Poverty And Homelessness - 1715 Words

Poverty and homelessness are very serious problems in the United States. In January of 2013 the count of people identified as homeless was larger than 600,000 (Segal, Gerdes, Sue, 2016). Many factors go into what makes this population so large, however this paper will focus on how much race plays a role in homelessness and poverty. Systems (Ecological) Theory Systems theory is a perspective that places emphasis on understanding how people fit into their environments (Segal, Gerdes, Sue, 2016). In systems theory if a specific person, let’s call them Greg, has one system that’s not functioning properly, then the rest of their systems will most likely not work as well (Segal, Gerdes, Sue, 2016). Greg is homeless, and his family won’t†¦show more content†¦White homeless women had higher rates of hospitalization than homeless women of color (Jones, 2016). When talking about poverty, which is very obviously related to homelessness, people of color are far more likely to be in poverty than white people. In 2012 the median income for households of people of color, $33,321 for black households, and $39,005 for latinx households, was much lower than white households, $57,009 (Segal, Gerdes, Sue, 2016). This means that households of color earned less than two-thirds less than white househo lds (Segal, Gerdes, Sue, 2016). If people of color are making less than white people, and face discrimination in employment as well as housing, then it’s obvious why they are more likely to be in poverty and experience homelessness. To combat the discrimination that homeless people face, social workers often must push for a change in a way that will allow for one of their main systems, security, to be stable. One example of how this is done is by doing something that’s called rapid re-housing. Rapid re-housing is the process of immediately removing families out of homelessness and into permanent housing by aiding in deposits, rent, and utilities (Homelessness, 2015). Before rapid re-housing they would place people in run down homes for at maximum of two years. Not only does rapid re-housing cost less, but it has an 85% outcome of households being stably housed after the assistance ends (Johnston Kunkel, 2014).Show MoreRelatedHomelessness And Poverty And Homelessness1 699 Words   |  7 PagesCenter on Homelessness and Poverty 7) While a portion of today’s society turns a blind eye to the subject of the criminalization of homelessness, an even larger quantity of people are not aware of the situation that is happening in every major city of America. For those living an affluent lifestyle, it can be difficult to discuss the amount of poverty and homelessness that is constantly occurring. The definition and meaning behind the absence of home is also arduous to discuss. While homelessness is commonlyRead MorePoverty and Homelessness1143 Words   |  5 PagesAmanda Germain Mrs. Leeker ENG111 2/25/14 Poverty and Homelessness: An Annotated Bibliography. â€Å"Black Parents Demand ‘World-Class’ Education, Too.† Washington Informer. 20. Mar 2013. ProQuest. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. In the article ‘World-Class Education’, it said that education need to be affordable for the community of African American. Some African American children are dropout which had damaged the community. Without education, the middle class people wouldRead MorePoverty and Homelessness1942 Words   |  8 PagesPoverty and homelessness are serious issues in the U.S. today, especially because of the current recession, with levels of poverty and unemployment higher than at any time since the 1930s. Blacks and Hispanics are being affected disproportionately by homelessness, as well as poverty and unemployment in American society. This is just another example of the racial caste system and institutional racism that goes far beyond that of social class, and has always been the case in recessions and indeed withRead MorePoverty, Hunger, And Homelessness971 Words   |  4 PagesPoverty, hunger, and homelessness in America are much more common despite being the wealthiest nation in the world. Poverty is well-defined as having inadequate income to provide the food, shelter and clothing needed to preserve good health. Hunger is quite simply not knowing where your next meal will be coming from, to a certain extent simply being food insecure. Homelessness is homeless who are most often unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, secure, and adequate housing. To live belowRead MoreThe Problem Of Poverty And Homelessness1604 Words   |  7 Pagesissue of poverty and homelessness in America. In fact, a study taken in 2015 gathered that with more interaction and willingness to help the homeless, the more empathy and compassion is gained for them, later resulting in a larger contribution from society creating a social change. I obtained this information based on a survey taken by Lindsay Phillips, a physiologist, that took it upon herself to ask working, undergraduate college students to describe their perceptions of homelessness, willingnessRead MoreHomelessness a nd the Cycle of Poverty717 Words   |  3 Pagespassed on to their children. Reported by Barbara Ehrenreich, an author with many books on the subject of homelessness in America, â€Å"Catholic Charities saw a spike of domestic violence... attributed to the unemployment and overcrowding.† (325)ï€  Ã¯â‚¬  Not having the funds to support oneself and one’s family causes stress and tension while otherwise might not have been there. Sadly homelessness and poverty have and will always go hand in hand. Many people due to financial hardships have to relocate constantlyRead MoreThe Problem Of Poverty And Homelessness956 Words   |  4 Pagestransportation and I see a person who is homeless I do one of two things: 1) Avoid eye contact and act as if they don’t exist or 2) I give them some extra food or my loose change. Poverty is something that most people tend to ignore, or act like someone else is there to fix it. This image critically argues that poverty and/or homelessness isn’t something that can be fixed with some coins it requires an actual change. This image makes this argument with its size and color, play on words that targets a specificRead MoreA Survey On Homelessness And Poverty1404 Words   |  6 Pagespoint in time by a survey provided by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an estimated 740000 individuals are experiencing homelessness at any particular time in America (Aratani). Additionally, an approximated 3.5 million individuals are at risk of e xperiencing temporary homelessness at a certain point in a particular year with some 1.35 million children based on the report by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (Aratani). In 2005, 50 percent of the cities in the US were surveyedRead MoreThe Problem Of Poverty Of Homelessness950 Words   |  4 PagesPoverty WHAT I ALREADY KNOW/WHY THIS TOPIC Down my building street, a homeless lives there. I always wonder what brought him here. What was his previous occupation before living down the street and annoying everyone else. Questions started to rise. Are they really homeless? poor? or faking it up to attract people’s attention? I had an experience that made these questions rise weirdly. One day, I was sitting in Starbucks, located in Cary street beside Chili’s and I saw the homeless that howl besideRead MoreHomelessness : Difficulty Escaping Poverty1321 Words   |  6 PagesArjan Singh Mrs. Woolcock English IV-CP May 19 2016 Homelessness: Difficulty Escaping Poverty A homeless person is someone who lacks housing, including an individual who lives in a supervised public or private facility (What Is the Official Definition of Homelessness?). Being homeless means not having a place to call home, not having a stable income. It is not just individuals that can be homeless. There are millions of families living in poverty and on the streets all around the world, contrary to