Homelessness

Homeless
Homelessness, a devastating experience for people, disrupts virtually every aspect of family life, damaging the physical and emotional health of family members, interfering with the children's education and development and most frequently resulting in the separation of the family. To find a solution to a problem we must first know some things about it. Homelessness is not a recent issue. According to the Homeless.org website it dates back to the eighteenth century and is tied to changes in economic conditions, increasing with the economic downturns and declining with the returning of prosperity or the outbreak of war. After all this time we still look upon these people as a problem and an inconvenience. Nobody has taken the time to look past the stereotypes that concern these people. The majority of the population believes that the homeless are to blame for being homeless but the truth is that most of them are victims. Some suffer from childhood abuse or violence. Nearly one quarter are children. Many have lost their jobs and all of them have lost their homes. It is also believed that the homeless are either mentally ill or heavy drug users, which is partly true. About 25% are estimated to be emotionally disturbed, 1% may need long-term hospitalization, and the others are self-sufficient according to the Washington Post. As for drug abuse, research suggests that one in four are substance abusers but many of these are included in the 25%. Most homeless people are not drunks or drug abusers or mental patients. They are not the perpetual social problem that many believe them to be. Normal hard working, middle class people can become homeless according to this young women's story:
"As I watched the last few flames being put out, all I could think of were my four daughters and everything we lost. It is already tough being a single parent, but when your one staple, in this case our house, gets burned down, it seems like there is no hope. In a matter of...