Homelessness is a critical problem in the society today. There are several causes of homelessness and various ways through which the society may help the homeless. This paper seeks to analyses the causes of homelessness and the possible ways of helping them.
The first major causes of homelessness are poverty (Garry A. Morse, 1992). The people whose income is minimal cannot afford to purchase homes and, therefore, end up homelessness. Secondly, natural disaster that hit various parts of America leaves many citizens homeless. For example, hurricanes destroy homes in large numbers rendering many people homeless. In addition, according to Top causes of homelessness in America (n.d), divorce has been contributing greatly to homelessness in America. After the divorce, the children or one of the spouses may be rendered homeless adding to the ballooning number of homeless people in America. There is an increase in the cases of child abuse that leads to many children leaving their homes and going to the streets where they are homeless. Further, drug abuse among the youth contributes greatly to the homeless people in America. Sexual orientations whereby the teens disagree with parent also contribute to homelessness. Rapid and unexpected job loss is also contributing factor to homelessness.
There are various ways in which the society can help the homeless. One can volunteer in various ways aimed at helping the homeless. For example, one may volunteer in the evenings and weekends in shelters to do various chores that help the homeless. One may work as a clerk, serve food, distributes clothes, and even wash dishes. In addition, one may also volunteer to help the homeless fix shelters in collaboration with local housing authorities. Such volunteer work would reduce the cost of constructing the shelters thereby enabling the housing authority to set up as many shelters as possible. Such a move would reduce the number of homeless people greatly. Further, one may volunteer in sharing hobbies with the homeless and even welcoming them in community events.
Apart from volunteering, one may also help with advocacy for the homeless. Advocacy ensures that the people in authority create policies that favor the homeless. It also helps in coming up with pragmatic approaches in solving the problem. In particular, one may get involved with advocacy bodies that help the homeless. One may educate the society and the homeless on the policies that are in place and the importance of the policies to them. One may also sponsor the awareness campaigns through monitory contributions or volunteering (“50 plus ways to help people who are homeless,” n.d.).
One may also help the homeless in contribution of various items. Such contributions can be in form of money or material goods. For example, one may offer to contribution of house hold goods such as detergents, food, and clothes. Further one may contribute necessities such as books, computers, first aid kits, and home survival kits. Those in a position to offer employment to the homeless can also offer the employment to them (“How you can Help End Homelessness,” 2006).
In conclusion, the number of homeless people is increasing as the population increases. There is need to focus on the causes of homelessness. It is evidently clear that most of the policies and ways of helping the homeless are aimed at helping those who are already homeless. Such a move does not impact greatly since there are others becoming homeless every day. The best way is to address the root cause of the problem such as unemployment, drug abuses, sexual orientation issues, and children abuse.
References
“How you can Help End Homelessness,” (2006). Retrieved on October 15, 2014 from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/you.pdf
“50 plus ways to help people who are homeless,” (n.d). Retrieved on October 15, 2014 from http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless/events/faithcommunities/50-plus-ways.pdf
“Top causes of homelessness in America,” (n.d). Retrieved on October 15, 2014 from http://www.homeaid.org/homeaid-stories/69/top-causes-of-homelessness
Garry A. Morse (1992). Causes of Homelessness. Springer. Retrieved on October 15, 2014 from http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-0679-3_1#page-2
