Causes of Homelessness in America
Causes of Homelessness in America
Homelessness is an ongoing problem for our society. Everyday we come to terms with the effects of it, but what about the causes? By definition, a person who is homeless lives in public. The lack and destruction of federal housing programs and increasing rents forced those who are homeless to do in public what everyone prefers to do in private.
According to the website, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, the Low Income Housing Information Service estimates that “there are twice as many low-income families searching for housing as there are units available”, many of which are waiting on Section 8 housing, a list that could take up to six years or more. The H.U.D Report, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, states that the lack of affordable housing is so tight that officials in the twenty-six cities surveyed estimate that low-income households spend almost half their income on rent. The rates for vacancies in this country run between two percent and about ten percent, and the rates of homelessness run under one percent (O’Flaherty 97). So the interesting question is why vacant housing units don’t get matched with those of low income households? (O’Flaherty 98).
“After a protracted last-minute budget fight with Congress in December, President Clinton signed legislation containing $1.7 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the federal government's primary source of energy assistance for the poor. The amount represents a cut of $300 million from the $2 billion appropriated for FY 2000, the previous fiscal year,”(Energy Assistance/LIHEAP). The energy advocates are now worried that with the increased energy prices, the need for assistance will increase and there will not be enough money to help. The Department of Energy estimates that home heating oil prices could be 30 percent higher this winter than last, and that natural gas prices could be 40 percent higher (Energy Assistance/LIHEAP). The LIHEAP Coalition, an alliance of organizations that support LIHEAP funding, estimates that only about 13 percent of eligible families actually receive LIHEAP assistance now, and that this number would be expected to drop further under the amount Congress appropriated. Recent surveys indicate that in 1999, when heating bills were unaffordable, roughly 21-25 percent of LIHEAP recipients went without medical care and 12-13 percent went without food so they could cover their energy costs (Why are People...