The Social Problem Of Homelessness

The Social Problem Of HomelessnessIn this essay, the social problems I waste chosen to write approximately is Homelessness. I will too be exploring diffe rakehell perspective of Homelessness and the policy responses and the daze it capture on the society. The groups I will focus my discussion on atomic human activity 18 tender volume and peevish sleepers as the evidence indicates that novel stateless spate experience savage quiescence before securing short accommodation.There ar wide ranges of description Homelessness and it varies from country to country or among different institutions in the same country. According to Liddiard, M (2001119) the immediate sense of the term as unvaryingly employed by the mass media and politicians, simplistic on the wholey equates statelessness with rooflessness or literally quiescency blunt on the street. This is loafer be a straightforward and favourable to infrastand definition but this does non reflect the true sce ne of the problem so a broader definition of dispossessed stacks include those deficient permanent residence and nutrition in a range of unsatisfying ho employ conditions. They sight include those living in temporary hostels, enjoy and breakfast, night hold dears and squatters. However, the legal definition of some atomic number 53 homeless is if they do not have a legal right to occupy accommodation or if their accommodation is unsuitable to live in. They as well include families and peoples who do not sleep rough and some atomic number 18 accommodated by friends and family on temporary basis. So from the above definition the social construction of homelessness argon not the small amounts of individual that sleep on the street, looking dirty and smells of alcohol and drugs but comprises of all individual who do not have a permanent decent place of accommodation or without a regular dwelling and be on a postp 1ment list or takes housing benefit and in temporary accommod ations. (Giddens 2007)The cause of homelessness varies as some ar of the view that homelessness is a result of someoneal failings and consider if the parsimony is going on well, there is no excuse to be homeless. provide (2007) is of the view that homelessness is cause by a complex interplay amidst a persons individual circumstances and adverse structural factors removed their direct control. Among the individual factors include social exclusion, thus when a person lack of energy because they did not have access to tidy study and decent job. Ones misuse of drugs and alcohol which result in lack of ain control, lack of social support and debts especially mortgage or rent arrears. Having mental wellness problems and getting involved in crime at an early age overly contribute to homelessness. Family breakdown and unresolved disputes are a major factor of homelessness as a result of disarticulate and separation and a greater number of men and women are affected. sight from institutional background like having been in care, the armed forces are probably to be affected. Ex-offenders who come out of prison and lose their friend and families can become homeless and the majority from ethnic minority or ex- recourse seekers who have the right to stay but have no accommodation. Structural causes of homelessness are mostly social and economical in nature often extraneous the control of individual or family concerned. These whitethorn include poverty, lack of cheap housing, unemployment and the structure and administration of housing benefit.According to the shelter (2007) the number of hallholds frame to be homeless by local anaesthetic authorities increased 31percent between 1997/98 and 2003/2004. Historically, homelessness had low publicity until the 1966 when the BBC screened Ken Loachs film about homelessness Cathy Come Home. This was watch by 12million people and the film alerted the public, the media and the government to the home plate of the h ousing crises and then Shelter was formed. some other policy response was the 1977 contribute (Homeless Persons) Acts was the first measure to place responsibilities on local authorities to house homeless families and individuals permanently. (Liddiard, M .2001) The 1977 legislation had Priority Need which included women with children or pregnant, vulnerable due to age, mental illness, disability, and loss of home by inherent disasters. This did not cater for everyone who was homeless and the criteria by which local authorities recognised someone as homeless was complex and restricted. Hence the 1996 section 177 amend to include domestic violence as a antecedence look at but strict eligibility re chief(prenominal)s (Hill, M 2000).Young people were not covered under the existing legislation and the number of young homeless increased. Existing data on jejuneness homelessness has significant limitation in particular it is only possible to count young people who are in contact w ith services. According to ONS (2007) it can be estimated that at to the lowest degree 75,000 young people experienced homelessness in the UK in 2006-07. This included 43,075 old 16-24 of which 8,337 were 16 -17 year old who were accepted as statutorily homeless in the UK and at least 31,000 non-statutorily homeless young people using supporting people services during 2006-2007. The Homelessness Act (2002) changes significantly the way in which homeless in England and Wales is tackled. The priority need categories was extended to includes 16/17 geezerhood rather those who social services are responsible for accommodating, care- leavers under the age of 21 who were looked after by social services when they were 16/17 and ex- prisoners, former soldiers and young people leaving care. This act also introduces greater flexibility with regards to social housing allocation giving more people the right to be considered for a council or housing home.The local authorities had a statutory duty to care for all the homeless people but no extra resources were added. This had a great regard on the number of homeless people who were able to relocate permanently at a given time and especially those under priority need.Young people experiencing disruption or trauma during childhood who may be from socio-economic background are at increased risk of homelessness. The main trigger for youth homelessness is relationship breakdown usually parents or step-parent. Among the repair of homeless on young people is poor health as they cannot take care of their health being. They lack basic food and shelter to help them grow to become healthy adults and they may suffer from depression. Homelessness can lead to increased levels of non- participation in formal education, training or employment. At times leaving school early without a qualification and a decent job may lead some young people into the misuse of drugs and some have mental health problems.Another homeless group of concern is the rough sleepers who were in temporary accommodation but some choose to roam the streets, sleeping rough needy from the constraints of property and possessions. But a large majority has no much(prenominal)(prenominal) wish at all but they have been pushed over the margin into homelessness by factors beyond their control. Once they find themselves without a permanent dwelling, their lives sometimes deteriorate into a spiral of hardship and deprivation. ( Giddens 2009503)The Homelessness Act 2002 extended the definition of the priority need to include new groups of vulnerable people, and requirement that all homeless people receive advice and assistance. In addition, Local Authorities are requires to periodically develop homeless strategies, including an assessment of levels of homelessness and conduct an audit of those sleeping rough. In 1998 there were around 1,850 people sleeping rough on the street of England on any one night. This follows on from the government accept to reduce rough sleeping by two-thirds in 2002. The Rough sleeper goby Unit was bushel up in April 1999 to take the lead on delivering this challenging new target and help thousands of people to escape fro good from the humiliation and misery of deportment under a blanket in a shop doorway. One of the key principal of the strategy was to determine the cause of rough sleeping, why people end up on the street and what could be done to stop this from happing in the future. The strategy also place the emphasis on encouraging rough sleepers to become ready members of the community, to build self esteem and bring on talent as well as helping the individual to become prepared for the life away from the street. Positive result soon follows as reductions in rough sleeping were achieves around the country in December 2001 the target set by the government was met ahead of time.The target was met amid the controversy about how rough sleepers were counted and concern about the emphasis on stre et homelessness, which campaigners claimed was only be given of the homelessness iceberg. According to BBC New Magazine, housing minister Grant Shapps believes that the government figures on the count of rough sleeper is low and the system of counting is flawed. He argues that, under previous governments system, councils with fewer than 10 rough sleepers were not obliged to count them, and that vagrants sitting up in sleeping bags were not counted as homeless. After Mr. Shapps insisted that councils provide estimates, the England wide figure ruddiness to 1,247, this comprised 440 from 70 authorities that count and 807 from 256 authorities that provided estimates. Despite government enthronisation in hostels to accommodate rough sleepers many are on waiting list as resources and financing is limited. oercrowding, lack of bed space and communion rooms or limited facilities with others are also identified as a problem especially if you have a partner or a dog, your choices narrow c onsiderably. Although the quality of hostels has improved considerably, hostels are often considered unsafe. Over 57 percent of those who stayed in hostels mentioned problems with other residents, including drug and alcohol use, violence, theft, bulling, fraudulent scheme and arguments. And some are of the view that it is not a place to go if you want to stay clean of drugs. People are under the same legislation and the local authorities are unable to permanently house all in priority need.In addition to the above, there are certain groups who are excluded from hostels, such as people from the EU and asylum seekers from non-EU countries who are homeless and destitute in the street of the UK. Their entitlement to benefits is restricted until they have lived and worked and paid into the UK system through national Insurance and tax for one year continuously. Such laws bring about social exclusion as street homeless people have reduced access to health care and dental services. They fa ce discrimination and general rejection from other people and may have increased risk to suffering from violence and abuse. The impact of rough sleeping is limited access to education, not being seen as suitable for employment and loss of usual relationship with the mainstream. Most of all, living on the streets is dangerous as rough sleepers die young with the mean(a) life expectancy at 42.Inequalities among the population still remain one factor of homelessness. Privatisation and residualisation of the council housing meant that fewer houses are available for council tenant. This imposes greater ample term risks on the former council tenants while also generating considerable cost for the taxpayer. The process also excludes the many tenants who either reject transfer or are not given the choice and therefore exacerbates inequalities. There are 1.4 million unfit home in England as the majority of homeowners are in the private sector. The increase of housing association rents and increases in house prices means most people cannot afford a decent accommodation. misfortunate income families are the most affected as 4 million people receiving housing benefit. ( Quilgars D. et al 2008)In conclusion, the problem of homelessness has been tackled by the governments over the years through policies and legislation. However, the problem require long term policy solutions such as changes in the benefit system, the building of more affordable homes and ensuring that a wider cross- section of society benefits from the fruits of economic growth. For many people, there is no angiotensin converting enzyme event that results in sudden homelessness instead homelessness is due to a number of unresolved problems outlined above building up over time. The consummation of one government policy on rough sleepers indicates much could be done to reduce the impact of homelessness as the number still rises. Ministers are now focusing on the prevention of rough sleeper and youth home lessness through a new government homelessness strategy.