What does homelessness look like?

Definitions

Homelessness - defined as living in housing that is below the minimum standard or lacks secure tenure

• This includes those living in places not meant for human habitation in emergency shelter, in transitional housing, or are exiting an institution where they temporarily resided.
• Families with children or unaccompanied youth who are unstably housed and likely to continue in that state
• People who are losing their primary nighttime residence, which may include a motel or hotel or a doubled up situation, within 14 days and lack resources or support networks to remain in housing

Persons who do not have permanent housing are classified as homeless.

(via endhomelessness.org)

Different types of homelessness

• Chronic Homelessness - Most well-known, defined as being homeless for longer than a year. Most people going through chronic homelessness have something preventing them from coming out of it (addiction, mental illness, physical disability,etc.) they tend to be older people
• Episodic Homelessness - a person that has experienced three episodes of homelessness within a given year. After four episodes within a year they are classified as chronically homeless. Usually younger people suffering addiction or health issues and usually enter a shelter or temporary housing for a short amount of time.
• Transitional Homelessness - Most common, defined as homelessness affecting a person going through a life change or catastrophic event.
• Hidden Homelessness - Homelessness that is often unreported, Individuals that rely on others, such as family and friends, to stay with (‘couch-surfing’) without the chance of finding permanent housing soon

(via joinpdx.org & artfromthestreets.org)

Who does it affect most? Who is at highest risk?

There is a common misconception that every homeless person is a middle aged man who sleeps on the streets due to addiction or mental illness. However, this is not accurate. There are lots of different types of people, of all ages and demographics, that experience homelessness.

• People living in poverty are at highest risk of becoming homeless, and therefore, the demographics of individuals who most frequently face poverty (people of color, single parent households, individuals suffering from mental illness, etc). There are little to no safety nets of policies to catch these individuals if they fall too far below the poverty line.
• LGBTQ+ youth are also at high risk of becoming homeless due to the possibility of being kicked out by an unsupportive household or running away from abusive homes.
• Youth who suffer from depression or have undergone trauma are at risk of running away or being thrown out as well.
• Older individuals who are not old enough to qualify for government benefits (like social security, medicare, etc.) are at risk for falling through the cracks and becoming homeless.
• Veterans are at high risk of homelessness because of trauma, unstable living conditions once returned home, and physical injuries.

(via https://nationalhomeless.org/ )

What prevents unhoused individuals from getting a job?

There are many reasons why unhoused individuals may have trouble finding a job. A few of these reasons include:

1. To get a job you have to provide an employer with an address.

2. Employers are also subject to the same misconceptions as others and aren’t very likely to consider a homeless person for a job.

3 Without a phone employers can’t contact you.

4. It's hard to stay clean and presentable for an interview without stable access to showers/hygiene products.

5. Gaps in employment make an employer less likely to hire but is likely the reason why the person is homeless.

6. Many people suffering from homelessness have criminal records because numberable aspects of being homeless are criminalized (i.e loitering, stealing for survival, squatting, etc.).

7. If you’re disabled (physically or mentally) getting a job is that much harder.

8. Though not all unhoused people are addicted to drugs, people often think they are which prevents employers from hiring them, and in cases where it's true, it makes it harder to be hired.

Some unhoused people actually have jobs, but cannot afford proper housing and so have to live in cars or move from couch to couch (about ⅓ - ½ of homeless people are employed). All of this goes to show that it's not on the shoulders of the unhoused individuals to get their life together and get a job, it is the responsibility of the rest of us to deconstruct false perceptions of homelessness and provide help and assistance to those who need it.

(via backpacksforthestreet.org)

Housing Costs

In LA building a single unit can cost up to half a million dollars, this is just the beginning in some cases. Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin explained how a project for constructing a unit for homeless individuals was estimated to cost a total of $350,000, but in reality it came out to be a total of $750,000. The problem lies when there is a waste in both time and money leading to delays in construction which only waste more time and money. This problem also arises when the construction involves complex models and design, it slows the process and increases the cost significantly. It seems however that these high costs tend to be outliers. Another major factor that causes projects to build housing to be halted or ended completely is when a project is sued to stop. What this means is that someone like a neighboring store or resident decided that the building being constructed poses a risk or some significant change that they believe should be stopped. The problem with this is that during the lawsuit, all construction is halted and the property sits there. On top of this there is money wasted on the lawsuit itself as well. These factors all lead up to a property “never meeting fruition” and either the project is abandoned or torn down. Housing costs for the homeless rose to $531,000 a unit, L.A. controller’s report says.

(via latimes.com)

Other Misconceptions

Every one in five homeless people are likely to be mentally ill in some way. On top of this more than half of mentally ill homeless people are arrested while roughly 28-80% are convicted of a crime. This goes to show that some homeless have the tendency to commit crimes from as little as littering to as serious as assault. On top of this schizophrenia is one of the most common mental illnesses among homeless people, affecting roughly 20% of all mentally ill homeless. While these individuals aren’t any more dangerous than any other person, their condition can make them prone to outburst of anger when not treated correctly.

(via ps.psychiatryonline.org & psychiatrictimes.com)