Homelessness is the condition of people without having a regular safe, secure and continent place to live. Homelessness has a very bad impact on the society. It is a bar on the way of economic and social development of a country or society. It is the birthplace of different problems, crimes and other negative social and economic obstacles. The societies with having less percentages of homelessness are well-developed compared to the societies with having higher percentages of homelessness. The homelessness sometimes leads to crimes and other uncertain activities in a society. The purpose of this paper is to research on different aspects of homelessness in a society and it will also discuss about different methodologies to conduct research on the topic as well as it will focus on the scholars view on that topic.
Homelessness is becoming a crisis in the national and international level. The number of homeless people is an approximate 1 percent in the urban populations of developing countries. According to the report of Canadian Census, 14145 people are living in a shelter. The record also shows that, there had 1490 people under the age of 15 in the shelter. (Turnbul 2007, 2). The data presented may have some differences as it is prepared based on the number of people living in a shelter. However, there are many homeless people outside the shelter that remains unreported. The statistics didn’t include the people who are living with friends, on the street, motels. It also didn’t include the people who are just being homeless or listed in their previous residence.
The face of homelessness has changed from the adult male alcoholic to an increasingly diverse population with complex medical illnesses. Despite substantially higher rates of illness, homeless people often lack effective health services. It is required like any other complex social phenomena, the solutions will require complex, and evidence based integrated strategies that will require courage to implement.
When faced with social problems, concerned social scientists, particularly psychologists, tend to focus on the afflicted individuals. Research often aims at identifying the characteristics of the individuals in question or the consequences of the problem for them (Shinn 1990, 3). Such research can call attention to social problems and mobilize public opinion to address them, but it also carries risks. Specifically, there is a risk of diverting attention from underlying causes and possible solution to the problem, and risk of reinforcing stereotypes about the population group in question.
Research on homelessness has followed the aforementioned pattern. It has paid extensive attention to the characteristics of people who are homeless, especially in regard to their health and mental health status. The indicated approach successfully enumerated the problems prevalent among homeless persons and has simulated development of services to address them. By focusing on what is wrong with the “homeless” however, we risk following the classic steps of blaming the victim. Such as identifying a social problem and studying those afflicted to determine how they differ from the rest of us.
Homelessness is a serious global problem, and a serious health issue in its own right. In addition, homeless people suffer from associated conditions such as mental illness, alcoholism, tuberculosis, and substantial excess of deaths. After a decade of trying, we know that emergency approaches to this problem have not worked (Hopper 1994, 522). Homeless is not an isolated problem that can be resolved through emergency interventions with currently homeless persons. We cannot save ourselves from drowning by diving deeper. We have to swim to the surface (Rosenheck 1994, 1886).
An exploration of the economic and historical causes of homelessness is combined with accounts of individuals and families who are on the streets or in shelters and how they came to that point. Following an overview of the problem of homelessness and its causes, nine chapters present stories of homeless individuals, friends, and families. These stories demonstrate that there is no culture of poverty that makes people poor and no culture of homelessness that leaves them without shelter. These stories show that large numbers of people become homeless through the processes of urban and industrial decline. The increase in the numbers of homeless people is a result of the social and economic transformations of American cities since the late 1970s. The last two chapters review the complex and simple realities of homelessness and offer some suggestions for resolving it. Shelters and shelter services are not the answer to homelessness; the only real answer lies in the provision of sufficient low-income and affordable housing (Timmer 1994).
Against the public perception that the lives of homeless people does not matter and that these people do not want to have housing, drug availability and increased violence are things that are reported at homeless people reports and also reduced meaningful social and correspondingly hostile community. People aren’t believing in the radical departure from the previous times, people believes in the enhanced leadership, targeted evidence based investments as well as collaboration. There are lots of great ideas and that can be useful to bring an effective solution.
Homelessness is a symptom of much deeper and more serious changes in our society. How we would reverse these changes is not easy to specify in policy recommendations that are both empirically based and politically acceptable. Effective action is urgently needed in the areas of housing, health care, employment, and education. The alternative of continued social disintegration will have grave consequences for the national health and welfare and makes this a problem which we cannot turn our backs.
Work’s Cited
Hopper, Kim, and Jim Baumohl. "Held in abeyance: Rethinking homelessness and advocacy." The American Behavioral Scientist 37.4 (1994): 522.
Shinn, Marybeth, and Beth C. Weitzman. "Research on homelessness: An introduction." Journal of Social Issues 46.4 (1990): 1-11.
Rosenheck, Robert. "Homelessness in America." American journal of public health 84.12 (1994): 1885-1886.
Timmer, Doug A. Paths to Homelessness. Extreme Poverty and the Urban Housing Crisis. Westview Press, 5500 Central Avenue, Boulde. 1994.
Turnbull, Jeffrey, Wendy Muckle, and Christina Masters. "Homelessness and health." Canadian Medical Association Journal 177.9 (2007): 1065-1066.
