Homelessness is a social problem that even America experiences. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), homelessness pertains to individuals who do not have a permanent place to live in and are usually aided by the government for most of their basic needs. Homeless people do not have fixed incomes, thus, are mostly found in government provided shelters. They may also be found living in streets, vans, trailer parks, motels, and old buildings, among others. They tend to move from one place to another. Homelessness does not only refer to adults, but may also include children and adolescents who share living quarters with other individuals or families without houses of their own as well (“Who is Homeless?”).
Reasons why people are homeless vary. Based on a paper published by NCH in 2009, Why Are People Homeless, among the many reasons for homelessness are foreclosure of properties due to the recession resulting to unemployment and poverty due to joblessness and unavailability of public assistance. When low wage earners are faced with a choice whether to maintain a house, allow children to attend school, and save money for illnesses, among others, most often, maintaining a house is the first option to be dropped as it is more expensive to keep house than allows children to attend public schools that are government subsidized. Thus, there is a marked growth in the number of homeless people dependent on the government. Other factors that account for homelessness include domestic violence, mental instability, and addiction. Women who are perennially abused by their husbands would opt to leave their home than stay in abusive relationships, while mentally ill people are left alone by relatives as they find it difficult to obtain housing and financial support from the government (“Why Are People Homeless?”).
Among the classical grand theories, I choose Functionalist and Conflict theories as the ones that can best explain the problem of homelessness today. According to beliefs of functionalist theorists, such as Emile Durkheim, people play roles in society and thus, depend on each other to create a working and successful society (Crossman). However, for some homeless people, even if they have the capacity to find work for themselves, they would still opt to survive in this existence – eating food from the trash can, sleeping on cardboard boxes, and bathing in rain-filled waterways. However, like functionalist theorists, I also believe that if everyone cooperates, then the problem on homelessness will not be as bad as it is now because when people choose to help and play a greater role in society, the individual plays a more productive role and will be able to contribute to the stability of society, instead of obstructing the perceived success of society as a whole (“The Sociological View”, n.d.. p. 15).
On the other hand, Karl Marx, who is the proponent of the conflict theory, believes in the role of power and coercion in creating order in society. The belief is that those who are in power have the greatest control in a nation’s economic, political, and social capital. Thus, only a few benefit in this scenario because those who are in control lead to gain more advantages for themselves. Because of such belief, there is inequality in society. In the face of homelessness, conflict theorists would point to capitalism as the source of the homelessness problem in the belief that homeless individuals do not want to forever stay or be where they currently are. However, even if they try to find ways and means to improve their plight, with capitalistic society taking advantage of those who do not have the capacity to work or find their own home, homeless people will remain homeless for lack of opportunities for themselves (“The Sociological View”, n.d.. p. 16).
Among the contemporary grand theories, I relate well with Merton’s structural strain theory that refers to issues between cultural goals of individuals and the manner on how individuals intend to obtain the goals. Culture institutes goals for people to follow as the norm, and society dictates ways on how to achieve the goals. However, if there is an imbalance in the ideas that culture and society espouse, a problem arises. For instance, relating this theory to homelessness, culture dictates that people find work and live in decent places to be able to provide the family a comfortable living. However, not everybody have access to decent homes and opportunities to complete their education. Because of this, some sectors of society experience the strains because their goals are the same as the others, but they do not have the same means of achieving the goal. Thus, they end up not having their own jobs and as a result, have no means to maintain a house of their own (Ravenhill, 2008, p. 31).
Finally, Talcott Parson’s structural functionalism further explains homelessness by accepting that there are positive and negative purposes to social structures. Heavily influenced by Durkheim and Weber, Parson’s belief is that society is made up of different structures and the relationships among these structures are what constrain the actions of individuals. Individuals are not ranked in society, but their position in society. Thus, if an individual belongs to the higher societal strata, then that individual has more control over those who belong in the lower strata. In this sense, those in the lower levels have no control over their fate and are thus relegated to whatever their destiny is unless the individual is able to change his or her standing in society (“Structural Functionalism”).
References
Crossman, A. (n.d.). Functionalist Theory – An overview. About.com. Retrieved from http://sociology.about.com/od/Sociological-Theory/a/Functionalist-Theory.htm
Ravenhill, M. (2008). The culture of homelessness. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=6blTEekWJFEC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=functionalist+theory+and+homelessness&source=bl&ots=JxdAQ5Grx-&sig=n9H136b7QqjixM4Ss_T4hF-0Aq0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=iAh3UtrfOsXrlAWfyYEQ&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=functionalist%20theory%20and%20homelessness&f=false
“Structural Functionalism.” (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/3210/3210_lectures/structural_functionalism.html
“The Sociological View”. (n.d.). Sociology Matters. Retrieved from http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0070964513/443675/Soc_Matters_Sample_CH1.pdf
“Why are people homeless?”. (2009). National Coalition for the Homeless. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/Why.pdf
“Who is homeless?”. (2009). National Coalition for the Homeless. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/Whois.pdf
