PERCEPTION OF HOMELESS PEOPLE: IMPORTANT FACTORS IN DETERMINING PERCEPTIONS OF THE HOMELESS AS DANGEROUS." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2008. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/3813.

Czechowski, Konrad. "“What the Fuck is the Point of Unpacking?”: Perceptions of Residential Transitions Among People with Histories of Residential Instability." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/38086.

Marsh, Kate. "People Out of Place: Representations and Experiences Of Female Homelessness In Christchurch, New Zealand (Aotearoa)." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Sociology and Anthropology, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/965.

Kissoon, Priya N. "Pathways to homelessness a case study of the housing careers of the homeless people in Toronto /." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ56185.pdf.

Kemp, McKinsey. "Social Work Services: How can Social Workers Improve the Healthcare Experience for People who are Homeless?" CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/639.

Coles, Emma. "A qualitative exploration of the public and private faces of homelessness : engaging homeless people with health promotion." Thesis, University of Dundee, 2013. https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/3837305d-7c34-412c-b535-32f8b3482a85.

Robinson, Catherine Social Policy Research Centre Faculty of Arts &amp Social Sciences UNSW. "Being somewhere: young homeless people in inner-city Sydney." Awarded by:University of New South Wales, 2002. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/36679.

Embleton, Lonnie, Hana Lee, Jayleen Gunn, David Ayuku, and Paula Braitstein. "Causes of Child and Youth Homelessness in Developed and Developing Countries." AMER MEDICAL ASSOC, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/614740.

Westaway, Coral. "The experiences of men who have had multiple moves within projects for people who are homeless." Thesis, University of Hertfordshire, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2299/21097.

Silva, George Randell. "Powerlessness and Service Utilization by People without Homes by Chronic Homelessness, Age, Gender, Mental Health, and Substance Use." Thesis, Alliant International University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3620289.

This dissertation examined correlates of powerlessness, chronic homelessness (more than one-year homelessness), age, and gender, by analysis of the mental health (MH) and substance use (SU) service requests made by 699 people who attended a San Francisco, California homeless outreach event in May of 2005. People without homes (PWH) suffer MH and SU issues at a much higher rate than housed people, yet PWH who acknowledged they experienced MH and SU issues were least likely to request MH and SU services. PWH may have experienced chronic feelings of powerlessness, which resulted from marginalization. These chronic feelings of powerlessness contributed to a person's belief that his or her actions would produce no positive results. The concept of powerlessness may help explain PWH's reluctance to request MH and SU services. The author explored the relationship between chronicity of homelessness and requests for MH and SU services. Analyses showed that non-chronic PWH requested more MH services than those who were chronically homeless. However, this association was not seen when requests for SU services was examined. Additional analysis examining the relationship between service requests, age and gender did not result in significant findings. These findings provided support for the idea that powerlessness was an intrapersonal factor in PWH's choices to request or not request MH and SU services, based upon non-chronic homelessness and theoretically less exposure to powerlessness. These results assist in identifying intrapersonal factors influencing a person's experience in overcoming homelessness, providing an alternative to the current suggestion from the literature that services were unattractive to PWH.

Stewart, Alasdair B. R. "Managing a tenancy : young people's pathways into, and sustaining independent tenancies from, homelessness." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/20409.

Collins, Jennifer. "Characterising homeless people in Scotland : can oral health, health and psycho-social wellbeing enhance the ETHOS typology of homelessness?" Thesis, University of Dundee, 2012. https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/ab21eefa-2aab-4937-92e8-aa7ac4470d87.

Talley, Jennifer. "A Comparison of Coping Strategies Among Homeless Women with Children and Homeless Women without Children." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 2018. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cauetds/129.

Spieth, Russell E. "An Exploration of Behavioral Health Workers’ Attitudes Toward Treating People Without Homes." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1402155134.

Alden, Sarah L. "'At the coalface' : the role of the street level bureaucrat in provision of statutory services to older people affected by homelessness." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2015. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/8378/.

Irving-Clarke, Yoric. "'Supporting People' : how did we get here and what does it mean for the future?" Thesis, De Montfort University, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/13055.

Gazy, Michael G. "What is a City but the People?: An Evaluative Study of the Development and Implementation of a 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness in Macon, Georgia." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2010. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/iph_theses/174.

Kerman, Nicholas. "The Role of Services for Homeless and Housed People with Mental Illness: The Relationship Between Service Use and Housing Stability, Recovery, and Capabilities." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/39596.

Roebuck, Benjamin S. "Exclusion and Resilience: Exploring the Decision-Making Processes of Young People Who Are Homeless." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/30710.

Battams, Samantha Jane, and sam battams@flinders edu au. "Housing for people with a psychiatric disability; community empowerment, partnerships and politics." Flinders University. Public Health, 2008. http://catalogue.flinders.edu.au./local/adt/public/adt-SFU20080926.215213.

Edgar, Gemma Tamsin Social Sciences &amp International Studies Faculty of Arts &amp Social Sciences UNSW. "What does it mean to engage with the state? a comparative case study of two non-government organisations working with marginalised young people." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. Social Sciences & International Studies, 2009. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/44569.

Hedlund, Camilla, and Camilla Jeppsson. "Att få bo och komma till ro : Om arbetet på Gamlebo ett äldreboende för personer som varit hemlösa." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för socialt arbete - Socialhögskolan, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-89373.

Allgire, David James. "Evaluation of field based ministry project 11 week class designed to facilitate recovery for people experiencing homelessness resulting in part from struggles with drug addiction and/or alcoholism /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 2006. http://www.tren.com/search.cfm?p062-0292.

Johansson, Markus, Mats Jakobsson, and Jane Kotz. "Titel: ”Det ska inte vara något jävla fyllställe där man släpar hem folk och grejer” : En studie om hemlösa missbrukares syn på socialtjänstens gruppboenden i Gotlands kommun." Thesis, Örebro University, Department of Behavioural, Social and Legal Sciences, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-363.

Studiens syfte har varit att få kunskap om hemlösa klienters syn på sin boendesituation. Samt att få fördjupad kunskap om klienternas upplevelse av möjlighet till förändring och hur de beskriver att de bemöts och behandlas på Beroendeverksamhetens gruppboenden. En kvalitativ metod har använts för att besvara syftet. Det empiriska materialet består av intervjuer med sju personer som för närvarande bor på ett kommunalt gruppboende. Tolkningsramen har utgjorts av teorier och forskning kring förändringsprocesser och strategier för att motverka hemlöshet. Rollteori har också använts för att ge en djupare förståelse för interaktionen mellan individer och mellan individ och organisation.

Resultaten visar att det är svårt att trivas på en institution. Det har mycket att göra med den maktstruktur som präglar en sådan inrättning. I studien framkom att det skapas motståndsstrategier för att värja sig i en sådan situation. Resultatet visar också att motstånd skapas när man inte känner sig delaktig i sin egen förändringsprocess. Det är viktigt för de boende att kunna påverka sin boendesituation. Boende som tycker de får hjälp på boendet anser att de kan använda vistelsen till något positivt.

Personalens roll inskränker sig för de boendes del till att vara behjälpliga med praktiska saker, ett slags yttre förändring. Någon tycker att personalen även kan vara ett socialt stöd i en inre mening, att hjälpa de boende med strategier som gör att de kan fortsätta att leva ett drogfritt liv. Studien visar vidare att man både önskar mer av socialt stöd samtidigt som några upplever att man själv är det bästa verktyget i en förändringsprocess. Resultatet visar slutligen att institutionens strikta regler blir en viktig förändringsfaktor i klienternas liv. Kravet på drogfrihet gör att de boende får upp ögonen på ett alternativt sätt att leva. Slutsatsen är att institutionen bidrar till att förmedla känslan av att en förändring är möjlig.

Title: ”It’s not supposed to be a bloody hangout where you bring people and stuff” A study on how homeless clients feels about living in communal group homes provided to them by the social services.

The purpose of this paper has been to gain knowledge about homeless clients view on their housing situation. And also to learn more about how clients perceive the possibility to change and how they feel they are being treated at the social services collective housing facilities. A qualitative approach has been used in order to answer these questions. The empirical material consists of seven interviews with people currently staying at the communal homes mentioned above. The study’s frame of interpretation has consisted of theories and research about changing processes and strategies to counteract homelessness. Role theory has also been used in order to provide a deeper understanding of the interaction between individuals and between individual and organisation.

The results in general show that it is hard to feel at home in an institutional setting. This has mainly to do with the unequal power structure that exists in such places. The study shows that under such circumstances oppressed people develop resistance strategies in order to cope. Furthermore the results points to the fact that resistance is more likely to occur when you’re feeling that you have no influence on your own future life situation. It is vital for the residents’ well being to be able to have an active part in their living situation. Those who feel they get adequate help in the institution are most likely to see the stay as a positive experience.

The role of the staff is primarily limited to helping out with practical things. This can be seen as a way of helping the residents to adapt to society’s rules. Someone thinks that the staff also can function as a social support that helps them rethink their attitude towards their drug abuse. The results are somewhat ambiguous in that respect. The clients do want more of social support from the staff. At the same time they emphasises that the best agent in a successful changing process is the own self. The results finally show that the strict rules of the institution turn out to play an important role as a changing factor in the lives of the clients. The demand for total abstinence from drugs and alcohol helps in demonstrating for the clients an alternative way to live. The conclusion of this is that the institution contributes in conveying the message that change is in fact possible.

Westerdahl, Caroline, and Therese Jonsson. "Hemlöshet bland äldre : -Ett komplext fenomen." Thesis, Hälsohögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, HHJ, Avd. för beteendevetenskap och socialt arbete, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-27720.

Velli, Linda Joan. "Young people's transition into and out of homelessness /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2003. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe19972.pdf.

Williams, Julia. "Street homelessness : people's experiences of health and health care provision." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.426214.

Borysow, Igor da Costa. "O Consultório na Rua e a atenção básica à população em situação de rua." Universidade de São Paulo, 2018. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/5/5137/tde-12062018-132859/.

Valado, Martha Trenna. "Factors Influencing Homeless People's Perception and Use of Urban Space." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/195017.

Marcolino, Sheila Costa. "Saída das ruas ou reconstrução de vida: a trajetória de estudantes universitários ex-moradores de rua em São Paulo." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2012. https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/17587.

HSIEH, HAN-HSIN, and 謝翰昕. "The Course of Exiting From and Returning Into Homelessness: A Pilot Study of The New Taipei City Homelessness People." Thesis, 2016. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/exu6r9.

Rollinger, Laura. "Health, hygiene, and practical interventions, for people who are experiencing homelessness." Thesis, 2020. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/41717.

Mahlangu, Timson. "The collaborative role of social workers and homeless people in addressing street homelessness." Diss., 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/27082.

Tenning, Jillian. "If suit people are going to listen. A strengths-based perspective on Indigenous homeless youth." Thesis, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/13309.

""Man, I just need a job": Serving People Experiencing Homelessness in an Economic-Focused Society." Master's thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.14485.

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Good Essay On Homelessness

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Homelessness , People , Housing , Family , Poverty , Government , Home , Health

Words: 2250

Published: 03/30/2023

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Introduction

There is no particular definition of the term homelessness. However, it can be described in simple terms as the condition where one lacks a home or permanent residence. The National Health Care for the Homeless Council has a wide range of definitions for homelessness (Bahumohl 5). First, it describes the condition as the one in which a person lacks permanent housing and resides in deserted buildings, vehicles, shelters, or lives as a street urchin. The person lives in a temporary transitional housing, single room or shelter. Secondly, it recognizes a homeless person as the one who is in a doubling up situation whereby he/she relies on various friends or relatives for residence. For example, individual who have been released from captivity or hospitals can lack a stable home to return to hence double up at their friends’ or relatives’ homes. Therefore, the study of homelessness is mostly based on the degree of stability of the person’s housing. Besides, homelessness can be viewed as lack of fixed, conventional and sufficient place to spend the night .Living in a non-human residence or regular movement and change of housing can also be said to be homelessness. This paper will look into the issue of homelessness in-depth; analyze its causes, its alarming concern and possible solution to the problem.

Overview of the issue

The society must first acknowledge that the issue of homelessness is a real problem that needs to be solved with immediate effect. There are three categories of homeless, which include primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary homelessness affects individuals who lack fixed and regular residence while those who make regular shifts in their accommodations experience secondary type. The tertiary homelessness affects the individuals who reside in houses that do not meet the minimum standards of the community. It can also be classified based on the length of time such as short term, long term and chronic. For instance, people who suffer chronic homelessness are the one who has been in the situation for more than a year and suffers some kind of disability. There are those who encounter multiple homelessness episodes or double up due to their economic status (Bahumohl 32). This implies that different people experience homelessness at different levels. There are millions of people in the contemporary world who are homeless. This can be proved by the lots of people on the streets wearing ragged clothes and begging for help. The society has viewed the issue of homelessness to only affect those who take drugs or are mentally ill. Even though most victims end up in such situations, there are many who are in genuine need for a home. Recent studies show a significant increase in the number of homeless families over the past decade with rural homelessness accounting for 35%.Even though the situation dates back to the war periods where many people were displaced, it has incredibly risen to severed levels since 10970s.    Those in their 40s and 50s account for 4% of homeless victims whilst 25% of street urchins use hard drugs substances (Bahumohl 56). This posses them to a lot of risks especially the construction of HIV/AIDS due to the use of contaminated needles. The issue of homelessness is a society problem mostly accelerated by the worsening economic situations. The trend of homelessness is on the rise and may hit 50% in the next three decades if not counteracted on time.

Homelessness can be contributed by individual and social factors. An individual who lacks solid support especially in financial matters risks lacking a place to call home. Besides, if a person suffers from insanity or criminal issues cannot acquire a house through means like mortgage due to disqualification. The family background can also influence one’s ability to own a stable home especially if it is poverty-stricken. Lack of support for ex-convicts also leads them to poor housing situations. However, some causes are beyond the control of an individual since they are determined by the society or the prevailing economy. For instance, unemployment, government-housing policies, poverty, changes in development policies among others. These issues need long-term solutions especially in relation to government policies, for example building affordable housing. Nevertheless, the top causes of homelessness are financial constraints and domestic violence. Many people lack rent or financial support to cater for their housing needs. The rising unemployment gap makes it hard for poor people to acquire a homestead. The number of work opportunities is declining every day. The level of wages is too low and on a declining trend making it hard to afford a decent home. The tragic life incidents also drive people into sudden loss of their homes. These include loss of jobs, loved ones, divorce, violence and family wrangles. There are other harmful tragedies like depression, stress disorder, trauma, mental impairment and disabilities that eventually render one unable to own a home. These factors together with other life pressures can push people into the street corners, slums or non-human residences. Poverty is another major cause with those living under the poverty line unable to acquire a descent residence in most countries. The poor cannot afford to meet their housing, medical education needs. They therefore have to make hard decisions concerning this need, which leads to their settlement in poor households. Since the poor status makes them highly vulnerable to diseases and accidents, they end up dropping the housing need to concentrate on their health first. Divorced couple usually renders one of them homeless especially due to the shared income and homestead (Kennett et al. 93). The costs associated with the process are harmful enough to lead to homelessness. This is also true for domestic violence, which usually impact severely on the children and women. In most cases, it is the woman and the children who are usually kicked out of the home hence remain homeless. Another uncontrollable cause is the natural disasters that occur and require an emergency exit of one’s home. These include hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and violence, which lead to costly repairs or total destruction of the home. For example, when violence breaks down in a country, many people are displaced from their home and others run away to other countries for refuge. Foreclosures are also contributing to high level of homeless with many people unable to settle their mortgage loans. About 6 million renters and foreclosures have evicted people from their homes in the recent past. This is also accelerated by the rising rate of unemployment in most nations (Todd 151). Homelessness is also increasing due to the decrease in the level of public assistance. The social welfare agencies that used to help homeless individuals have declined mostly due to inflation, hard economic times or unbearable number of victims. This reduction in help has exposed many to homeless situations. Lack of affordable housing in many countries is also a problem. This is due to the increased tax burden, long waiting lists and rent expenses. Other factors that cause homelessness include expensive medical care that hits many families and leave them with nothing. Abusive relationships, which lead to domestic violence, cause close to 50% cases of homelessness. Mental illness and addiction disorders also contribute highly to this situation due to inability to acquire a stable home. Studies reveal a high relationship between drug addiction and homelessness with 17% of the victims found to be mentally ill.

Why people should be concerned

The problem of homelessness causes many severe consequences to the people affected and the community a t large. Therefore, no one can afford to ignore it because it calls for genuine concern and more effort. The reasons why people should be concerned are the adverse effects it leaves ranging from personal to health issues. First, people who lack stable homes are highly exposed to poor health conditions, which worsen due to lack of necessary medical attention. They end up contracting severe illnesses such as cold, respiratory issues, malnutrition, skin diseases, mental illnesses, assaults and physical abuses (Todd 151). These affect badly on their individual health and worsen their living conditions. Personal effects such as loss of esteem, criminal activities, substance use are also true. Since the people do not rest well, they may suffer acute problems such as pneumonia and communicable diseases increasing the mortality rate. The level of health effect on the individual has many evidences. The exposure to extreme weather and poor housing has increased the number of premature deaths. The population of homeless consist of mostly the youths of age 18 .They are exposed to use of drugs at this age and involvement in criminal activities (Jenks 42). The adolescents are usually affected by sexual abuse and violence with weapons, which compromise their life situation. The community is described by the kind of people who reside in it. I f it is filled with many homeless people, it will definitely record a high number of beggars, criminals, unproductive and poor people. The economy is also affected since the people are not usually productive. The taxpayer has to cater for the compensation of such people. The increasing cost of living is majorly due to the housing situation in the world. The government is forced to spend a lot of money on settling down the displaced in squatters, financing the refugees, settlement schemes, running resettlement projects which eats badly into the government budget. The cost of clearing the streets and providing a decent life to the street children is also unbearable. In essence, the issue of homelessness affects every person and demands attention and concern from everybody.

Solutions to the problem

After identifying the various causes of homelessness, it is easier to formulate some of the possible solutions to the problem. First, the level of financial ability should be increased in order to counter this problem. The government can help bring a rise in the number of financially stable citizens through increase in the level of employment. This can be done by creating opportunities for those who are qualified in various fields. The employed should be given an assurance of their job security to prevent cases of sudden loss of employment. The government could also increase the number of vocational skills institutions to train those who lack any skills and enhance their financial independence. The spirit of entrepreneurship should be encouraged to reduce the number of job seekers (Jenks 88). The government could focus on raising the level of financial independence among its citizens to enable them acquire a stable household. Another way is by treating the homeless especially those with mental disorder. The rehabilitation programs for the drug addicts could be fostered to restore the homeless people and help them gain financial stability. They will be helped to live a healthy lifestyle and increasing their productivity level. The housing policies should also favor the poor people. They should have minimum requirements and help the poor to afford it easily. The government can also initiate a housing assistance program to its citizens. For example in USA, the federal government has launched two systems to help solve the homelessness issue. These are the federal housing and the public housing vouchers. They help low income earners acquire a household at flexible payment rate, leading to curtailing the homelessness problem in the states (Coryne 120). Permanent supportive housing helps the chronically homeless people settle down. The program is offer cheap convenient housing to people who have constant homelessness problems, are mentally ill or disabled. In the process of solving this issue, the focus could also be given to other special group of people such as those leaving prisons, hospitals, mental institutions or army forces. These people are not usually integrated into the community easily hence require government help. The homeless youths and adolescents could be assisted by intervening early and seeking solution by reuniting their family. Institutions can be put in place to help trace the family of the homeless kid and reunite them. People should also be encouraged to acquire permanent housing, which can serve them for long with adequacy. The children homes and care institutions should be given adequate financial support. This will help them give the youths who have outgrown the institution get a good transition into the society and become independent. This can be done through the provision of temporary housing to help in the transition process.

It is clear that homelessness is an overwhelming tragedy in the modern world. It is highly related to poverty since it affects most of the poor people. It is also a socioeconomic problem associated with poor behaviors, health and mental stability. The problem requires a lot of intervention especially on financial matters. It mostly affects the marginalized community and the low-income earners (Coryne 63). The methods that have proved to work in solving the problem include the federal housing assistance, permanent house program and the housing first project. The federal government offer houses to the low-income citizens at an affordable rate. The permanent housing helps the newcomers in the society to be easily integrated and settle down. The housing first project ensures that new houses are created to cater for the ever-rising population. This project has been successful in many regions including America, Montreal, and Moncton.

Baumohl, Jim. Homelessness in America: A Statistical Handbook and Resource Guide. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1996. Internet resource. Coyne, Barry V. Homelessness: A Bibliography. New York, NY: Nova Science Publ, 2007. Print. Jencks, Christopher. The Homeless. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1997. Print. Kennett, Patricia, and Alex Marsh. Homelessness: Exploring the New Terrain. Bristol: Policy, 1999. Print. Todd, Ernest P. Homelessness: Is Society Looking the Other Way? New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2005. Print.

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California Today

How Los Angeles Is Approaching Homelessness

A conversation with the Times reporter who wrote about Mayor Karen Bass’s flagship program to solve homelessness.

By Soumya Karlamangla

About 171,000 people living in California are homeless, a total that has grown significantly over the past decade. If you live here, this has surely not gone without notice, as encampments have popped up on sidewalks and in public parks across the state in recent years.

Though California accounts for 12 percent of the nation’s population, the state is home to 30 percent of all homeless people in the United States.

My colleague Jill Cowan recently wrote about a new program spearheaded by Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles that’s aimed at eliminating the most visible encampments in the city. Bass took office in late 2022, and the program, Inside Safe, is at the core of her efforts to solve homelessness.

The program provides motel rooms for homeless residents who agree to leave encampments, a shift from sweeps in which officials clear encampments and force people to leave. But while Inside Safe has moved more than 2,100 people into shelters, only 400 of them have since moved into permanent housing. That’s drawn criticism that the program is only a short-term fix and perhaps more for optics than helping Angelenos most in need.

You can read Jill’s full article here.

I spoke to Jill about her article and her reporting, which spanned more than a year. Here’s our conversation, lightly edited:

Why did you decide to focus on Inside Safe?

Because it was the mayor’s focus — it was the program she touted the most and it was meant to address some of the people who need it most.

You reported that through Inside Safe and other programs, L.A. moved 21,000 people off the street and into temporary housing in 2023, about 4,000 more than it did in the prior year. How are Bass’s efforts seemingly more effective than her predecessors’?

There were a few things that Bass has done differently and not all of them are related to Inside Safe, but it’s a useful place to start. The level of coordination and focus on a specific encampment were new for Inside Safe: It was important to follow through on promises of shelter, and for that shelter to be individual rooms, as opposed to big congregate shelters, which make a lot of homeless people feel unsafe or like they don’t have privacy. Bass has also emphasized her relationships across government agencies, like with members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and with leaders in the federal government, to help get everybody rowing in the same direction, which experts say is a bigger change than you might think.

You live in L.A. When you drive or walk around the city, does it feel as if the reduction in encampments is noticeable?

I think so. It certainly isn’t true to say that there are no encampments anywhere. But there are also a lot of public spaces where there were wall-to-wall tent encampments covering sidewalks or in parks, and many of those are no longer there. Venice is an example that many of the mayor’s allies point to, and the difference there is really striking. I live near Echo Park Lake, and during the pandemic there were a lot of encampments around that area, but I have seen very few tents in the last year or so.

What’s the pushback to the program been?

A longtime criticism of Los Angeles’s — and many cities’ — approach to homelessness is that it prioritizes the experience of housed residents at the expense of stably getting people experiencing homelessness into homes. To be clear, a lot of progressives and homeless advocates say they prefer Bass’s general approach to sweeps, where people are forced to leave encampments.

But they say that Inside Safe still essentially closes off large parts of public space to people who may not have homes but still have a right to be in public. Because once an encampment is gone, the city or other agencies often put up barriers or, in some cases, enforce the city’s anti-camping ordinance to ensure people don’t come back to that area.

What has Bass said in response to this criticism?

She has been open about the fact that making visible progress for the benefit of voters is a top priority and she says that Inside Safe, for all its imperfections, is getting people in need off the street quickly. Leaving them there while they’re on a waiting list for temporary or permanent housing is not an option, in her view. She sees her work now as almost like triaging the situation in the time it takes to get more housing built.

Wait, she’s been open about the fact that Inside Safe is somewhat for image? Or is she casting it in some other less cynical way?

She has been open about the fact that it’s designed in part to satisfy voters.

Fascinating. OK, anything else about the story you want to share?

Just that this is an ongoing issue. Experts on housing and homelessness told me they were optimistic about Bass’s work and approach, but she needs time.

The rest of the news

A Los Angeles Times analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that California has the lowest job growth in the United States , particularly in rural counties.

Researchers with U.C. Santa Barbara and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory report that water consumption in the U.S. could be cut by about 93 percent if California farmers planted less thirsty crops, CalMatters reports.

Southern California

A bill introduced in the California Legislature will seek reparations for the families of people who were displaced from their homes in Los Angeles in the 1950s on land that became the site of Dodger Stadium.

The Murrieta Police Department, which has been using Lego heads and emojis to cover suspects’ faces in social posts, has been asked by the Lego company to stop , The Associated Press reports.

Nancy Valverde, an L.G.B.T.Q. activist, died on Monday at her home in Hollywood, ABC News reports. She was 92 .

Northern California

Berkeley will stop enforcing a ban on natural gas piping in new homes and buildings in response to opposition in court by the California Restaurant Association, NBC Bay Area reports.

San Francisco’s 4/20 festivities in Golden Gate Park, a celebration of cannabis and cannabis culture, will not take place this year, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Amid all the upheaval of the pandemic, there have been moments of hope and positive change. What have been your pandemic silver linings? Tell us at [email protected] .

And before you go, some good news

Stacey Terterian grew up in Fresno, but during a recent visit to Armenia she discovered a deep connection to the country she says feels like home.

Terterian, whose family has roots in Armenia, decided to join a service program called the Armenian Volunteer Corp in August 2023 after a challenging period in her personal life. The trip brought her to Armenia for the second time in her life.

Terterian’s volunteering involved assisting Armenians who were affected by the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic enclave of Armenians in Azerbaijan. Then, in September 2023, Azerbaijan attacked Nagorno-Karabakh, taking control of the region and causing more than 100,000 Armenians to flee. Suddenly, Terterian found herself on the front lines of the crisis, providing aid to the refugees and, through that experience, locating a deep connection to Armenia and its people.

Terterian describes the course-changing visit in a recent essay in The Fresno Bee . “A picturesque land, rich in both beauty and history. Armenians know despair; they know resilience as well. My journey embodies that spirit,” she wrote.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword .

Maia Coleman and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at [email protected] .

Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox .

Soumya Karlamangla reports on California news and culture and is based in San Francisco. She writes the California Today newsletter. More about Soumya Karlamangla

Worried about climate change? Read these women authors

The defining issue of our time, and more in this week’s Book Club newsletter.

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An exclusive look at what we’re reading, book club events and our latest author interviews.

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Good morning and welcome back to the L.A. Times Book Club newsletter.

For the next few editions of the newsletter, you’ll be hearing directly from authors. Next up …

I’m Lorraine Berry, a frequent contributor to The Times’ books coverage.

For as long as we can remember, most of us who grew up in the West have been aware of the environmental issues we face, including water rights, grazing rights, wilderness preservation, forest fires, drought and endangered species. But these issues have never felt more pressing.

Climate change’s impact on water supplies, forest firestorms and air quality have been front and center for many of us.

I’ve immersed myself for the last few years in the books that consider our collective future. I’ve especially resonated with the novels, memoirs and studies written by women. After all, part of choosing whether to have children is also a decision about the future. Other factors in the climate crisis — the inequality of its impact based on structural issues of race, class, gender and mobility — has created a complex ecosystem in which to grow such creative work.

Recent books by Camille T. Dungy , Lydia Millet , Emily Raboteau , Elizabeth Rush , Manjula Martin , and many others have looked specifically at these questions about climate change’s impact on women.

Here are some books by female writers that offer more insight on climate change and the environment.

(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)

“The Light Eaters” by Zöe Schlanger The Atlantic staff writer examines the role of plants in climate change and the secrets they hold. Increasingly, scientists have turned their research to investigating whether plants can teach us their strategies for survival.

“You Are Here” by Ada Limón Limón, the U.S. poet laureate , edited a collection of poetry by authors in conversation with the natural world. The collection appears in April. It’s a lovely book to take with you to read at the end of your next hike.

“Dispersals” by Jessica J. Lee In this collection of essays, Lee reflects upon human interactions with nature by examining terms we use in our gardens like “invasive” and “weeds.” It’s a terrific work on how borders work to keep both people and plants separated.

“Lessons From the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth” by Kate Schapira Schapira brings years of knowledge gleaned from conversations about people’s concerns in “Lessons From the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth.” It provides advice on how to deal with the increasing sense of dread many feel in our uncertain climate times.

“Medicine Wheel for the Planet” by Dr. Jennifer Grenz Grenz is an Indigenous ecologist and scholar whose guidebook offers advice to those seeking a holistic approach to restoring the earth, advocating for a purposeful, reciprocal interaction with the environment. Drawing from both her own scientific research and the Indigenous worldview, Grenz creates a new path forward.

“The Age of Loneliness” from Laura Marris This collection of essays is dedicated to understanding periods of loneliness and alienation and times when we feel connected and harvest the abundance around us. In recounting periods of ecological loss and recovery, she provides solace to those who feel alone right now.

The L.A. Times Festival of Books has a ton of climate-related talks

The Times Book Club author for April is Abraham Verghese , Stanford medical professor and author of the highly-acclaimed epic novel, “The Covenant of Water.” The Book Club discussion will be one of the featured events at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books , which will run April 20-21 on the USC campus. Ticket packages for these and other special events are available now.

At the L.A. Times Festival of Books, several panels will explore and interrogate our changing planet. Many of these events are free, but require tickets in advance. Ticket information is available here .

Ask a Reporter: Our Climate Change Challenge Join reporters Russ Mitchell, Rosanna Xia and Sammy Roth in an audience Q&A on issues related to climate change. Saturday, April 20, 11:45 a.m. Mudd Hall 203

Science: Climate Change Isn’t Fiction, Presented by Getty PST Art Sammy Roth leads panelists who will look at how the stuff of dystopian novels is our new reality. Join panelists Jeff Goodell, Dan Egan, Edward Humes and Rosanna Xia, who will offer helpful, actionable ideas about hopeful living in a world on fire. Saturday, April 20, 3:30 p.m. Seeley G. Mudd 124

Turf War: When Wildlife and Cities Collide Peter S. Alagona, Ben Goldfarb, Beth Pratt, Rae Wynn-Grant and Louis Sahagún examine our capacity for creating a more livable world not just for ourselves, but our animal friends who live alongside us. Saturday, April 20 3:00 PM Seeley G. Mudd 123

Ask a Reporter: Cali of the Wild L.A. Times reporters Corinne Purtill, Louis Sahagún and Lila Seidman participate in an audience Q&A on California wildlife and environmental challenges. Sunday, April 21, 10:00 a.m. Mudd Hall 203

Mother Nature: Women and Wilderness Authors Angie Sijun Lou, Melissa Sevigny, Diane Smith, Karen Tei Yamashita and Denise Hamilton challenge notions of conquering nature in their approach to covering the natural world. Sunday, April 21 11:00 a.m. Albert and Dana Broccoli Theatre

Placemaking and the Politics of Land This provocative panel will explore placemaking and the land that we share. Drawing from California’s wine country, the Panama Canal, Owens Lake and the L.A. River, panelists will look at issues related to labor, race, gender, sustainability and more. The panelists will be Joan Flores-Villalobos, Julia Ornelas-Higdon and Alexander Robinson. William Deverell will moderate. Sunday, April 21, 12:00 p.m. Wallis Annenberg Hall Presented by USC

Humans vs. Nature: Conflict with the Natural World Panelists Andrea Lankford, Christina Gerhardt and Will Cockrell, along with moderator Thomas Curwen answer questions like how do we meaningfully interact with and explore the world in a way that benefits both humanity and nature? Sunday, April 21, 2:00 p.m. Albert and Dana Broccoli Theatre

The Week(s) in Books

California saw an increased number of books — 98 — that right-wingers tried to ban, Axios reported . Top of the list in California were the books “Gender Queer: A Memoir” and “Beyond Magenta.” Books featuring LGTBQ themes have been the focus of many of these attacks. Donna Wares wrote about book bans for this newsletter back in September .

The National Book Critics Circle announced its 2023 awards in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, biography, autobiography, poetry and criticism. Judy Blume was awarded the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award. L.A. Times Book Prize nominee “We Were Once a Family” also won in nonfiction. See the full list here .

Local author Myriam J.A. Chancy, who is chair of the humanities at Scripps College, launches her newest book, “Village Weaver,” in an event sponsored by the Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Venice. She will be appearing April 5 in conversation with Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, author of “What We Fed to the Manticore.”

Vroman’s Bookstore hosts Simone Gorrindo in conversation with Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney on April 12. Gorrindo’s April debut, “The Wives,” is her memoir about life as the spouse of a member of an Army Special Forces unit.

Vroman’s Hastings Ranch location will close in May .

Bookstore faves

Every couple of weeks, we ask an L.A. bookseller what they’re selling and what they’re loving. This time, it’s Jennifer Caspar, founder of Culver City’s Village Well Bookstore and Coffee.

We asked Caspar what was catching readers’ attention at the store, and whether climate change books were drawing an audience.

Here’s what she wrote back ( edited for length and clarity):

We have two excellent new releases this week that are striking nerves: First, Percival Everett’s “James,” which is a retelling of the Huckleberry Finn story from the perspective of Huck’s enslaved companion Jim. Everett is riding a tide of recognition he got from the adaptation of his book “Erasure,” which [was made] into the film “American Fiction” and took the Oscar for adapted screenplay.

The second is Hanif Abdurraqib’s “There’s Always This Year,” the author’s latest work of cultural criticism, this time on the game of basketball. No matter what he’s writing about, Abdurraqib’s language is like poetry and his insights draw the magic out of a subject.

It’s so great to see two excellent writers finding audiences in this moment.

We’ve also had multiple inquiries this week about the “Trump Indictments” and James McBride’s “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store,” which has been selling well since fall.

In terms of climate change, we’re selling lots of books that address this.

With Netflix’s release of “3 Body Problem,” we’ve seen sales spike of that, as well as Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” which gets mentioned in the show. It came out in 1962 and warned about the dangers of pesticide use and humanity’s collective negative impact on its own future.

We have sold a lot more fiction than nonfiction books on climate change, with “The Overstory” by Richard Powers, Octavia Butler’s prescient classic “Parable of the Sower” and Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton’s “Birnam Wood,” which just came out in paperback, currently leading our fiction list.

In terms of nonfiction, our bestsellers and the ones we like best have been:

• “California Against the Sea” by Rosanna Xia. That book won the California Independent Bookseller’s Alliance (CALIBA)’s 2023 award in the nonfiction category .
• “The Heat Will Kill You First” by Jeff Goodell, which our new Environmentalist book club read for its inaugural meeting in January this year.
• Naomi Klein’s 2014 bestseller “This Changes Everything.”

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