Friendly and Professional
THEORY AND RESEARCH RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS
Theory and Research Related to Homelessness
Amber Mousel
HHS/497
Instructor: Nilajah Nyasuma Sims
April 24th, 2017
Homelessness is a global issue that urges many people to question why this problem exist and persist and the best approach to mitigate it. While most individuals in public may have different perceptions about the issue of homelessness and the effects it has on people, whole societies, and economies, various theoretical issues derive from the sociology that should be considered. According to sociologists, the possibility of a person to become homeless depends on conditions which include personal as well as society-based problems. Personal problems like mental illness, minimal education, or substance abuse does not necessarily result in homelessness, as it is evident in the lives of the people who have similar problems but still have their homes. When various societal structures are in existence, personal problems can be cured, hence making deprivation the last option rather than being the only alternative.
Three major theories have been used to describe the reasons for homelessness. The conflict-based approach, the interactionist and finally the functionalist. The interactionist perspective explains that the homeless community is not accepted by the other socio-economic groups which are as a result of the exchanges that occur between the homeless and the financially stable individuals who are better off. A sociologist might state the reason why employers find it difficult to employ people without a reliable physical address and may not be educated or have a previous work experience. To examine why a person is homeless, an interactionist suggests that should consider the values and attitudes of the homeless person so that he or she will get a picture if the values and attitudes contribute to his homelessness.
The functionality perspective suggests that most of the homeless people are able and do support themselves to live even though they encounter many hardships in their day to day lives like not having adequacy of their basic needs. This theory suggests that the homeless individuals pose to be a problem to the society as a whole. In this perception as well, we get to understand that homelessness brings an advantage of solving questions in the society such as creating jobs so that the homeless can earn a living thus improving the status of the community.
The conflict theory in itself sees homelessness as the problem. The problem is brought about when the homeless individuals are reluctant to find ways to improve their standards of which the reason is that they are being oppressed by those who have higher capitalistic classes. They, therefore, cannot find jobs or a place to call home. When the oppressors refuse to offer the needy jobs, they homeless will take routes of either demonstrating or going silent for being discriminated. In this case, the homeless are considered outcasts. Therefore, homelessness is seen as a function of conflict that occurs between different social groups which have different opposing interests.
The three perspectives do not clearly explain the reason why homelessness is prone to the society. Homelessness is a complex issue in the community that needs to be taken into consideration with great care. Different sociologists have analyzed the issue but yet come up with contradicting solutions.
Various secondary resources have studied the problem of homelessness among the young people. According to one research study, there is a direct association between the home background of the young people and the risk of becoming homeless (Johnsen, & Watts, 2014). The number of risks factors, in this case, include leaving home early, running away from home, being in care, child abuse, dropping school and family conflict. According to the research study, children who come from the poorer social, economic background are subjected to very high levels of the risk of becoming homeless. The study also put forward that of all the sources homelessness in the society, the most vital one is the relationship breakdown, typically with parents or guardians (Johnsen, & Watts, 201). For many people, the relationship breakdown mostly involves abuse of some sort or violence. These group of homeless people especially the youth have poorer health compared to young people who have substance misuse issues as well as mental disorders. A high number of the young homeless people in the society have multiple needs. Nonetheless, it is not evident whether the occurrence of the complex needs is increasing or whether the agencies designed to solve the issue are now better in recognizing the needs of the homeless people.
Another research study about the causes of homelessness among young people was conducted by Robinson (2008). Despite the fact that Guardian agrees with the previous study that factors in the family background play a major role, it suggests that the social issues play a significant role. The research study suggests that homelessness among people is caused by the factors that relate to the wider economic state, the housing market, and the factors which are personal to the person (Robinson, 2008). The particular causes are worsened by overcrowding, discrimination, living in the deprived areas, and racism. The study revealed that while some of the young people, the sources of homelessness are quite straightforward, for others, the reason why they become homeless is much complicated and the problems from their personal background are multifaceted by the social-economic factors. This is a clear indicator that for the young homeless people with the more complicated situation, being homeless is not only a housing problem, but also some of them exhibit other support needs and difficulties like mental and physical health problems, unemployment, substance abuse, and histories of violence and chaotic lifestyle. As a result, the young homeless people might find it difficult to deal with the trauma of their past life, and as a result, they continue to be homeless for the rest of their lives.
As seen in this research paper, there has been a very significant research by scholars into the issue of homelessness. However, there is are more areas that should be looked into in deeper details, more particularly in consideration of economic and social causes of homelessness. Precisely, how the factors in the background of a homeless person are compounded by the economic and social factors. Moreover, there is need to examine how the media covers the issue of homelessness, and how accurate it includes the real picture of homelessness to the public. Lastly, there is a need for the targeted studies to examine the cost of this issue and the benefits of adopting specific interventions.
References
Robinson, P (2008). Causes of homelessness among the young age. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London.
Johnsen, S., & Watts, B. (2014, July). Homelessness and poverty: reviewing the links. In Paper presented at the European Network for Housing Research (ENHR) conference (Vol. 1, p. 4).