Although many believe that the solution to homelessness is simply just an expansion of shelters, an actual solution is providing the assistance needed for homeless youth to progress, decreased rent prices, and Substance abuse control laws.
The LGBTQ community is composed of thousands of people (including teens). Most teenagers share stories with the public on how awareness needs to be raised for those teens who have been kicked out of their homes due to their sexual orientation. In New York City alone, such a vibrant city only holds about four hundred beds for teens. Unfortunately, there are more than double the amount of teens who are homeless. Over the past years, homelessness rates have gone up in the youth community and so have suicide rates. This raises questions regarding the distress put on the minds of homeless adolescents. Identifying as either Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or queer automatically puts you at a higher risk of becoming homeless. Reportedly, most of the LGBTQ homeless youth have been homeless due to being kicked out, or feeling unappreciated/belittled at home. Forty percent of youth who experience homelessness have been identified as apart of the LGBTQ community. It’s a problem because it’s a matter of a prejudice hate present in America. In the United States alone, there have been added up to more than five million adolescents who experience homelessness each year. Taking into consideration that the LGBT youth is a faction composing of approximately seven percent of the total youth population overall, the numbers are uncomfortably skyrocketing (true colors 1). the actual numbers for youth homelessness are increasing. Once a child has been deemed homeless, they are put in a position to become a fighter. Such a sudden change from a dependant to an independent individual in the cold world causes mental stress on a child. They have a greater chance of engaging in unsafe sexual activities, mental illnesses and being considered victims. What’s even worse is that for LGBTQ teens, these risks are just a tad higher. By providing mass media coverage of functional families, it could bring awareness to families on just how important it is to bring about support and respect within a household. Homeless youth typically are highschool and college dropouts. Counseling should geer towards placing these kids back into schools, and as far away from any harmful substances as possible (Goodyear, 3) Sexual orientation should not be a reason for one to be homeless however, the teens start off as runaways and then build off from there.
Without a doubt recently, the LGBTQ community has received a plethora of help with gaining rights, as gay marriage has just been recently been legalized. However, nothing has been done and no laws have been places for those struggling everyday outside on the streets. Data is showing an estimated forty percent of youth highlighted homeless. In many cases, LGBT youth choose or are forced to leave home because their families don’t accept them. Once homeless, they are exposed to the dangers of the street live which include unprotected sexual activities, gang violence, drugs and even aids.
Surveys were given out to various people all around. From the young age of twelve to the young adult age of twenty, people were asked slightly personal questions about substance abuse. The results were shocking, a staggering amount of answers lead the the belief that a majority of street youth have been in contact with different harmful substances such as tobacco, alcohol, and other different substances. This is a direct connection to the increased rate in suicide amongst youth. According Dr. Ringwalt and his colleagues, a stereotype found amongst the homeless community is that they are all if not most substance abusers and abusers of alcohol. This is partially true, as most of the homeless population in general does struggle with substance abuse. It isn't something that should just be written own as a stereotype, however it should be put down as an actual illness that needs treatment. Substance abuse is another direct correlation with increased suicide rates. A way to go about this would be to help by providing counseling and support. But, that isn’t the goal. The goal is to prevent substance abuse to even be a problem for the homeless before homelessness is an option. Providing counseling for those struggling in the household and having positive mass media coverage of the direct effects of substance abuse.Too many people are dealing with their issue of homelessness with drugs. The way to put a halt to the substance abuse is to put a slight halt (as a start) to homelessness.The percentage of people of all ages who have been in contact with a harmful drug are extremely high . This however, should be viewed as a sickness in itself , as the individual is only further harming themselves. To help this issue, counseling should be provided and medical assistance to check the insides of the homeless. The abuse of a substance is not always a effect of being homeless though . It has been found that it can also be a cause.
“ In a nationwide, multi-city survey of 640 youths in shelters and 600 living on the street, the researchers found that some 25 percent of the shelter youths and nearly one-third of the street youths had tried to kill themselves at least once in their lives. In both groups, those who had abused drugs – especially sedatives, hallucinogens, and inhalants – were far more likely than nonusers to have attempted suicide.”
Let me break this down for you . Out of all homeless youth , approximately fifty percent have attempted self harm. That chunk was reportedly the faction who abused substances. About a good twenty percent Weren’t responsible for the use of harmful substances, however still managed to attempt self harm.” Runaways and homeless youths with substance-abusing family members were twice as likely as those without such family members to have tried suicide”. By raising the awareness of the effects of substance abuse, families can become more educated and will take the steps to ensure the children whiteness the right things.
The homeless have higher chances of early death, especially homeless men (having children and not having kids ) . This was because compared to the average female, men reportedly admit to using more drugs compared to the amount of women who had confessed . The exact numbers will never be uncovered, as some people do not share that information. Health care should be offered to this community of people, as it is dehumanizing and eliminates one way of keeping themselves safe and healthy. The increase in substance abuse by men is worrying and put them at a overall higher risk of dying faster . As homelessness rates perpetually increases, its gathered that the city should work more and together to help end this . People who are suffering from being homeless have little to no access to healthcare.If they become sick, catch an infection or something , they have to fight ten times harder compared to what people who are fortunate to have health care. It should not kill you to try and take care of yourself .They also then become a risk to other people. For example, if an homeless lady has a sickness.I would have never even guessed that out . It overall puts everyone at risk.
In the United Kingdom, it is said that a homeless person ( either male or female) will need to have their own doctor in order to be seen privately. It is a set up however, due to the fact that they need to have an address stated and written down on form to prove where they reside. Obviously a homeless person would not have this because they’re homeless. this is the dehumanizing because that means the person will never be able to have a meeting with a doctor to find out if they are healthy. It also reduces the percentage of the person dying at the right age. The whole goal is so prevent homelessness and what is actually happening is that the homeless people are dying from a variety of illnesses all around. For example, if I was a homeless lady and broke my foot and was in need of urgent care, I would not be able to receive it. This is actually heartbreaking, as America in itself is all about helping each other out just because someone is homeless doesn’t mean they shouldn't have the same basic rights as someone who owns a house. Basic rights such as ensuring that you are healthy should be granted to all people and should just be a natural law .
Luckily, the United States has been reported that some doctors are willing to help the homeless. Unfortunately though, they’re are not able to stay overnight in the hospital if needed. This is reported as an extensive stay. In different areas there are people who willingly give up their free time to help the homeless and tend to their needs. Some people even gave up their work time enough to help a homeless person stay overnight. One problem Is that there is a worry about the homeless people not being able to consistently check to see if they are healthy .
A repeated concern is the increase of homeless women and men worldwide. This could be due to the money effects of the world. Many people are unemployed, do not have a stable household, and lack the motivation to find it. The Government does attempt to help by providing money to families however, that decreased. Families are in need of much more nowadays . It is not only the concern about the adults , but is also a concern about the kids. Children are at risk of getting sick easily so we want to prevent that, even for babies and young kids they like to come in contact with the whole bunch of different things. Also, many people who are homeless maybe suffering from other illnesses that may not be physical . It could be mental. Especially the children that have No more fighting will. Statistics show that, “ if these people could access appropriate healthcare then they may recover and gain their self-respect and confidence in order to once again be employed and afford a home”. Typically, a lot of people like to disregard the needs of the homeless, as they don’t really affect the person doing the disregarding .The same way we get up every morning , brush our teeth , clean ourselves in areas that need to be cleaned daily …. these people cannot do that . And if they did , it would have to be outside in the cold in a corner . Even eating becomes a struggle .. There are people however who take the time out of there day to go out and help these people meet their daily needs such as getting a meal for the day. These people are rarely acknowledged, leaving others ignorant and blinded to the things they can do in order to help out. When asked why they helped out, the people simply responded with answers such as their the impacts left by religion and will.
Animals even have their own homes that are convenient for them . Imagine having another species invade that home and tear it down . So imagine losing your apartment because you were a little behind on your bills . That does not mean that homelessness is wished upon you .
However, not every person gets to have a home. Some people however, are fortunate to be in homeless shelters . People who aren’t fortunate to be in a shelter are typically in contact with nasty diseases, harmful areas and still no comfy meal. Besides, their predicament may influence them into those negative activities that Many parents have been trying to Keep their kids away from. Helping our families with money, directing them into the right path and getting them into affordable living spaces should work out fine in helping bring down a small percentage of homelessness. I say that because homelessness is such a large topic.
Economic problems take part in the large issue of homelessness. These problems would include the cost of living. Hombs states in his homelessness outline that a lot of people who live on the streets do so because they were unable to pay off their rent. A way to help fix this would be by helping the homeless find jobs so that they can gain their own money and so that others won’t say they’re getting “free money” . Helping out the homeless by exposing them to different jobs and even volunteer areas . I say this because if someone were to volunteer for a long time , they eventually get paid . It teaches the homeless how to be independent even though they are a pretty large chunk of dependent people . Another thing is helping the homeless by finding places for them to go besides shelters and random peoples houses . When looking for a job , you need to be clear of all drugs – they even sometimes check you . By having daily or weekly check ins with someone on how to properly dress for a day or even helping the person with their Etiquette, just shows how easy it is to get the homeless involved in this to help make them a tad more productive in the sense of pulling them self out that lifestyle . It’s almost like rehab . It could also help people clear any type of drugs but taking your mind and placing it somewhere else .
Shelters should be temporary in the sense that they are given to the homeless, however in the time that the person is staying in the shelter, they must be working on gathering. Many believe the government has something up their sleeves about the homeless that’s bad . However, when the ideas come together , it’s a beautiful thing . You build a solution right in front of you . Different ideas combined helps to fight for rights . Collins states in his article that letting the homeless stay in a shelter is not good for a long period of time because that time should be spent on “how I I’ll make my life better” and not “let me relax here for a year” (Collins 35).
The fact that the homeless get treated as if they’re not human is truly disturbing . This community of people who unwillingly were put into the homelessness category . Even Oprah shared her personal story, and speaking on how the homeless are a pack of strong beautiful people . When you take a second to sit and look, think of everything the homeless children are prone to and how it could’ve happened (Own, 4:56)
Having a home is supposed to make a person feel safe and live comfortable . Everyone deserves that right. The homeless encounter a plethora of traumatizing events that leave them with things such as PTSD. Diseases, infections and death is so amongst them however there is little being done . The solutions given garnered a change in how the homeless are perceived , and a change in the rate of homelessness . These are ways to help even out problems world wide . Imagine living in the streets in any kind of harsh weather . Providing rehab facilities is key in connection with helping out with the substance abuse issue . We wanted to help raise the awareness of the effects of substance abuse in and out of households . The center would focus on providing services that educate the young and old , and allow time and space for the individual(s) to plan.
If there’s one place that holds a title for homelessness, New York City would probably be in the competitors hat. There are more than eleven thousand families including twenty seven thousand homeless kids out in the shelters and streets of the famous New York (New York Times 2) shelters are not permanent house therefore leaving families constantly moving around . In the years 2014-2015 it was reported that public schools in New York had almost three times the amount of homeless kids enrolled compared to kids in random shelters . (NYS 36) so indeed the shelters may not be as useful since there are many kids enrolled in school who are homeless . However, not many families who are homeless are able to enroll their children into school. Many kids often even drop out due to the bullying and harassment by teammates and other scholars which is completely degrading however pretty normalized.
The de Blasio team has come up with their own ideas to help out ., (de Blasio, Turning the Tide on Homelessness in New York City) . It basically explains how homelessness has given areas a bad name and has left a lot of damage . It does still continue to still bring sorrow and damages . There are long term and short term consequences and there’s kids trust me who act they not cold …. I know you’re cold . This brings apon another obstacle to the city as Is . Unstable housing is an in progress project . The well being , trust , safety and well being of the citizens matter, but once people get up to try and make a different for these things, it’s “too much” . It’s actually quite disturbing for nyc in itself as it’s been since the Great Depression . It’s embarrassing because of all the cases of mental illness on the news . When you do the readesrchc, someone in the family was involved in drugs. while de Blasio administration has had a good hold for the past few months , suspicions constitute to arise and will continue (New York Times 6) rising . Families are in need of jointing back together ..
While many people believe that it only the persons fault for being homeless , it’s incorrect . According to a recent study done by Stony Brook university, many people do not donate money to the homeless often due to the personal beliefs that the money is for drugs and other harmful things . And it’s true . According to a national map taken from 2015c , 49 percent of youth has admitted to spending their only bit of money on drugs . That isn’t the problem however . The problem is why are the drugs even a stress reliever and what dies it do to our homeless community .
Works Cited
w, Susan M., et al. "Mortality among homeless shelter residents in New York City." American Journal of Public Health 89.4 (1999): 529-534.
Overall, homeless men and women are at high risk of death. Men especially are at even higher risk compared to women, as surveys have uncovered that more homeless men have admitted to using drugs as a coping method. The increase in drug use and homelessness within the male populations puts them at a higher risk for death. Health care should not be the only concern as the homelessness rate perpetually increases. As a community, higher authority should be working on decreasing the number of men and women living on the streets along with the amount of space given for them . This is important to add on for my project because it breaks down one reason why the homeless sho