Homelessness: More than a choice

“Homeless people can have so many talents & personalities, but we just see them as blights on our landscape. I wonder if Mother Nature thinks the same about us?” ― Anthony T. Hincks

---

Drugs, alcohol addiction, laziness, stupidity, criminal history, and sheer choice are all reasons people believe a person becomes homeless. These are all stereotypes that have been played up in movies and by false information. Homelessness is more than a choice and the homeless population is more than drug addicts or criminals.

nlchp.org highlights some of the potential reasons behind homelessness. What they found was that it varies depending on simple things like gender and believe it or not, money.

They found that the leading cause for homelessness was indeed insufficient income and lack of affordable housing. The statics found that in 2012 , "10.3 million renters (approximately one in four) had “extremely low incomes” (ELI) as classified by HUD." This lack of enough income makes it difficult to pay for housing and necessities, causing many to lose their homes. nlchp.org also found that after paying their rent and utilities, "75% of ELI households end up with less than half of their income left to pay for necessities such as food, medicine, transportation, or childcare."

Another leading factor behind homelessness was the housing market crash and in turn, caused many to have their homes foreclosed. This has been named the foreclosure crisis and has increased the number of homeless people by 61% since the foreclosure crisis began. With the housing market skyrocketing prices, many can't afford to purchase a home or afford to take out a loan and end up renting indefinitely. "Approximately 40% of families facing eviction due to foreclosure are renters; the problem may continue to worsen as renters represent a rising segment of the U.S. population."

Single moms are among the top groups in the homeless population. Out of homeless families, 90% are female-headed. A leading factor behind women becoming homeless is domestic violence. As for leading causes behind family homelessness, nlchp.org states the following as leading causes: "(1) lack of affordable housing, (2) unemployment, (3) poverty, and (4) low wages, in that order." On the other end of that is single individuals, whose main causes of homelessness are said to be "(1) lack of affordable housing, (2) unemployment, (3) poverty, (4) mental illness and the lack of needed services, and (5) substance abuse and the lack of needed services."

These stats show that homelessness is more than a choice and more than an addiction. It's a result of an economy that doesn't aid the poor.

The statistics in this post can be found at https://nlchp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Homeless_Stats_Fact_Sheet.pdf