Mabel Rodriguez



Rodriguez 1Student NameENC 1102Natasha OliveraExploratory EssayHomelessness in America: Disparity Amid ProsperityHomelessness has been affecting societies despite of economic stability and the overall wealth of the nation. It is seen as a stigma and directly associated with the concept of marginalization. There are the conventional notions of people sleeping in a cardboard box or addicts concealed between the alleyways of streets. Yet the homeless include those who live in their cars, in temporary shelters, abandoned buildings, and cheap motels. They are individuals who lack sufficient resources and who can not afford adequate housing. But what defines a home? Homelessness is about more than rooflessness. A home is not just a physical space: it provides roots, identity, security, a sense of belonging and a place of emotional wellbeing (U.K. Charity Crisis). Currently, since the issue of youth homelessness is on the rise- as many as one in fifty American children or 1.5 million according to The National Center on Family Homelessness- I became intrigued and was prompted to explore the matter further. Questions regarding the causes, characteristics and the influence of relationships arose. The concern over government involvement was a major consideration as well. Is there even enough political will? It is said that “the measure of the worth of a society is how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable citizens” (Sizer). This perception can be related to the prevalence of youth homelessness in America. How then has this been occurring in the wealthiest nation in history?Before I could focus on a single large scale factor of homelessness, the government, I had to begin with the individual aspects. I began by researching the main causes of why youth become homeless; generalizing it to those who are under eighteen years of age. As I scanned through various sources, I saw a repetition of the number nine, which is the average age of a homeless person in this country! After the initial shock passed, I resumed with my research. I was certain that there are myriad of ways in which the causes can differ according to the situations of each individual, still there are underlying themes among these causes which are linked between homelessness and broader social issues. One of the main ones is family breakdown. It is something that I am familiar with because I have been working with children professionally for about four years now. I have even earned the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. Personal experiences also led to my understanding. Given that I took all of this into account, I explored deeper into the issue of family breakdown. Rodriguez 2Using the FIU database, I located a particularly useful overview from the National Alliance to End Homelessness. In a section titled “Causes of Youth Homelessness,” it first stated that the “same factors that contribute to adult homelessness such as poverty, lack of affordable housing, low education levels, unemployment, mental health, and substance abuse issues, can also play a role in the occurrence and duration of a youth's homelessness.” These were good points that brought up questions in regards to parent-youth relationships and some of the long-term effects, which I decided to come back to later. Furthermore, it said that beyond these factors, “the phenomenon of youth homelessness is largely a reflection of family dysfunction and breakdown, specifically familial conflict, abuse, and disruption,” which I agreed with. Though the article did not specify further, some types of conflicts that came to mind were disputes over risky behavior such as promiscuity, opposing views on discipline, and sexual orientation. When it comes to domestic abuse there are many layers including physical, emotional, sexual, and mental that, along with the conflicts, leads to the deterioration of families. The brief continued to say that youth usually enter a state of homelessness as a result of running away from home- which the desire and reaction of escaping from these predicaments is understandable- or from being abandoned by their guardians. Additionally, it stated that family conflict is “more critical for youth than adults since they are, by virtue of their developmental stage in life, still largely financially, emotionally, and, depending on their age, legally dependent upon their families.” Rodriguez 3This information confirmed some of my previous knowledge on the subject of youth and families, but what about other types of influence. What about the system? Being released from institutional or other state care can be another cause of youth homelessness. For instance, foster care and juvenile correction facilities. I decided to next look at how the transition from foster care involve and represent the homeless youth population. In an article from the Child Welfare League of America, it stated that approximately 20,000 to 25,000 young people [16 and older] age out of the foster care system each year, meaning they are released due to their turning of age. I began to wonder how hopeless most of these youth must feel, knowing that they will have to fend for themselves. They are entering society after subsisting in a lifestyle where there has been a significant lack of nurture. Won’t this inhibit them in their reintegration into society? These individuals are frequently moved in and out of homes and they were placed in the foster care system because of parent abuse or neglect in the first place. With few social skills gained and resources available, these youth don’t have many options. Consequently, when they age out they face challenges such as homelessness. “Twenty-five percent of former foster youth nationwide reported that they had been homeless at least one night within two-and-a-half to four years after exiting foster care” (National Alliance to End Homelessness). The traumatic experiences before and after becoming homeless, will have long-lasting impressions throughout the course of their lives.Another issue while on the topic of system failure is the juvenile justice system. Some youth encounter it while being homeless, while others enter it before they reach this state. And the latter is what I initially wanted to investigate more about. Having sufficient awareness on the topic Rodriguez 4of deviance through my Sociology class, I started to collect my thoughts. Sociobiologists assume that genetic predispositions lead people to juvenile delinquency and crime. Psychologists focus on abnormalities within the individual as well. They examine personality disorders and the relationship between subconscious motives. However, I agree more with the Sociologist perspective, because they search for factors outside the individual such as social influences. To resume my research, I decided to find the literal definition of the word crime. A crime is an “action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state and that is legally prohibited” (). Basically it is a violation of norms written into law. But what causes a youth to commit a crime? Like most of us, I already had the general ideas, but I wanted to continue exploring. I found an article from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute titled “Why Juveniles Commit Crime” by Joseph A. Wickliffe. Some of the points that were made include how in any one’s life, being a juvenile is a normal part of the stage of development, yet that each individual’s behavior patterns will differ according to the influences in their environment; which like many of us have experienced is “sometimes accompanied by a desire for material things, fashion, peer pressure, cash and more.” This mostly derives from the longing to conform or to fit in. It also stated that at times, “the demands of wants and needs are intensified by a society that consists of high mobility, social change, and is materialistic.” I believe this is a perfect example of the consumerism obsession in American society. It continued to say that these social changes can create “anxiety and disillusionment for adolescents and thus they commit delinquent acts,” which is a good point; society, along with the media, brainwashes or disillusions people into wanting bigger and better things. So if a part of juvenile delinquency is learned through needs and desires, how can this apply to youth homelessness? Well, one factor I thought of is unemployment. When adolescents are released from the juvenile justice system, it is hard to find a job; employers don’t want to hire ex-convicts, regardless of the severity or longevity of the sentence. Therefore, this can cause them to commit crimes in order to get money or necessities to survive which keeps the cycle going. But what if they don’t resort to crimes after their jail time? Then I thought that homelessness is what it must come down to without support systems or opportunities for housing. Rodriguez 5Accordingly, the issue of a home or shelter led me to this question: what kinds of discrepancies are there for youth when they try to acquire housing compared to an adult? It was my next focus so I started by reading the article “Housing for Homeless Youth,” another brief by one of the reliable sources that I have been citing throughout my research- the National Alliance to End Homelessness. In their view, some of the obstacles that youth experience in accessing housing are: age discrimination, lack of standing lease, not enough income to afford market-rate rents, no rental history, exposure to domestic violence, sexual assault and adults who solicit youth for illegal activity in exchange for housing, teen parents, and past abuse and trauma resulting in mental or cognitive disabilities. Before coming across this information, I never anticipated it being this hard for homeless youth to get housing. Upon reflection, I recognized that they pretty much have all the odds against them. Now what about those who are imprisoned while being homeless, and the laws that are criminalizing it? I referred back to the article “Causes of Youth Homelessness.” It said that homeless youth are “socially marginalized and often arrested for “status” offenses- an action that is only illegal when performed by minors, like running away or breaking curfew.” But this is not what I had in mind. I tried looking for some policies that target homeless individuals for simply residing in public spaces because they have nowhere else to go. I managed to locate an article using the FIU database on just that from the The National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty titled “Criminalizing Homelessness Is Ineffective and Violates Rights.” To summarize, it said that for the past twenty five years, American cities have increased the number of laws against the homeless. More cities are making it illegal to sleep or camp in public spaces and they are performing “sweeps,” which is when they confiscate and destroy people’s belongings in order to “clean up” the area. A part of me was taken aback by this savagery, but another part was not that much surprised. The police and local governments have been known for their lack of compassion for those below their status. The article also discussed how cities have recently strengthened their focus on restrictions to panhandling in downtown areas and public feeding. The city officials were probably thinking more about the effects it was having on tourism and the money they were losing than trying to aid them. How inconsiderate can authority get? And aren’t these restrictions only creating additional barriers for those trying to escape homelessness? Moreover, the article makes some convincing points on the way that criminalizing homelessness violates the rights of these individuals and how the courts can at times be on their side. For instance, “some courts have found begging to be protected speech, that arresting homeless people for sleeping outside when no shelter space exists violates their Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, and how city workers must take certain measures to avoid violating people's right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.” Rodriguez 6Overall, rather than criminalizing homelessness, through fines and arrests, there needs to be more accessibility to programs that provide services such as shelter and counseling. Besides, I learned through this article that it costs more to incarcerate someone than it does to provide supportive housing.Rodriguez 6At that moment, after reading about those who are persecuted for their inability to acquire housing and resort to living on the streets, something I haven’t addressed was triggered. What about the portion of homeless youth that are not runaways, or abused and abandoned by their parents, but those who come from stable homes and a middle class status? Those who are victims of the collapse of the economy; whose parents could not keep up with the mortgage payments because they were laid off work or whose home values were dropping below their debts, making it impossible to sell. Statistically, about one-third of the people who have been becoming homeless in a year are parents and children (National Alliance to End Homelessness). So if these youth are financially dependant on their parents, there’s not much they can do. How can this affect them? Well I thought about how hard it must be for the parents to think about keeping the kids in school without stable housing. Therefore, this led me to consider the issues on education because once a family loses their home, school attendance drops and academic performance follows, which causes higher drop-out rates. How many exactly? According to an article titled “Homeless and Runaway Youth” by the National Conference of State Legislatures, seventy-five percent of homeless youth or runaways in America have dropped out or will drop out of school. This is a very high percentage, but reasonable because I am sure that what the majority of the homeless focus on and struggle over the most is having enough to eat, not getting an education, so it is a day to day survival. Rodriguez 7Conversely, not all families were well off before entering homelessness. Considering this, I decided to divert my attention to the youth who were living in poverty and those who were born into it. I reminisced about the video I saw on Skid Row, an area in Los Angeles that is seen as the worst social disaster and the first third world city in America. Many argued that it is a state of mind and that some of the individuals are at risk even before they are born. Seeing as most homeless parents are left with few choices, they bring their children into the cycle, thus becoming “transgenerational” poverty and homelessness. So I tried researching for the amount and learned that each day in America, 2,660 babies are born into poverty and that one in five children is poor during the first three years of life, which is the time of greatest brain development (Office for Social Justice). Then I wondered about parents-youth relationships and the long-term effects of homelessness. Is there any correlation between the period of time a youth remains homeless and its influence on the individual’s outlook or psyche? Using the FIU database, I located a June 2009 study from the Australian Clearing House for Youth Studies titled “From youth to adult homelessness.” It discussed the social adaptation hypothesis, which “suggests that the longer people are homeless, the more they adapt to homelessness as a way of life.” To evaluate this hypothesis, the researchers studied data from 1,677 people who had became homeless when they were eighteen or younger. Around three-quarters of them were now twenty-five or over. In support of the social adaptation hypothesis, the researchers found that as the youth became homeless, “involvement in the homeless subculture became an important source of support and camaraderie.” However, that the majority, eighty-eight percent, had “returned to conventional accommodation at some point, suggesting that they had not accepted homelessness as a way of life.” After considering the views of the researchers, I thought about how the same study would differ if it was done in America. Would the hypothesis prove right? Would there be a higher chance of these individuals accepting and retreating to this lifestyle? Then again, it would depend on certain factors such as the influence of the parents, because how can they induce positive thoughts into their children when they themselves have not been exposed to it. Due to this, some youth grow up with a poor self-image; thinking they are worthless. It would also depend on the availability of resources such as supportive organizations and early intervention programs. Rodriguez 8After discovering more about the relationship between poverty and homelessness, I came to this question: does geography matter? I thought of course, or at least it should matter. But that’s not how the federal government sees it because their concept of poverty is quite simple; everyone is assessed with the same measurement. I found out that “if a typical family of four earns less than $21,100 a year, or if a single working woman makes less than $10,787, they’re in poverty” (Christian Science Monitor). But what about where they live; what about the job outlook in that area, the minimum wage, and the fluctuating economy? Shouldn’t there be a poverty measure that includes each city’s actual cost of living? Also, there are places where the average apartment rents are as low as $600 and other places where they are twice as much. These factors must influence the amount of people who are or are becoming homeless depending upon their certain location. Rodriguez 9Thus, I decided to investigate more about affordable housing, since this is the key to preventing an individual from acquiring the label “homeless”. Using the FIU database, I came across an interview with Sam Tsemberis, who is the founder of Pathways to Housing, a nonprofit organization that works with homeless people. It was titled “Providing Housing Is the Key to Ending Homelessness.” I noticed some very interesting information. For instance, she stated that what most people do not recognize is that this specific homelessness epidemic has only been around since the early eighties, because the federal government’s commitment to building affordable housing has been practically eradicated since then and continues to this present day. She continued to say that “all you need to solve homelessness permanently in the country is about ten billion; eighty percent of it would go to housing and then twenty percent for the services and support that some people would need.” These statistics made me realize that with enough initiative and funding, we can end homelessness. But is there currently enough will? I saw how the government bailed out so many corporations last year, up to eighty-five billion for AIG, and wonder why they can’t do the same for the homeless. I am sure that part of the reason is because people have an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality. Meaning, if they are not seeing it on their way to work or being directly affected by it, then they don’t care. On the other hand, we have a new president, Barack Obama. Will his presidency change anything in regard to the homeless situation? Does he have any plans to aid them? I was curious to know so I did some research using the National Alliance to End Homelessness website. I learned that on February 17, 2009, Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which includes $1.5 billion for the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). This funding is being distributed to 540 states, metropolitan cities, urban counties and U.S. territories. Are communities equipped with the right resources though? Do they know how to allocate the aid, will it work to its full potential, and how many of the homeless actually take advantage of the help? Rodriguez 10Rodriguez 9Rodriguez 9Throughout my exploration, I understood that homelessness is complex. There are many factors that contribute to it as well as people who can offer fundamental resources and support. Yet, I believe that prevention should become the priority and the solution to any problem must start with a plan. The final question comes down to: will the plans be implemented? Using history as a standard, America’s verbalized ideals has much too often fallen short on action. I guess only time will tell whether the issue of homelessness improves or is resolved for good. ................
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