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Homelessness In America

Decent Essays

Homelessness in the United States is a serious problem that can be helped by giving homeless people opportunities to thrive in better conditions and/or communities. Although getting them off the streets is a huge step in the right direction, other actions need to be taken. Making sure they have somebody in their corner is a huge step in that process. There are 1,750,000 homeless people on the streets at this very moment. 1 in 30 children in the US, 40% of the homeless population are also Veterans. Some people wonder how someone even becomes homeless, there are multiple reasons, such as physical or mental impairments, living in poverty, and tragic life occurrences.

There is always a big question being asked, Can the US end homelessness? …show more content…

They gain access to programs and services after they get settled in, such as rehabilitation programs, on the job training, and a social worker assigned specifically to them. These programs and services are completely voluntary and by no means required by the resident. “Through housing-first, Utah reduced its chronically-homeless population 72 percent between 2005 and 2014.” (Semuels) This statistic shows that housing-first would be a very fast and effective solution to the United States’ homelessness problem. Another way the US could cut down on homeless people is to require developers to provide both permanent supportive housing and low-income housing in their buildings. This is a solution because homes can be made available to a larger part of the population. This kind of mixed-use housing helps create communities made up of different individuals who in turn look out for one another, for example, “in one building in Harlem, single moms living in affordable housing helped out the ex-cons living in supportive housing, and vice versa.” (Semuels)

However, that leaves another question to be asked, what kind of people make up the homeless population? According to Statistic Brain, there are an average of 1,750,000 people without a home on a nightly basis. The Homeless census that is taken usually just counts homeless people at shelters, according to Charley James of the LA Progressive, “A large number of homeless individuals and families never step foot

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