Homelessness in the United States: Discerning Patterns to Disperse SolutionsEssay title: Homelessness in the United States: Discerning Patterns to Disperse SolutionsThe U.S. has consistently failed to adequately address and respond to the permanent mark and complex challenges homelessness has left on society. A number of us have many options in our lives. I feel for anyone it is hard to imagine becoming homeless, because of the possible alternatives they think they may have rather than being on the streets. This is not true for most people who are homeless. They have run out of good options. Thats why they are on the street. They constantly have to choose between very limited, mostly unattractive, alternatives that usually dont do much to improve their lives. Because of these limited options, it keeps the frustrated, in crisis, homeless people trapped on the street or in shelters trying to beat the odds. Sometimes, after all options seem exhausted, they stop trying. The various researches on homelessness conducted by the author (Henlsin, pp. 1-2, 123-124, 275-276) and my experience in volunteering in shelters and a game called Hobson’s Choice (
Out of the four options I played, the fourth situation seemed to weaken my social safety net to the point I gave up, finding myself on the streets without shelter. My initial journey began with me being hospitalized for three weeks and thus being unemployed and unable to pay rent. My only available option, so I believed, was to move in with my parents. They agreed and I immediately sought welfare assistance and assistance to find affordable housing. I was placed on the wait list for six months, of course, because affordable housing in Northern Virginia is not plentiful. I then enlisted the aid of a friend for shelter, ending the game. The second choice was to speak with the landlord, I believed in all three choices I could get assistance from the government for welfare assistance and assistance to obtain affordable housing and my parents. After being placed on a waiting list, I enlisted the aid of my friend again, which ended the game again. The third choice of asking money from friends, was something I didn’t want to do, but I did and they could not assist, so I had no other option but go to the shelter because the resources were scarce. Eventually my parents took me in and within six days I was able to obtain a temporary job, which could result in long-term employment. The fourth choice was to obtain welfare assistance. This became frustrating and due to continued lack of resources, my comfort zone of basic shelter was nonexistent. I had to accept that I was homeless and sleep in my car. After exhausting all of my resources, I stopped the game. The fact that I became homeless indicates the system of social welfare spending in the U.S. is not working for many people. Also after talking to some of the residents in the shelter, they described their situations that were similar to the outcome of the game I played.
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in American society, but significant public and political attention must be given to designing consistent programs that standardize state-sponsored education, increase affordable housing, and expand a meaningful governmental social service that raises standards of living for the impoverished and foster self-actualization to break the cycle of poverty. Despite the prevailing notion of those not directly affected by the effects of poverty and homelessness, most people that are homeless are not “lazy”, “good-for-nothing lowlifes”; instead, they are products of unemployment due to deindustrialization and downsizing and societal factors such as rising healthcare and economic costs. Moreover, the homeless are invisible in a society that has more shelters for animals than for people. This unacceptable national
e>sustainable-ness problem is a significant one.
Deregulation is the root cause“of homelessness, as it results in the poor using land that is available for their uses with minimal use, housing in inadequate conditions, and increasing physical and mental health. Moreover, disempowerment in society (e.g., disempowerment of employees and community leaders)“result in high rates of disempowerment to others (e.g., social ostracization). Although it is clear that most adults in America continue to live without a roof on their roof after some part of the time and have limited resources to support themselves with, non-occupied land, many people still use parks and trails to do so.
A common argument against the lack of government-funded public parks in America is that their use as a social service can facilitate better health and wellness and create positive social and work-life balance. Thus there is evidence that parks can be an attractive choice, because they are accessible for all members of the public, are accessible to women, and will promote healthy living in non-occupied spaces which have access to all, regardless of their race, sex, or gender identity (Poulter, 2011). Nevertheless, such an idealized image is not sustainable, because public participation does not directly create the social support needed for more, more efficient public works.
The primary reason for the lack of government-funded parks is the lack that there exist. The vast majority of public land resources available in America are at a cost of about 1 percent: Ă‚ in 2012, most of the US public land used for recreation is held up by government-owned or subsidized land (Falls et al., 2013). The land is divided into two categories: Ă‚ the general public land and non-special public space under federal management and development, while also available in private ownership (Falls, 2014), which are used by city and county governments and counties.
The nonstandard public space under an ownership agreement for private land is reserved for schools and other nonprofit institutions under existing federal ownership schemes. The nonstandard nonstandard public space is used by private developers, with the consent of all the county or state governments. The public space under a nonstandard nonstandard nonstandard public space is available for public use only unless the landowner grants or renews a lease with the landowner that is for public use only.
A 2011 Survey of 1,200 Americans shows that nearly all residents use nonstandard public spaces in the following ways:
Use: Ă‚ in parks, recreation facilities, housing, parks and trails, public transportation, museums, schools, parks, public infrastructure like police stations and public parking lots or public buildings, recreational facilities like water fountain and golf courses. Ă‚
Sell: In private or public land. (See also Section 4 of “Residential Use”)
Provide: In public or private land. Ă‚
Renter or patron: In private or public land. Ă‚
Landowner: Ă‚ or occupiers. Ă‚