by Elizabeth Kells

Created on: October 14, 2007   Last Updated: December 05, 2007

Homelessness: The Causes in America

Eight years ago there was a disheveled gentleman standing next to me at the bus stop when a group of kids drove by and screamed at him to get a job. I thought it odd at the time, because I knew they thought he was a homeless person or bum, as people like to say, but he actually had a job and a home: I had a job but no home. There are many different reasons for some one to become homeless and many misconceptions.

The definition of homeless according to Section 11302 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
"(1) an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and

(2) an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is-
(A) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill);

(B) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or

(C) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings." (8)

The main reason for homelessness varies from city to city, but in the United States as a whole, the main reason for family homelessness is not substance abuse or laziness as many like to think. The shortage of reasonably priced homes is the main reason. Half of the homeless populous in America are families and many of the heads of those families work (5). I was one such person; I was a working single mother of two beautiful children who had no where to live. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we lost our place and I could not find one I could afford. My children and I lived here and there, luckily never on the streets, but not in something of our own either. There were times I would luck out and find something within my price range, but could not afford the move in costs. Eventually, I found someone that was nice enough to forgo the move in costs and my children again had a home of their own.
In addition to a deficient amount of affordable housing low paying jobs is also a reason for some one to become homeless (9). I believe the two go hand in hand.
If someone is making seven dollars an hour and there is nothing to rent under five hundred a month, I see very little chance of that person being able to pay their bills and eat. Another cause of homelessness is the loss of welfare benefits. (9)

Besides the obvious lack of funds, abuse is also a huge

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