I know it's easy to make judgmental statements about homeless people:
Get a job.
They brought it on themselves.
Why should I contribute a quarter to someone's drug habit?
Generalizations don't make for very good arguments in other situations; why should it be any different for the homeless population?
This blog doesn't actually cover all the generalizations made about homeless people. I really just want people to be aware of other aspects of homelessness. And, if one generalization is disproved, chances are other ways of thinking about people who are homeless are wrong as well.
Children and/or Families and Youth
The homeless population isn't made up completely of old men with tired eyes, wrapped in blankets, holding cardboard signs, asking for money that they'll probably use to fund their alcoholism later.
A large chunk of the homeless population is made up of children and/or families.
That's right. Kids are homeless, too. I know it's a tough pill to swallow and you don't want to think about it, but 23% of the United States' homeless population is, in fact, made up of children under 18, living with a parent. That's almost a quarter of the homeless population, and 42% of those kids are under 5-years-old.
That 23% is being raised by 11% of our nation's homeless population—parents, and 84% of those homeless parents are single women.
Mostly because of a lack of affordable housing, combined with low incomes, an estimated 41-50% of homeless people in the United States are families. Once families lose the housing they have, it is incredibly difficult to find affordable housing again.
Domestic Violence contributes significantly to homeless families as well. About 13% of homeless families say they left their homes because of abuse or violence, and a recent study shows approximately 92% of homeless women have experienced sexual or physical abuse at some time in their lives, whether they attribute it to their homeless state or not. Often, victims of domestic violence are isolated from support systems (friends, family) and financial resources (jobs), leaving them with no where to turn when leaving a house, and with no employment history, credit history, landlord references, etc—making it difficult to find affordable housing and decently paying employment. Emergency shelters are available, but temporary.
Some homeless youth (age 16-24) don't have families. It is, actually, not that uncommon, as approximately 5-7.7% of the United States' youth falls into the homeless population. This population is homeless for the same reasons as adults—poverty, lack of education, lack of affordable housing. Some are also runaways; some were abandoned by parents or guardians; some were emancipated or discharged from some kind of state care. Many ran away from homes where they experienced physical abuse, and about 17-35% were sexually abused.
About 25% of former foster youth say they experienced at least one night of homelessness within 4 years of leaving foster care. The youth leaving juvenile correction facilities often don’t have a support system to return to, and often have no work or housing opportunities. Reentry into society often means living on society's streets.
Homeless youth are at a huge risk for anxiety disorders, depression, suicide, physical and sexual abuse, substance abuse, prostitution, and HIV/AIDS. However, though the risk is high, substance abuse is not a common characteristic of runaway youth. And, even with the setbacks they face, the majority of homeless youth (between 78 and 79%) are still attending school on a regular basis.
Funding is available to support youth between ages 18 and 21 once they leave foster care programs. However, even if all states used the federal funding available for housing, each youth would receive only $800 a year. More funding is needed in this area.
Veterans
Another 40% of our homeless population is made up of veterans. Veterans are over-represented in the homeless population. This is in spite of the fact that veterans are, generally, better educated, more likely to be employed, and have a lower poverty rate than the general population.
Of the non-homeless veterans, it's estimated that about another 468,000 are using more than half their income on housing costs—a huge risk for homelessness. Basically, 40% of the homeless population is made up of veterans, and half a million people could very soon add to the population.
Military experience doesn't seem to be a major factor in why so many veterans are homeless. Veterans become homeless for, mainly, the same reason(s) others in the general population become homeless—poverty, lack of affordable housing, poor access to support networks, and personal characteristics.
Drug Abuse
Substance abuse in the homeless population is a controversial subject. While drug and alcohol abuse are high occurrences among the homeless population, they are not, single-handedly, responsible for an increase in the homeless population. Most drug and alcohol abusers never become homeless, however poverty and drug use together increase the risk of becoming homeless. Housing available to low-income people is in such high demand that, when competing for it, those with addictions generally lose the competition.
About 26% of the homeless population deals with substance abuse. Contrary to popular belief, this is not "most" homeless people. I have seen higher estimates (the highest being about 56%). However, these numbers often over-represent long-term shelter users and single men; they don't look at the entire homeless population. Additionally, they look at addictions in a person's lifetime, rather than if they are currently abusing a substance.
Untreated addictions do contribute to homelessness and, because most homeless people do not have health insurance (including Medicaid), most cannot seek treatment for their addiction. Additionally, most treatment centers have incredibly long waiting lists. Even after making it to the top of the lists, these centers will drop you if they cannot get a hold of you—I’m pretty sure those without housing are fairly difficult to contact.
Other things impeding treatment for addictions include lack of transportation, lack of identification, extreme difficulty in obtaining identification, and lack of supportive services.
Unfortunately, not a lot of funding exists to help homeless people seek treatment for addictions. The Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant is the main federal source of funding for substance abuse treatment. However, this grant doesn't currently direct any of these funds to homeless people.
How You Can Help
Volunteer
Advocate
Contribute
Donate clothing, services, household goods, books, computers, use of your phone, etc.
Other Blogs
For those interested (and why wouldn't you be?):
Lovenenvy's personal account of homelessness
A satirical look at homelessness by Leftfield
References
- Addiction Disorders and Homelessness
- Fact Checker: Domestic Violence
- Fact Checker: Family Homelessness
- Fact Checker: Veterans and Homelessness
- Fact Checker: Youth Homelessness
- Homeless Facts and Figures
- Homeless Veterans
- How You Can Help End Homelessness
- Study: Veterans more Likely to be Homeless
Comments, ratings, and feedback are always appreciated! :-)
Exemplary, even! May I add one group to the mix? GLBT youth. They make up 25-40% of the homeless youth in major cities. Given that GLBT youth are anywhere from 6-10% of the youth population overall, they are disproportionately experiencing homelessness.
One study (which I can't seem to find right now, so don't take it as the be all and end all) found that 26% of people under the age of 18 who come out to their parents are thrown out of the house.
Think about that from a kid's perspective...if you are too disgusting for your parents to accept, would you feel like there was any safe person in the world? Where would you go? You'd go to the streets, where there are other kids in the same boat.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
That is horrible. I had no idea it was such a large population.
You should find the study and write something to submit to the National Alliance to End Homelessness and/or the National Coalition for the Homeless. Because I didn't even see the GLBT Youth mentioned in either site. I mean, they probably included them in the 5-7.7% figure they use, but 25-40% is a huge number and sounds like information they could use but maybe don't have.
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I think I might just do that. There's a program here in Minneapolis, called the Host Home program, that places homeless GLBT youth in GLBT foster homes. I've always wanted to be a host home, but we aren't set up for that yet. We need another bedroom and some extra income before we can take that on.
Now you've inspired a new blog! Thanks! And I'll be sure to link you.
And P.S.-- Come on people! Vote on this thing! It's a definite 5-star IMHO!
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That's a neat program. :-) I wonder if Milwaukee has something like that. I'd need to be more financially stable for something like that, but it's something I'd look into after graduating. I don't really want kids of my own, but I am definitely interested in being a foster mom, especially for older kids.
I've noticed that Minnesota and the other northern states have a lot of outreach and assistance programs and such for people in need of things. One of those articles I read for this blog mentioned a couple programs that will help pay your mortgage and utilities for a couple months if you're in danger of losing your home because you lost your job or something.
Definitely do a blog on the GLBT homeless youth. You could include different programs too, like the foster home one in your area. :-)
Oh and, everyone, I concur with this voting idea for my blog!! :-P
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They listened (about the voting, I mean)! Power to the people!
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I was pretty excited about it. :-)
oh, I don't know if you know (you probably do) about the safe schools coalition, but they have a website here. It has a list of resources, by state, for GLBT youth (including the homeless ones) support groups and services.
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I do know about it, but it is good to have a link to it in the comments to your blog, too.
Thanks!
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
GREAT blog! Thanks for all of the links, as well.
I am curious if it is only the 26% that many see on the street corners begging for money? I know that there are alcohol and drug policies at homeless shelters, so maybe this contributes to the number of "strung out" people in plain site for all to see, adding to the stigma that the majority of homeless have drug or alcohol problems?
I think it's a mix of things.
You don't actually see most homeless people living on the street--they're living with friends, in shelters, in hotels, in cars, in abandoned buildings, etc. I think you're right about the ones you do see being the ones who have untreated mental disorders and drug addictions (or both). That would make it even more difficult to care for yourself and find some shelter.
I also think a lot of people asking for money are professional panhandlers, and most are not actually homeless. They are very good at playing on people's emotions in order to make their living. According to the US Justice Department, only a small percentage of homeless people actually panhandle.
You may be interested in the Justice Departments review of panhandling. There's a section titled "Who the panhandlers are." A lot of panhandlers do have substance abuse problems, but not a lot of them are homeless. And these, sadly, are the people everyone sees and gets their impressions of homeless people from.
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you know, looking at this comment of mine... I really should have added it to my original blog. Probably would have helped the cause or something.
oh well.
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First of all, kudos on a wonderfully written blog.
Many of the veterans are on the streets because of poor mental care upon their return. Depending on when they were overseas, drug addiction during tours of duty was also a factor, but that goes back to the mental anguish suffered and lack of treatment. With the cutbacks currently on mental health care with new veterans, I see an increase in homeless vets. I heard on NPR this morning that one manager of a veterans health facility told her workers to quit diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorders because the care is long term and costs too much.
With drug use, I have to wonder what came first. I would think that people might turn to alcohol and other drugs when they have nothing else in the world. Imagine the hopelessness and helplessness one feels when a job is lost, followed soon after by a home. Many people would turn to drugs just to cope. I think drug abuse is a result of homelessness, not a cause.
As far as I know, no state will give medicaid to someone without an address. Not to mention, if there is a disease or illness, it has to be documented. Doctors cost a lot of money.
I have a friend, a couple actually, that are bipolar. One has schizophrenia. In their lifetimes, they have been homeless (or sleeping in cars) for months at a time more than once. Basically it was due to stoppage of medication, due to the cost of drugs. These three people I know would self-medicate with whatever street drug was available. It was a dangerous place for them to be.
Until we get rid of the lack of opportunities, lack of free or affordable mental health services, and lack of good systems set up to take care of emergency homelessness (leaving abusive homes or inability to pay rent/mortgage), there is no way to really combat homelessness.
-Sonja :)
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Thank you. For both your comment and additional info to the blog. :-) I agree that lack of shelters, lack of affordable and available mental health care, as well as a lack of affordable and available treatment for substance abuse are huge contributers to homelessness.
There is actually a pretty good essay here about how deinstitutionalization and a sudden decrease of federal funding for mental health care in the mid-1980s contributed a huge role in the amount of homeless veterans we see today with mental health and substance abuse problems.
I could have sworn I wrote about it in my blog but I guess I didn't. That's a little frustrating, but not as frustrating as knowing that there did used to be resources for people through the Community Mental Health Centers Act, and now they're gone. Once the funding disappeared, everyone living in those centers was just turned out, regardless of whether they had a place to go or not.
Anyway, it's a fairly long essay, but it is pretty good (and recent as well).
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Great article! I agree with it 100%. It's even truer in Eastern Europe, where I have lived for the past 11 years, in Ukraine and Lithuania. The amound of homeless people I see there, especially children, war veterans, and little old ladies (we call them 'babushkas') is staggering. Unfortunately, it's extremely hard for me, as an American, to know what to do, it's really hard not to make judgments of them. And in those countries there just aren't that many ways to help them short of donating stuff personally, and the truth is, a lot of them just seem to want to drink or smoke their lives away. So it's even more difficult to know how to help them there than it is here.
I remember so many kids asking tourists for money when I was in the Czech Republic. We were told not to give them money because the kids don't actually keep it, they bring it to a "leader." I usually just gave them snacks I had--granola bars or something. But there were sooo many kids everywhere. It's the same in other countries I've been to, as well, with kids and little old ladies begging. It's hard to know what to do then because, you're right. There aren't a lot of resources to help them. But, even if I give them money, I don't know if it's doing them any good or if it's going into someone else's pockets. It's hard to know what to do when doing what seems to be the right thing might actually be making a situation worse.
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Good detail in breaking the homeless factors down. I think you did really good. Sorry I was not able to read this earlier. Thanks for linking my blog to. Now maybe others can understand the foundation when it comes to being homeless. A lot of people don't ask to be homeless, it just happens. Good job with the title too.
Thanks for the comment! :-) I'm glad you were able to read the blog at some point of time. Everyone should read it. :-P Everyone should read yours as well; your blog was too good not to link to, so I did. ;-)
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I have been among the homeless more than once. Each time, I dragged myself from not being able to afford to eat and have even a non-proper shelter, to barely having a place to put my head under. I knew many homeless people in America. I knew their stories. They knew mine. We all understood and trusted one another for what was going on.
I wanted to thank you for showing others that it is not always our addictions that get us into trouble. It is just general society, costs and hard times have a tendency to get on us as well.
The sanity within is overwhelming.
Thank you for the comment. I am just happy to inform others and lead them away from stereotypes and misconceptions. I'm glad I seem to be doing a good job of it.
I hope you are doing alright now.
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Well-written. I liked the ideas on ways to help. I had never thought of some of them.
Keep up the good work!
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I am especially happy I was able to provide new information to you. :-)
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You really did you research on this one, sawaboof. Kudos.
Statistics are shocking, but personal encounters even more so. Why do I look away from them on the streets the few times I've been in a city? Because it's scary, and I wouldn't want that to be me. Now I'm curious if there's something--a shelter perhaps--- that helps the homeless in my area. Probably not, as I have to drive over 40 minutes to get to anything really, but it may be something worth looking into.
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Thank you. :-)
You mentioned in your most recent blog you would like to give money to the homeless... I'm not gonna lie, a lot of the people asking for money do so for a living. Some of them make hundreds, even thousands of dollars a week. The paper in Las Vegas ran an article a few years back on one Vegas Panhandler. During the interview, they found out he makes around $1200 a week and lives quite comfortably in a 5 bedroom house. He won't get a "real" job because panhandling is easy and pays so well.
Coming around to how this is relevant to your comment...
I'm not saying don't give money to homeless, because some panhandlers really are homeless. But if you do find a shelter in your area, a good way of giving money would be to give it directly to the shelter. Or make donations of non-perishable foods, blankets, clothing, shoes, etc.
Shelters can't accommodate very many homeless people because they don't have the money or resources too. More funding going into them would perhaps give them one less person to turn away from a warm bed and meal each night.
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I haven't yet given money to the homeless, but I would donate to a shelter if I saw one around. I mean, at least that way I know that people are being helped, rather than me giving some "panhandler" an easy way to make money.
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there are hungry people all over the world!!! it's so sad that we can't help all of them. i agree that we need to help our own country, but we also need to help people all over the world. in places like africa, they do not have welfare. people there are lucky if they eat breakfast once a week.
We already help people all over the world. Unfortunately, sending food and money and medication is only treating a symptom, not the actual problem. But we are helping those in other countries... while at the same time making it illegal for homeless people to sleep on a park bench at night. I guess that's helping a little in it's own way, though--the time spent in jail for breaking the law keeps people fed and off the streets.
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there are hungry people all over the world!!! it's so sad that we can't help all of them. i agree that we need to help our own country, but we also need to help people all over the world. in places like africa, they do not have welfare. people there are lucky if they eat breakfast once a week.
wow. I have never read anything so bad i didnt realise. I've seen homeless people on the street and once this guy asked me for some money and I felt so bad i wanted to run home and empty out my savings and give it to him because i had nothing on me.
Very Informative Material. It is truly shocking!
thank you! :-)
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Many people can not face the facts that people are starving. You have and that means you are one step ahead of many many people. I think we can help these children and the homeless if we pulled together as a country to get something organized. If we did so we may not be involved with so many problems. This problem can be stopped and it should be it is just a matter of time when it is.
I won't lie. I'm one of those who looks down on homeless people; I just don't understand why they're on the street.
There are so many ways to get help if they can't help themselves. Some homeless don't wish to pursue aid, and in fact they become homeless on purpose to escape from things like taxes and work and whatnot. I don't see how it's worth it, but whatever floats their boat is all right with me.
I go to school in Philadelphia, so I'm always seeing homeless people underground in the concourse or on the sidewalk outside of the different theaters on Broad St. It really bothers me when they're on the corner begging, however sometimes my heart gets soft. I dropped some candy into a guy's cup before and the joy on his face made my heart skip a beat.
Anyway. If they're so bad off, the first thing I'd advise them to do is to take the money they've collected and try to buy some food. Eat a little something, then use the restroom facilities at a fast food joint and wash up a little. Look presentable at least. Get rid of the fingerless gloves, and ripped hat. Take a trip down to the police station and ask them for information on job opportunities/organizations that will help them get on their feet.
Every person laying on those streets have potential. I believe they do. Just because they're ill-educated doesn't mean they can't do anything, they just need to get off their butts and try. That's all we can really ask for is for them to try.
Then again I've never been homeless, so my view is completely one sided and ignorant.
I find your suggestions for the homeless to be a little naive. First, how much money do you think they collect in a day?
Second, if you only own one hat and one pair of gloves, would YOU get rid of them? If you didn't have a way of securing your few belongings, would you stash them somewhere and hope no one takes them?
Third, the organizations out there can only do so much, and finding a job is almost impossible if you have no address or phone number.
Fourth, have you ever had a serious mental illness? If you ever develop schizophrenia, major depression, or bi-polar disorder, you may understand how difficult holding a job, paying rent, washing up, and seeking medical attention can be. Just surviving becomes a full time job. Simply staying alive is more difficult than any job you will ever hold.
The solutions all seem easy from a comfortable house when you have ample funds.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
I have to give you credit for knowing that since you can't empathize with previously or homeless people, you are ignorant to the realities.
I don't know how many people I've walked down the street with that would tell the panhandlers and/or homeless to get a job or make a comment about how they don't want to support their alcohol or drug addiction. Everything is so black and white for so many people.
Most people do blame the victims of poverty, especially at its worst- homelessness. Some people do actually choose to be homeless- dropping out of society completely due to paranoia or just to get out without any ties to anything. Those are so few and far between though. Have you seen foreclosure rates? Job loss rates? Not everyone has someone to bail them out, and the systems in place are very limited, usually to food and overnight shelter, if there's room.
-Sonja :)
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