Truth and Differences of Homelessness

Running head: Truth and Differences of Homelessness

Truth and Differences of Homelessness:

A review of the literature

Introduction

Homelessness is a subject that has many different views, and opinions. It is a subject that gets little attention and funding in order to broaden its truth and its needs to the public eye. Homelessness is a subject that is a convenient place to put unsolved unwanted social and political problems within our communities. Its depth in our society is not completely known and or understood; therefore its solution continues to be a mystery delayed. The stigmatisms are many and the sad but true community laws, rules, and quick fixes are anything but kind in the mind of a compassionate worker. The research of homelessness doesn't even begin to reach into the subject in a fair and or complex way; however I will attempt to bring into the light what different truths, and community solutions have been given on the subject of homelessness.

Review of Literature

Just exactly who is a homeless person is a question that keeps surfacing as I review this material. It is not the typical male bum hanging out at the downtown park as many think. The average homeless person is a single mother, about 30 years in age, with possibly two to three children, who may or may not have been homeless at least once before. In 1999 it was estimated that there were about 400,000 homeless families in shelters. In 2001 it was estimated that on any given night there were about 700,000 people homeless. It is clear from the literature that homelessness affects "families" much more than what most people think.

Next it is evident that the researchers are trying to understand the many reasons why homelessness occurs. Issues of unemployment, under skilled people in an environment that is demanding much more education and skill than ever before. One article contained the following:

The United States has become a "credential society," in which competition for jobs has elevated required qualifications (cited in Thomas Alex Washington 2002). Employers now require that applicants for even menial jobs have high school diplomas. Thus, it is imperative that people who are homeless have proper training so that they can compete in the job market. (Thomas. Alex. Washington 2002).

And with the increasing cost of living and over crowded low-income housing, this alone has made getting the homeless off the streets a major issue. All of the literature also strongly suggests that the homeless has an increasing need for medical, mental health and addiction services as well as the need for training in life skills and parenting.

A solution to the challenges of homelessness and the negative attitude directed towards homelessness is where much of the focus is in my review of the literature. Research shows largely that the misunderstandings of the homeless are a stumbling block to its upward mobility. While many communities offer some sort of shelter or transitional housing programs not all are equipped with what is essential to make lasting progress for a homeless person or family.

When it gets right down to the heart of this subject of homelessness all of these articles sum up that there is not any easy way to solve the challenges of homelessness and especially overnight. Furthermore homelessness is not the only challenge that our communities are dealing with, another is the "attitude" toward homelessness.

Compare and Contrast Literature

This research shares an overall theme of passion to defense against the negative attitude and stigmatisms towards the homeless. I can only assume that other social workers have researched this topic and tried to leave this theme so we who are entering this field will hold a positive view as well as become educated on the truth about the people we refer to as the homelessness. One author led his research with this quote:

The homeless are the quintessential victims in America society. Surveys show their victimization and neglect continues despite nearly two decades of militant advocacy on their behalf. Homelessness is a convenient term for those suffering from a range of physical and mental problems (Robert Kelly 2001).

Another article contained these words in its introduction: The homeless represent a group of people who are frequently dismissed and stigmatized as troublesome and unwanted patients, yet they are a significant group within society, which is increasing in size (H. E. Lester and H. M. Pattison 2000).

Two more articles had the same words throughout "deserving verses undeserving." What I took notice to the most throughout these articles was an overall theme from the authors attempting to reduce these stigmatisms and miss judgments of the homeless. It is clear in this literature that this "negative attitude" first must be reduced in order to better serve these people.

When it came to offering solutions to the challenges of homelessness there were two authors who had found quiet a contrast of approaches. Here are their findings:

In Sacramento, California, homelessness people are offered one way bus tickets out of town; the city capital of California has also enacted "bum- proof" laws which make it illegal to sit in certain public places with belongings that take up more than 3 cubic feet; in New York, if homeless parents refuse to work for shelter, the city administration wants to put their children in foster care. If

homelessness people refuse to go to shelter, the city is seeking the authority to have them arrested (cited in Robert J. Kelly 2001).

Across the states in Memphis Tennessee, a 12-month, 38 unit transitional housing program called Estival Place was established in 1991. Their goal was to empower their clients using the systems approach as an intervention guide. Parts of the facilities