Homelessness has now been on the American policy agenda for close to two decades. In 1989, when the Urban Institute published America’s Homeless (Burt and Cohen 1989), policymakers and the public may have expected, or hoped, that we could end the crisis of homelessness relatively quickly. The decade of the 1990s has not fulfilled that expectation. Programs and services to help homeless people expanded dramatically in the 1990s, just as they did in the 1980s. At the same time, visible homelessness in many American communities does not seem to have diminished. How are we to think about the persistence of homelessness at the end of a decade of unprecedented prosperity, and at the dawn of a new millennium?
How many people are homeless?
As of the last, official count, about 671,859 people experience homelessness on any given night in the United States. Today’s homeless in the United States are houseless, and some are placeless (transient). Many are also without family. But some significant number brings at least part of their family with them into homelessness, and maintains some reasonable degree of connectedness with housed family members. Over time, these "connected" people comprise a larger proportion of people experiencing homelessness than the isolates, because "connected" people stay homeless for relatively shorter periods and are replaced by others like themselves.
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We need a revolution.
ReplyDeleteMost homeless are alcoholics or drug addicts. If you want to help them buy them some booze or pot (or whatever drug of choice they prefer). If you think you can "help" them any other way you are delusional and are the one who needs help.
ReplyDeleteRight... I'm sure that's why so many working men and women are out every other night these days boozing. Or the stars and starlettes in LA, 95% of them are druggies.
ReplyDeleteSo only homeless people use drugs and drink huh? You must live in Iceland or something.
"Most homeless individuals are alcoholics or drug addicts."? Wow. What about the individuals who have to choose between their child's medical bills or rent? Or, individuals who lose their jobs due to the recession? How about a person suffering from depression who cannot afford to treat it? It is not fair to generalize; especially if you are being cruel. What happened to compassion?
ReplyDeleteeveryone that suffers from homelessness are not all addicts. I am an addict myself and have had periods in my life when I was homeless. It does not all boil down to addiction. The economic factors play a big roll. Some people are homeless because of mental issues as well as not having a single person or family member to help. My research has shown that most homeless people have some kind of mental illness. Ask yourself about all the homeless children and explain to me their drug addictions. That could play a big part as to why no one recognizes the real reason for these people's misfortunes because, they are pushed aside as being just "druggies". Very pathetic analysis. What would you do if you found yourself homeless? Are you a drug addict? Think about it.If you took all the drugs away, there would still be homeless people.I will agree that a small part of these homeless probably choose to be. I would surely take a drink if I thought it would keep me warm at night. Wouldn't you?
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