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 The concept of homelessness

The concept of homelessness



Homelessness can be defined from a linguistic perspective as the individual's lack of a home or a job, which is the question of people to meet the requirements of life, while the US Department of Housing and Urban Development defined it as the individual's suffering that is manifested in the following:

  1. The individual does not have a shelter suitable for human habitation or has resided in places not designated for housing, such as shelters, for at least one year.
  2. The individual's stay in a community institution; such as hospitals to receive treatment for mental disorders, or in prison, for no less than ninety days, given that the conditions of the first point apply to him.
  3.  Disruption of the family system as a result of the absence of ahead of the family to manage its affairs, or as a result of his incapacity; This leads them to the demonstrations mentioned in the first point.

 The term homelessness may apply to and affect many groups in society, including the elderly, children, and youth, and a person may become homeless for several reasons; Including job loss and lack of income, suffering from health or mental problems, exposure to domestic violence, or a disaster in the home; Such as fires, floods, or wars


Causes of homelessness

Homelessness is a societal scourge that requires treatment, which means that it is necessary to search for the causes of this phenomenon in the beginning. Here's a sample of what you can find:

Poverty

 The difficult circumstances of life and the multiplicity of its requirements may lead to the inability of some to provide the priorities necessary for life; such as food, drink, aspects of health care, and housing expenses; Which forces them to be homeless in societies, and it should be noted that the fact that an individual has a stable job does not necessarily mean that he is far from homelessness, as some low-wage jobs that do not meet the needs of the aforementioned individual may lead to imprisonment, foreclosure, or eviction of housing...

The individual may become homeless due to the high prices of wages and housing, especially when the minimum wages he receives are not sufficient to pay the wages resulting from this housing, and all this is due to the large population growth witnessed in the world, especially in urban areas and the population density witnessed by them.

The unemployment

The individual may be unable to achieve the basic requirements of life, including housing, due to the absence of a source of income for him from a stable job, or due to the sudden loss of the job that was a source of his safety and fulfillment of his needs, amid a functional society where it has become difficult for the individual to find a job opportunity easily.
It may lead to the eviction of the individual from his home and homelessness.

Domestic violence

One of the reasons for homelessness is domestic violence, since a person may be compelled to choose between staying in a house where he is exposed to one or leaving. of the types of abuse represented by physical, sexual, or psychological abuse, or leaving without a suitable shelter for him, as Canadian statistics estimated that 237 people were subjected to Out of every 100,000 people who are abused, they may choose a life of homelessness in exchange for staying in a home where they are exposed to abuse and abuse, and some relevant statistics indicate that 90% of women who end up as homeless came as a result of the abuse they were exposed to. during their lives.

Mental disorders

Mental illnesses limit a person's ability to perform essential living functions, such as self-care, home management, and creating and sustaining relationships with others.

This is because he is afflicted. from a lack of understanding and acting in a way that is far from wise and rational, which may lead to the separation of family, friends, and those who help him from his surroundings, and he may end up leaving the house and homelessness.

Therefore, people with mental illnesses are more likely to be homeless compared to normal people, and may even develop many physical diseases as a result of their neglect of personal hygiene; such as respiratory diseases of all kinds, skin diseases, tuberculosis, and immunodeficiency virus, and the abuse of some of these patients with narcotics and drugs can cause the addiction and diseases.

Diseases and physical disabilities

  Homelessness may come as an inevitable result of some chronic diseases or physical disabilities that prevent the individual from practicing his life normally, and occupying a stable job that achieves for him a stable source of income that he harnesses to meet the various requirements of life, which is to obtain safe housing, pay rent, and the bills arising therefrom. It is something that comes outside the will of the individual and is contrary to his visions, despite its inevitability.

Addictive disorders


Some see that addiction and the resulting psychological and health problems and disorders are a motive to turn the individual into a homeless person, but deciding on this matter is thorny and complicated, as the high rates of addicts among the homeless in the world are not due to addiction alone, but rather there are many other factors which overlap with the issue of homelessness, which means that addiction alone is not a sufficient reason for the homelessness of the individual, but rather it often comes as a result of the difficult living conditions the individual experiences during his homelessness, and a rise in his stress levels as a result; This may lead some homeless people to resort to narcotics, believing that it relieves their suffering.

Jail

    Homelessness is closely associated with criminal justice systems, as those who have finished their jail sentence could expertise several difficulties associated with finding appropriate housing for them to settle in and stable job opportunities, because of legal restrictions obligatory on them, and social discrimination against them thanks to their criminal records as having precedence Statistics within u. s., for instance, indicate that some 50,000 folks enter homeless shelters annually when the expiration of their imprisonment amount. 

    Harsh personal circumstances

        The tragedies and difficulties that a private is exposed to in his life on the far side his management could cause his condition, like a failing relationship take a look at or Associate in Nursing unsuccessful association with a partner, or the prevalence of a natural disaster, for instance, that entails a radical amendment within the individual's economic state of affairs in most cases, with no A supply of support and stewardship at the time, which ends within the individual being briefly homeless till this example is remedied.

        Suggested solutions to the condition

           At the individual level

            It is the responsibility of the individual to seek out acceptable solutions to eliminate the development of the condition and to figure with it, the foremost outstanding of which might be summarized as follows:
              1.   Understanding the development of condition helps to dispel the stereotype taken concerning the homeless, and knowing the circumstances that semiconductor diode them to the present state of affairs, to produce the individual with the talent of coping with every case of condition fitly - because of its privacy - and attempting to seek out solutions to that, the primary steps taken in finding the issues of the homeless you start to know their desires, study every case singly, and find nearer to them as a result of they have somebody to speak to, feel their feelings and create them feel cared.
              2. Creating an applied math methodology for exile shelters, distinguishing their locations to form it easier for displaced folks to travel to them.
              3. Delivering direct financial facilitation to the homeless or providing relief and donations to them through recognized charitable organizations.
              4.  present surplus garments, only if they're respectable and in good shape, through charities liable for distributing aid to the homeless.
              5.  Donating toys and books, presenting gifts to homeless youngsters, or providing necessary food things, additionally to urging friends and acquaintances to require such action.
              6. Working within the volunteer sector to help the homeless, wherever every individual could contribute services acceptable together with his or her abilities, instructional credentials, and interests.
              7. Volunteering in teaching the homeless among the colleges selected for them, if any, or among their shelters, or acting on this singularly.
              8. Through the event of awareness reports and their dissemination through completely different ways of business, like newspapers, homes of worship, and others, increasing social awareness of the issues of the homeless and therefore the active role performed by charities to assist them.

                            At the international level


                            the following measures are among the responsibilities that the state must implement to combat the phenomenon of homelessness:
                            1.  Adopting effective policies and strategies to eliminate the phenomenon of homelessness, with continuous care and emphasis on the relevant authorities in this regard within the country to implement those strategies within specific time frames.
                            2. enact laws that guarantee the protection of the homeless from the violations that they may be exposed to by others; such as defamation, discrimination, and ill-treatment.
                            3. Repealing the law of people evacuating their homes when they are unable to pay the rent, which will result in an increase in homelessness, and finding a better alternative to the laws of immediate eviction, such as securing alternative housing, or finding productive lands for the benefit of those affected.
                            4.  Obligating states not to legislate any law or policy that may motivate the creation of any situation of homelessness, considering this as a clear violation of human rights.
                            5. Legislation of policies by the state to ensure synergy between the public and private sectors - specialized in the residential fields - and to set conditions that would provide housing buildings at affordable prices that suit everyone
                            6. Preparing plans and strategies to create new job opportunities to eliminate unemployment and raise the level of per capita income.
                            7. Homelessness forms of homelessness of several types, the most beautiful of which is the Australian Center for Statistics in three types, as follows:
                            8.  Primary homelessness: Primary homelessness refers to people who are forced to sleep in streets, parks, public facilities, or even cars; Temporarily as a result of their lack of shelter like the rest of the individuals.
                            9.  Secondary homelessness: People who move from one shelter to another, such as refugees and residents of emergency shelters or move between the homes of family and friends and reside in places temporarily suffer from what is called secondary homelessness.
                            10.  Category III homelessness: It is indicated that individuals who live in homes that do not contain the basic necessities of life; such as bathrooms, kitchens, suffer from Tertiary homelessness, as well as those who do not have a long-term lease.

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