The Chronic Homeless

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the countless factors that contribute to the likelihood that an individual or family will end up homeless. The author focuses on the chronically homeless and mental illness. Other risk factors are considered as well, such as lack of affordable housing, low paying jobs, substance abuse, domestic violence, unemployment, poverty, prison release, changes or cuts in public assistance. The paper concludes by exploring different outlooks on homelessness.

From the Paper:

"There are countless factors that contribute to the likelihood that an individual or family will end up homeless, including: lack of affordable housing, low paying jobs, substance abuse, domestic violence, unemployment, poverty, prison release, changes or cuts in public assistance and mental illness paired with a lack of needed services. (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, 2006) When I analyze a policy in my next paper, I will be focusing on the historical progression of events that have created a no-win for the mentally ill with virtually no social or legal support system that can lead those with other risk factors to homelessness. Though we can look at the general homeless population, it is difficult to create accurate estimates of actual numbers. This makes the sub-population of the homeless mentally ill even more difficult to estimate. In many cases, homelessness is only a temporary condition. The number of people who find housing and the number of people who newly find themselves homeless fluctuate over time periods. People with a mental illness or substance abuse problem are largely chronically homeless because it is difficult for many of them to find permanent housing. (Rosenheck, Bassuk, & Salomon, 1999) The National Coalition for the Homeless states, "By its very nature, homelessness is impossible to measure with 100% accuracy." "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Harrison, Lawrence E. & Huntington, Samuel P. 2000. Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress. New York, New York: Basic Books.
• Jencks, Christopher. 1994. The Homeless. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
• National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI). Colonial Place 3, 2107 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300, Arlington VA, 22201-3042. (703) 524-7600 or (800) 950-6264. <http://www.nami.org>.
• Rosenheck, R., Bassuk, E., Salomon, A., Special Populations of Homeless Americans, Practical Lessons: The 1998 National Symposium on Homelessness Reasearch, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, US Department of Health and Human Services, August, 1999.
• Smith, Annetta, and Denise Smith, "US Census Bureau, CENSR/01-2." Emergency, and Transitional Shelter Population: 2000. USGPO, Washington DC, 2001.

More papers on The Chronic Homeless:

• Research Proposal # 91755 : "Affordable Housing and The Homeless"
• Persuasive Essay # 148014 : "Homelessness, Mental Illness and the Failure of Public Agency"
• Research Proposal # 106653 : "Homeless in the U.S."

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