Homelessness

Dictionary and Etymological Definition

Homelessness is the state a person is in when he or she lacks shelter or means of livelihood. Homelessness is a noun derived from Middle English to illustrate the condition of a stray animal. The word homeless is a synonym to hobo, which means a poor migratory worker. Hobo originated in Western America towards the end of the nineteenth century.

Other Rhetorical Techniques

Homelessness can be viewed as condition depicted by migratory people or people living on the streets because of no houses. Apparently, homelessness began in the United States because of industrialization after which immigrants moved in to search for jobs (Arnold, 2004). Towards of the19th century, they saw the opportunities that were at their disposable and they decided to take advantage of them to make a living. However, they were housed in houses of poor condition, in limited space and with lack of basic facilities. Therefore, homelessness was explained from this perspective. As the meaning changed, the poor immigrants were defined as the ‘old’ homeless while the ‘new’ homeless came into being with the realization of the country’s depression that caused economic instability. Many people with low income could not afford housing and the government attempted to aid such people with special programs and emergency shelters (Polakow, 2001).

Homelessness is a form that depicts poverty of certain people in the society. Such people are not privileged to have housing hence; their daily ‘habitat’ is in the streets or shanties. Homeless people are faced with myriads of social challenges and they are affected psychologically, physically and emotionally. However, according to researchers, other people refer to homelessness only as a psychological problem where people rendered homeless are those in poor housing systems because of harsh economic times. Nevertheless, homeless is mainly characterized by people without houses.

According to Arnold (2004), research has detailed the causes of homelessness to be mental illness, drug addiction, alcoholism, unemployment and criminal activity. Different researchers have also challenged some of the mentioned causes. However, the case studies still point towards the aforementioned. The increasing numbers of homeless people in recent days is due to the cuts on the budget by the government. The rising number of unemployment has also catalyzed the rate of homelessness since insufficient or lack of income leave people with no choice but to vacate their houses since they can no longer afford. This has led to the elimination or reduction of special programs designed with an aim of poverty eradication. The effects of homelessness are myriad (Eberle, 2001). Homeless people in the streets are affected by fatal diseases be cause of bad weather and poor environmental conditions, they become malnourished, they are subject to assaults by criminals, they suffer drug addiction and risk of death.

Various studies show that poor government planning and unemployment issues have led people to be in a housing crisis. Typically, they are not able to afford the expensive housing because of the extreme poverty. Governments cut on programs, which should serve such people, and this leaves most people in the streets. The rise in the number of beggars in the streets shows the rise of homeless people (Zwicker, 2009). “As poverty increases, presumably single individuals find it harder to pay for housing on their own and the relatives or friends with whom they might share housing are also stretched to the limit and less able to help out” (Burt, p.9). Poverty is an indication of homelessness low income or lack of it cannot sustain a person and his or her family to be accommodated in house. Burt (1993) further asserts that the cutback of social programs and an abrupt economic crunch subject low-income earners to a financial strain leading to being homeless. Therefore, homelessness is an outcome of excessive poverty.

A homeless person is one who flees from his or her original habitat for lack of enough funds to secure his or her stay or to find refuge from instability of the region. Therefore, homelessness is a condition of uncertainty where the victims do not have permanent shelters and are forced struggle for other basic needs in an unfamiliar environment. For example, people who have no housing have their temporary ‘habitats’ in subway tunnels, on the streets and emergency shelters. They go through difficult times because they are faced with harsh environmental conditions, which increase the vulnerability of their bodies to diseases. Poor sanitation and adverse weather cause a number of health issues. With point-in time estimates of January 2005, the National Alliance to End Homelessness (2007) recorded 744,313 homeless people. “Homeless persons survive by begging, returning deposit cans and bottles and playing music on the streets” (Zwicker, 2009).

Homelessness can be categorized into two conditions. The first category is characterized by people who have no homes at all while the second is characterized by people in precarious shelters, which are of poor living conditions (Zwicker, 2009). The first category can be further elaborated to mean chronic homelessness since it is the worst-case scenario. Individuals do not have the privilege to be secure under a shelter, even those in poor condition. They live in a stretched scope of improbability can go for days without any substantial amount of food and water or worse yet nothing to eat or drink. The other category is one that explains the homelessness of those in precarious houses where they do not have stable housing. Noting homeless people in the society proves to be controversial because different people perceive homelessness in different ways. Despite the fact that both categories have a common definition, there is a clear distinction between the two. Literally homeless people suffer the plight intensely because they do not have knowledge of where to shift to incase a problem occurs (Polakow, 2001). They live on the edge and are more vulnerable to health hazards.

Work Cited

Arnold, Kathleen. Homelessness, Citizenship and Identity: The Uncanniness of Late Modernity. SUNY Press, 2004. Print

Burt, Martha. Over the Edge: The Growth of Homelessness in the 1980’s. Russell Page Foundation, 2003. Print

Eberle, Margaret P. Homelessness, Causes and Effects: The Relationship between Homelessness and the Health, Social Services and Criminal Justice Systems : a Review of the Literature. Victoria, B.C: Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security, 2001. Print.

Homelessness Counts. Washington, D.C: National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2007. Print.

Polakow, Valerie. International Perspectives on Homelessness. Contributions in Sociology Volume 135 of Critical Responses in Arts and Letters. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. Print.

Zwicker, Angela. Resident and Staff Perceived Barriers To Achieving Stability. A Descriptive Study. D’Youville College: Proquest, 2009. Print