Dillon Robinson

Lancaster
English 4 Honors
10/21/16
Poverty has been an issue in the United States for many years. Many groups of people
soon find themselves homeless at some point in their life for multiple reasons such as, drugs,
alcohol, poverty, lack of affordable housing, and even domestic violence. Homelessness is a
growing problem, in a 2008 report nineteen out of twenty-five cities reported a twelve percent
increase in homelessness since 2007 (Facts and Figures: The Homeless 1). Life on the streets
is tough for all groups, families, single people, veterans, and children. Homelessness is an
ongoing issue and is not something that has just recently sprout up, homelessness has been an
ongoing issue since the Great Depression; the Depression was a terrible time in American
history. There are many causes to being homeless, drugs, and mental health but, many U.S cities
are confronting a sluggish economic recovery, stagnant or falling wages among the lowest
income earners and budget constraints for social welfare programs. (Johnson 1 ). On top of the
different organizations that form to help the homeless, the government is also spending more
money on the situation to help provide needs for the homeless. Homelessness is a major issue in
the United States. Even though there are many organizations that try to help out, there are still
different groups of people that struggle today.
There are many groups of homeless people. They all have different reasons for being
homeless, but they all have the same struggles on the streets. Many homeless groups are poor
families with children that can not afford to pay the bills. For families, the causes of
homelessness are completely different than all the other groups. For example, For persons in

families, the three most commonly cited causes, according to a 2008 Conference of Mayors
study are lack of affordable housing, poverty, and unemployment (Facts and Figures: The
Homeless 2). However, even though poverty plays a huge role in family homelessness, the
main underlying causes were unemployment and poverty and a shocking lack of affordable
housing. Domestic violence, falling behind in rent, being locked out of the private rental market
are also significant factors contributing to family homelessness (Homeless Families Continue
to Struggle 1). With everything going on at home children have a very tough lives. Many
children have to witness things such as domestic violence, this can cause many children to have
problems when they get older. A child's struggles at home also affects the way they perform
inside the classroom, Chronically hungry, tired and stressed, up to forty percent of those old
enough to attend school exhibit mental health issues, and they often struggle academically
(One in 30 American Children Is Homeless 1). A child may be homeless and no one will know
about it. There have been many instances when a child or high school kid has lived on the streets
or even in their car without anyone knowing about it.
Many families are not homeless for a long period of time. They are usually on the streets
for maybe a week or two, then they are able to return to their houses. However, time on the
streets takes a toll on the families, especially the children. Not only does being homeless take a
toll on families mentally, but physically also because, many of the families were re-traumatised
by violence, predatory behavior and coercion, especially when referred or offered
accommodation which was unsafe.(Homeless Families Continue to Struggle 1). There are
constantly new families becoming homeless.
There are new families constantly being removed from their homes and, About one in
thirty American children were homeless at some point last year (One in 30 American Children

Is Homeless 1). There was approximately 2.5 million children homeless, which was an 8%
increase. The last quote was from 2014, however, One out of 50 or about 1.5 million American
children are homeless each year according to a 2009 study (Facts and Figures: The Homeless
2). This shows that there has been an eight percent increase in homeless children from 2009 to
2014. Parents of homeless families have so much pressure, they have to worry about the needs of
their child. These needs include the following: supplying something to eat, drink, and shelter but
most importantly they worry about their child's safety. On the streets a child can be vulnerable to
sickness from weather and being out in the environment and also health risks occur from bad
hygiene. However, reports and studies have shown that parents of homeless families are very
determined to get off the streets and give their children a great life, in spite of significant
adversity, the research that families doing it tough are resilient, and they remain committed to
getting housing and supporting their families (Homeless Families Continue to Struggle 2).
However, it is very hard to provide housing for all the families. Families are then forced into
survival mode. They live in cars, tents or even the outdoors, Tent cities have been sprouting
up around the country since the economy has started forcing people from their home (Facts
and Figures: The Homeless 1). Tent cities are many groups of homeless people who live close
to each other in tents almost like a camp site.
In the United States the group of homeless people who actually make up the most of the
homeless men population is the veterans, About forty percent of homeless men are
veterans...on any given night 200,000 veterans are homeless(Facts and Figures: The
Homeless 3 ) . The numbers are very shocking and also very sad. It is hard to see the men that
served in the military, keeping the people of the United States free and safe, on the streets.

Veterans are usually not homeless for a short period of time unless a group is able to find
them and get them into housing. In the article The U.S. Declared War On Veteran Homelessness
And It Actually Could Win it describes the causes and effects of veteran homelessness by
talking about a Marine veteran named Ronald Engberson, Engberson got out of the Marines in
1979 has problems with drugs and alcohol and that is mostly the reason he has been homeless the
past ten years. (Groskop 2). However, Engberson is not the only veteran that struggles with
being an alcoholic and addicted to drugs. Addictions to drugs and alcohol is one of the leading
causes of veteran homelessness. Even though drug addiction and alcohol is one of the leading
causes, many causes of veteran homelessness is the same as families; this includes poverty and
lack of affordable housing, Homelessness is a continuous process. There is a veteran right now
who is in a home who could be homeless tomorrow. (Groskop 2). As the last quote said, any
veteran could become homeless at any time and it really affects the whole homeless population.
Due to the increase of homeless veterans there is little to almost no change in the homeless
population, The inflow of veterans becoming homeless has essentially neutralized the incredible
progress we made. (Groskop 5). Many new improvements are being made however. There are
several new methods, processes and inventions, The veterans outreach foresees the portable
shelters being transitional living for the veterans while the organization helps them secure
employment, counseling plans and a more permanent home (Ulatowski 1). Thankfully for
Ronald Engberson and all the other veterans there are many methods, strategies and also
inventions to help out the homeless veterans.
The city of New Orleans was one of the first to find methods that helped reduce the
homeless veteran population tremendously, New Orleans went from 470 homeless veterans in
2011 to functional zero today using the master list and a huge cash injection from Washington.

(Groskop 4). The master list was one of New Orleans best and most effective method that should
be used by other cities. The master list actually has all the names of the homeless veterans. This
way the city knows who is homeless and gives the city an estimate of the number of homeless
veterans that way the city can get enough housing in line to get the veterans off the streets.
However, the master list also has a negative side. As said before there are constantly new
veterans being thrown out of their houses and onto the streets so it is physically impossible to
have every single name on the list. Some cities should consider using the master list or some of
the other methods because, In a 2007 study Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon,
Rhode Island, and D.C have the highest rates in homelessness (Facts and Figures: The
Homeless 2). Many cities should consider using the master list or other methods to help out not
only the veterans but the other groups such as families with children and single homeless people.
Single homeless people and veterans have many things in common. Most of the time
single people become homeless because of alcohol abuse or drug addiction. However, there are
different causes as well. The other causes could be that the person is mentally ill or just live in
poverty. For singles, be homeless is very hard. Many people have no family or friends and all
they have is themselves. It is very sad to see a mentally ill person on the streets. Many people
that are mentally ill usually do not have anyone to help them, and they are stuck trying to survive
by themselves on the streets. Also, another age group that many people forget about is the young
adult from ages sixteen to eighteen. Many organizations that help feed and clothe the homeless
have noticed a major increase in young adults being homeless, for example, out of 565,000
people, Nearly one fourth were aged eighteen and under. (Johnson 2). Also when a single
homeless person becomes homeless, they most likely will be homeless for a long time, not just a
couple weeks or a month. This is describes as being chronically homeless. When a person is

chronically homeless they are either on the streets for a long time or they are constantly on and
off the streets. The number of chronically homeless people has increased for example,
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, twenty three percent of homeless
people are reported as chronically homeless (Facts and Figures: The Homeless 2). It is very
hard for organizations to keep up with who is homeless, and how long they have been homeless.
There are many methods that organizations use to keep up with how long people are
homeless, and also the number of homeless people. Sometimes they average out the numbers to
get an estimate of a yearly number or even a monthly number, but sometimes they actually go
out one night and count all the homeless people on one specific night, for example, The
National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates 2.3 and 3.5 million people
experience homelessness. Department of Housing and Urban development estimated 671,888
people were homeless in one night (Facts and Figures: The Homeless 2). Just to show an
example of how much the numbers can vary, Nearly 565,000 people were living on the streets
during a one night national survey in January (Johnson 2). The difference between the first
quote to the last one is 106,000. The two numbers can vary so much for many different reasons.
One of the organizations could have estimated more than the other, and also there could have just
actually been that many more people on that one night. HUD also does a survey on how many
people stay in homeless shelters, HUD reported separately this month that roughly 1.49 million
individuals used a shelter, in 2014, up to 4.6 percent from 2013 (Johnson 2). Homelessness is
constantly changing. People are constantly getting off the streets while others are moving to the
streets. Not only are people constantly moving on and off the streets because of drugs, alcohol or
things like violence but, The recession will force 1.5 million more people into homeless over
the next two years, according to estimates by the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

(Facts and Figures: The Homeless 1). Hopefully with the government's help and also help from
organizations that form to provide food and shelter, the homeless people will eventually start to
decrease. Even though it might take a few years, it will be worth it.
There are many different organizations locally and all around the United States that help
give the homeless all their needs. All organizations are constantly looking for new volunteers to
come help them help the homeless. In Asheville there are many different churches that go out on
the streets and help clothe, feed and give the homeless shelter. Also, in downtown there is the
homeless shelter. At the Homeless shelter many homeless people can go there to have a place to
sleep. However, the shelter is not big enough for all the homeless people to have a place to stay.
Not all of the organizations are in downtown, many places like Weaverville, Marshall and
usually in every county there are many organizations that not only feed the homeless but help out
the families that are living in poverty. It is a good thing for churches and different organizations
to help out the families that are struggling financially so they will not end up on the streets like
some of the families in the articles.
One of the organizations in downtown Asheville is called Break Free Ministry. Break
Free Ministry is a group of Christian bikers that actually set up right on the streets in downtown
Asheville and cook food for the homeless. At the ministry all different kinds of food is served,
such as, hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, fried chicken, and doughnuts. All of the food is donated
many restaurants like Krispy Kreme and KFC provide food but also, people cook things at their
house and bring them to the ministry. (Ball). Not only is food donated but many churches collect
clothes that people do not want and take them to the ministry. Also tents and sleeping bags are
also donated and given out before every feeding. The number of people that come through the
feeding lines at some of the organizations will shock you, at Break Free Ministry they feed once

a week on thursday and the average number of people that get fed a week is around one hundred
and fifty (Ball). Also, since Break Free Ministry is a Christian ministry the volunteers at the
organization go up to people and tell them about Christianity. Also, many ministries do their best
to feed all year, for example, at Break Free Ministry some people bring generators to have lights
on since it gets dark faster and also people bring blankets and soup and things to keep people
warm. When volunteering at an organization many people are able to recognize the usual people
who come through and grow very close to those people (Ball). Also, in some cases homeless
people that have got off the streets and have stayed sober are able to give back to the
organizations by volunteering. The homeless are very thankful for the many groups that serve
food and donate clothing.
The causes of homelessness are very different depending on the group of people,
however, the struggles of homelessness are the same for everyone. There a hundreds of
thousands of homeless people and many people do not realize how many people do not have a
home. Without the organizations that go out on the streets or even the people that do not
volunteer but just donate food or clothing, many homeless people would not be able to survive,
because even though there are many different organizations that try to help, there are still many
groups of people that struggle today.