The Problem Of Homeless People - 1280 Words

When thinking of homeless people, one would probably think of a bum who is an addict or alcoholic. Homelessness affects a variety of people. Homelessness as an issue in today s society is largely ignored. The problem of homelessness is barely noticed. The growing population of homeless people is shown that more people are still suffering financial problems and struggling in maintaining their life basis. Many families and children have experienced trauma prior to becoming homeless. Parents are losing their jobs or having exhausted their unemployment benefits, and the cost of living is raising. In 2009, when the recession hit the United States, unemployment was at its highest in 26 years and one of the highest ever recorded, dating back†¦show more content†¦He states, â€Å"Without decisive action, millions of children will carry the burden of homelessness for their entire lives.† Unemployment isn’t the only thing that causes homeless for families. Some parents have drug addictions and they use their source of income to fuel their drug habit. More than 40% of homeless youth report that their parent(s) had at some point received treatment for alcohol or drug addiction. In the United States, 1 in 4 children younger than 18 years old is exposed to alcohol abuse in the family. Parents’ drug abuse often means stress-filled homes and child neglect. Such conditions can leave families in shelters or homeless which can harm the wellbeing and development of children in the home. The age group at greatest risk for use of marijuana and cocaine in the past year were the homeless ages 26-34, but the oldest group, 35 years and older, had the highest risk of needle use. She states, â€Å"Of the 1,068 homeless people approached to participate in the study, 13 (1.2 percent) were too intoxicated to participate or scored more than 9 on the Short Blessed Exam, 141 (13.2 percent) refused to participate, and 6 (0.6 percent) broke off the interview before completing key sections on homelessness and drug use.† Families that are also affected by homelessness are pregnant teens and runways. A large number of homeless young women either ran away or were kicked out of the home due to pregnancy. A tenth of homeless and runaway girls