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Homelessness
When the last Annual Point-in-Time count was done by the Department of Housing
and Urban Development in January of 2019, it was established that out of every 10,000
people in America, 17 were homeless (HUD). This means that in USA, over 500,000 people
are experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is a situation where an individual, a family or
an entire community finds themselves without permanent, safe and stable housing, and they
are without the means of acquiring said housing (Hombs). Misfortunes never come singly,
and this is especially true for homeless people. They experience a myriad of challenges, each
one related to or because of the other. The difficulties experienced by the homeless include
living in poor hygienic conditions, inability to access proper healthcare hence diseases,
loneliness, poor nutrition, crime and violence, depression and anxiety, unemployment, just to
name but a few.
Of all the predicaments faced by homeless people, health issues seem to be the most
disconcerting. As aforementioned, challenges faced by the homeless are interconnected to
each other. Majority of homeless people are unemployed, thus do not have health insurance.
The places they reside are overcrowded and unhygienic hence a breeding ground for diseases.
They are accosted by respiratory illnesses, infectious diseases, dental issues, malnutrition and
injuries (Hakanson). Transmission of some of these diseases is rapid, and what’s more, most
homeless people can’t avoid them because they have nowhere else to go. Because a majority
of the homeless cannot afford health insurance, they suffer from diseases that are easily
treatable.
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Crime and violence are commonplace among the homeless. A report showed that
homeless people are 17 times more likely to be victims of violence as opposed to people who
have homes (Wesley). Homeless women are especially vulnerable to violence, particularly
sexual violence. Lack of employment and shelter put these women in precarious situations
where they are more exposed to sexual violence. Most of them end up not reporting these
assault cases because they lack the finances to litigate them as hiring legal aid is costly.
Regarding crime, when individuals find themselves homeless, without food, and with no
prospects of employment, desperation sets in. Since they have nothing to lose, caution is
thrown to the wind and they engage in criminal activities to afford basic amenities. This
means that crime rates among the homeless is elevated.
Loneliness is another challenge that most homeless people have to contend with.
Society tends to look down upon homeless people. This means that although some homeless
people live within their families, they feel lonely from being cut off from society. 77% of
homeless people who have been interviewed testified to feelings of loneliness (Walker). One
can only fathom what it feels like to sit on the sides of the streets with people passing by and
ignoring your existence, as if you were invisible. Feelings of loneliness sometimes progress
to depression, anxiety, and poor self-image.
It is not easy for a person with a home and all basic amenities to understand what the
homeless go through. Some things are usually taken for granted, like having clean water, a bit
of privacy, clean clothes, a place to shower, and many more. Homeless people go through a
lot and the challenges they face, like limited access to healthcare, poor hygiene, violence and
loneliness may seem inconsequential when one is not going through them, but they are big
issues to those experiencing them.
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Works Cited
Hakanson, C. & Ohlen, J. "Illness Narratives of People Who are Homeless." International
Journal of Qualitative Studies in Health and Well-being 11.32 (2016): 345-354.
Hombs, M.E. Modern Homelessness: A Reference Handbook. California: ABC-CLIO, 2011.
HUD. State of Homelessness: 2020 Edition. 28 January 2019. 1 October 2020
<[Link]
of-homelessness-2020/>.
Walker, J. Invisible in Plain Sight: Fighting Loneliness in the Homeless Community. 31 July
2019. 1 October 2020
<[Link]
loneliness-homeless-community/>.
Wesley, J. et al. The Experience of Violence in the Lives of Homeless Women: A Research
Report. PhD Thesis. Washington: National Institute of Justice, 2015.