Homelessness; Without Thinking About Poverty

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Michael, Boston Subway Station, USA
Boston Subway Station, Massachusetts, USA. Michael.

In the United States today there are many causes of homelessness, where many of us assume the cause is due to an unfortunate financial situation of an individual or their family. Though in some cases of homelessness they are situated with varieties of mental illness, and a lack of necessary services that they need. In the National Coalition of Homelessness, most researchers agree that the connection between homelessness and mental illness is a complicated, two-way relationship. An individual’s mental illness may lead to cognitive and behavioral problems that make it difficult for them to earn a stable income, or to carry out daily activities in ways that encourage stable housing.

Another point is that for young people who are not pursuing their education, or who are unable to and have dropped out of school—it becomes more difficult for them to then exit their current homeless situation. Mainly because they often don’t have strong careers with growth potential that will help them advance their economic mobility. The same situation also happens on the other side too. Melissa Kull, a lead researcher at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, focuses on a mission of improving the well-being of children and youth, families, and their communities; she noticed that young people who were homeless were more likely to be leaving school and to not be advancing their careers.

In addition to mental health and education, affordable housing for those who experience homelessness is a large issue. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that it costs $40,000 a year to maintain a person in homelessness on the streets, which costs significantly more than the $26,000 to shelter them. In contrast to this, homeless shelters can only do so much—these shelters are to provide the basic necessities for individuals, bringing them hope and strength to believe in themselves that they can change their lives for the better. Yet many individuals who are homeless experience extremely long waiting periods for the shelters to be accepted in, since many shelters reach full capacity rather quickly. 

There are other significant factors to consider when thinking about homelessness and someone else’s situation. If you want more information, or if you want to see the ways that you yourself can help, you can go look at the National Coalition For The Homeless website here.

Published by: Katie Storment, Senior at Portland State University majoring in Graphic Design

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