HOMELESSNESS
HOW CAN WE PROVIDE ADEQUATE
SEAN
HOUSING FOR EVERYONE?
What are the causes?
Physical or mental illness Disability Substance abuse Domestic violence Lack of affordable housing Inadequate income
Homelessness is something that almost everyone knows about, but it is not something that everyone is aware about. It is something that needs to be addressed on a local scale and on a global scale. Most people don't even know that homelessness is affecting everyone around the world, for example India is one of the hardest hit countries in the world. Lack of education and poor housing are the leading causes of homelessness. By definition homelessness is the condition and social category of people who lack housing, because they cannot afford, or are otherwise unable to maintain, a regular, safe, and adequate shelter. If people could realize how much this applies to the world, it would be a great motivator to help eradicate the disease that is homelessness.
Changes economy Loss of support from family
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” – Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 25, par. 1
We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” -Mother Teresa
Did you know? Approximately 35 percent of India's population still earns $1 or less a day The 2001 census reported that 78 million people across India were living without a home, many in overcrowded urban environments. There are 100,000 children living on the streets of New Delhi alone
Where is the problem? 40% of the families that are homeless in the United States have children
An approximated 1 million people are homeless in France
India is home to 63% of all South Asian slum dwellers An estimated 4,500 children are homeless in Buenos Aires
By 2015, there will be an estimated homeless population of 24.4 million in Nigeria
Did you know? An estimated 100 million people around the world are homeless The average length of stay of a family in an emergency shelter is 70 days for families
More Specifically? India Head of Government: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh Head of State: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Government: Federal republic
CAPITAL: New Delhi
Languages: 17 major languages and 844 dialects
POPULATION: 1.21 billion SIZE: 1,261,810 sq. mi. LANGUAGE: Hindi LIFE EXPECTANCY: 63.72 LITERACY RATE: 68% RELIGION: Hinduism 80%, Muslim 10%, and 10% Buddhists and Jains CHILD MORTALITY RATE: 66 deaths per 1,000 children under age five
Did you know? Seven out of ten Americans are one paycheck away from being homeless
Who is affected? Anuj had lived with the pain of hunger for several months now. His condition was critical and his stomach was completely bloated. He needed immediate medical attention for the acute liver problem that had worsened over the last few months, but he was an orphan, a poor one at that. Fortunately, Anuj was immediately admitted to the hospital and the entire medical costs were borne by Chandubhai, a philanthropist. With proper medical attention and care, there is a remarkable improvement in Anuj’s health.
Rita and Sunaina had run away from home only to find out that the world was not as rosy as they had dreamt. But now, their parents refused to accept the teenagers back into the family. . Abandoned and helpless the girls called up Vardaan, a support organization of CHILDLINE Nagpur and asked for help. The organization got in touch with their parents, trying to convince them to take the girls back. But to no avail. The girls were then produced before the Juvenile Welfare Board, which ordered their admission to an Observation Home for Girls in Chandrapur, near Nagpur. Although the two girls finally found shelter, the case was instrumental in bringing to the fore the unique problem of parental abandonment and the issue of rehabilitation. It also highlighted the need for an Observation Home for girls at Nagpur.
Steps to help prevent homelessness Involve local governments! The homeless usually qualify for various kinds of public assistance and public agencies need to be involved in coordinating services and referring clients to homeless programs Homeless programs should reach out to service providers that may not be used to addressing the issue Health clinics, public assistance offices, and food pantries should try to integrate homeless awareness into their usual procedures
What is the U.S. doing to help? Current Situation In 2010, our government released a publication called Opening Doors, which outlines a ten-year plan to end homelessness in the United States. The plan starts with an addition to many companies to create tons of new jobs, in the next 5 years, for the homeless to fill, and then help veterans of the current wars integrate back into society and give those jobs. Finally bring families together, by passing some kind of laws or giving grants to those who help others, that way everyone will be helping to eliminate homelessness.
What should the government be doing? I feel the government is doing all it can considering that we’re currently in about 5 different wars, and we are roughly $50 trillion in debt. Homelessness is a very pressing matter, and one that should be resolved, but looking at the current situation and the facts, there’s really not much our government can do other than offer government jobs for the homeless, like cleaning up the streets or helping with little tasks. I also feel that homelessness is being greatly underplayed, and written off as nothing because the people who do the actual studies are usually professional researchers, who only look at numbers, never actually get involved with the people, to better understand just how severe it can be.
Case Study On March 1, 2010, the state of Indiana evicted hundreds of homeless people from lying under a bridge for shelter. Local businesses claimed they were scaring customers, and residents stated that there has been an increased number of thefts and break-ins in areas around the bridge. Mayor Greg Ballard took a tour through the camp under the bridge and found it to be an unsafe environment.
People who are homeless are not social inadequates. They are people without homes. -Sheila McKechnie
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES http://www.slumdogs.org/ http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_statistics.html http://india.gov.in/govt/constitutions_india.php tp://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/homeless.html http://trickleup.org/media/videos/VideoDetails.cfm?mediaID=lQyEelXznGM&gclid=CMXC6bvjnqgCFYS8KgodR0MVHw http://www.homelessworldcup.org/content/homelessness-statistics http://www.slumdogs.org/homeless-facts/ www.childlineindia.org www.solutionsforamerica.org http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/india/general.htm