Without a place to call home, they have no other choice but to wander the streets to access support, find food, to keep warm or simply to keep safe.
Short Supply of Shelter Beds
Individuals experiencing homelessness often choose not to wait in line for a shelter bed. This is common in places with insufficient beds as there are high chances of not getting one.
To some, freedom to move wherever they want, sleep wherever they want, and do whatever they want holds much more value than a roof over their heads. This one may be less grounded in reality than freedom, but some homeless argue that they feel safe out in the open, amongst the people of the city.
However, people experiencing homelessness eat, sleep, socialize, and exercise, just like people who have a roof over their heads every night. Sometimes, homeless people even have a job or go to school. Out of necessity, they look for shelter and beg on the streets, but that is just a product of their situation.
Then some are suffering from mental conditions, and have developed a certain walk. A lot has to do with their sleeping conditions, because some have to crawl into tight spaces trying to keep warm or just for shelter period, that alone can mess with how their joints and bones are affected.
For the better part of a decade, the age at which people experiencing homelessness die has been a shockingly consistent average of about 50 years old across the nation. People who are homeless have roughly the same life expectancy as a resident of the United States in 1910.
Being homeless is destabilizing, demoralizing and depressing. You've lost your base, a foundation from which to function. It becomes hard to focus. Constant obstacles chip away at your self-esteem and your healthy personality withers, disintegrates, scatters.
Mental health is an issue that continues to afflict the homeless population and experts say these violent attacks can often be attributed to mental health episodes.
Many people mistakenly believe that homelessness is a choice, so they may feel that the homeless don't deserve help or empathy. Unconscious biases can also play a role in why people ignore the homeless. They may view the homeless as less worthy of help due to their living situation, and so ignore them out of prejudice.
Results: A feeling of happiness was described by 64% of participants and confirmed by a happiness scale score of 50%. Participants who felt satisfied with their life were 4.5-fold more likely to feel happy (p = 0.021).
People who do not have strong support systems or are in financial, emotional or physical strain can be more vulnerable to losing their homes. Common causes of homelessness are; Domestic and family violence. Sudden life changes that trigger homelessness.
A shortage of affordable housing. Physical and/or mental health issues. Unemployment or job loss. Drug and alcohol abuse and addiction.
Some of them live in shelters; some of them live on the streets; some under bridges; some sleep in doorways, and some stay in abandoned apartments. Some panhandle, some rob, some steal, some of them have jobs and they still live on the streets. Some go to homeless shelters to eat and some go to churches.
According to a national survey of homeless people, 28% sometimes or often do not get enough to eat, compared with 12% of poor American adults; 20% eat one meal a day or less; and 40% did not have anything to eat on one or more days during the month previous to the survey.
We know from talking with our Team Members and hearing their stories that there are many reasons people can become homeless: a traumatic event, loss of a job, the inability to pay for needed health-care, or a criminal background got in the way of finding a job.
Boarding Houses: Affordable boarding houses are available to those who do not have their own homes. Unfortunately, these dwellings are usually not safe and secure with many people sharing facilities. Other temporary lodgings: Some homeless people find themselves living in cheap motels and caravan parks.
The median age of the homeless increased from 37 to 46 over the study waves, at a rate of 0.66 years per calendar year (P < 0.01). The median total time homeless increased from 12 to 39.5 months (P < 0.01). Emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and chronic health conditions increased.
Whether it is outside under a bridge, in a tent out in the woods, or on a park bench, homeless people are sleeping anywhere they can find.
In addition, venous stasis of the lower extremities (i.e., poor circulation because of varicose veins) caused by prolonged periods of sitting or sleeping with the legs down predisposes homeless people to dependent edema (swelling of the feet and legs), cellulitis, and skin ulcerations.
Homelessness in Syria
Syria has the world's highest homeless rate with one-third – roughly 29.6% – of the country's 22 million population being homeless. Syria continues to have the worst displacement situation in the world.
Among the nation's racial and ethnic groups, Black Americans have the highest rate of homelessness.