Understanding the Cause of Homelessness

"Being homeless is often defined as sleeping on the streets. Although this is the most visible and severe form of homelessness, there are many other types of acute housing need. These include living in temporary accommodation, poor or overcrowded conditions, or being in mortgage arrears and under threat of re-possession." (Hope 1986) It is a symptom of many complex problems: mental illness, emotional instability, illiteracy, chronic substance abuse, unemployment, and, most basic of all, breakdown of the family structure.

Anyone can become homeless and the reasons that force people into homelessness are many and varied. The leading cause, however, of homelessness in the United States is the inability of poor people to afford housing. "Housing costs have risen significantly over the last decade, while the incomes of poor and middle-class Americans have stagnated." (Erickson 1991) The millions of Americans who are unemployed or work in low-paying jobs are among the most vulnerable to becoming homeless. Therefore, homelessness, housing and income are inextricably linked. Low-income people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, child-care, health care, and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources co

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As the City raises more new office towers, the vacancy for housing is getting less. Those losses have resulted primarily from downtown urban renewal, gentrification, abandonment, and suburban land use controls. Homelessness: Demographics, Causes, and Cures In a

Nutshell. Unsurprisingly, the decline in the value of the minimum wage has been accompanied by an increase in the number of people earning poverty-level wages and the declining wages have put housing out of reach for many workers: in every state.

"As recently as 1967, a year-round worker earning the minimum wage was paid enough to raise a family of three above the poverty line" (Sklar, 1995). "The Federal

Response: The Stewart B. These kinds of work arrangements typically offer lower wages, fewer benefits, and less job security. Equally obvious is that while long-term intervention strategies are vital, they do not address the problems of survival for those presently without shelter and support.

Across America, there has been a substantial decline in the number of housing units that low-income people and those in need of shelter assistance can afford. Congress raised the minimum wage to $5.

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