Homelessness

In America
Cayla Hollis-Emery and
Jeff Gerst

What does it mean to be homeless?

The department of Housing and Urban Development defines homelessness into four
categories:
1.

2.

People who are living in a place not meant for human habitation, in emergency
shelter, in transitional housing, or are exiting an institution where they
temporarily resided.
People who are losing their primary night-time residence, which may include a
motel. (Hanson, L. K., & Essenburg, T. J)

What does it mean to be homeless?

Families with children or unaccompanied youth who are unstably housed and
likely to continue in that state.
People who are fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, have no other
residence, and lack of resources to support networks to obtain other
permanent housing. (Hanson, L. K., & Essenburg, T. J)

Fig. 1 Where will my next meal

come from
Source:innoutofthecoldstthoma
selgin.com
Pictures of the homeless

Statistics of Homelessness In America.

The different scopes of homelessness can be
seen with statistics. According to
GreenDoor.org the following statisics have
been provided by the DHU.

On any given night, there are about

643,000 suffering from homelessness in
America
238,000 of those people are in families.
(General Homelessness Facts)
Fig. 2 The statistics of the Homeless
Source: pinimg.com Graphs explaining statistics of
the homeless

The breakdown of Homelessness

Fig. 3 what triggers homelessness?

homelesshouston.org
The cycle of homelessness

The majority of homeless people lost their

jobs
The stigma that most homeless are drug
addicts is not accurate.
There is more than one reason people
become homeless.

Foster care and their relationship with

Homelessness

Fig 4. The state of homelessness in America

Source: endhomelessness.org
Foster care and its relation to homelessness

Out of the almost 24,000

people that aged out of
foster care, 1 in 5 became
homeless after age 18. (The
state of homelessness)

Flashback: Homelessness 100 Years ago

There was much less government regulation and aid given to the homeless
people.
Slap-dash housing was put up to house the people in poverty.
These were built to house the poor and turn a profit at the same time. (Veteran
homelessness facts)

Fig. 5 Homelessness in the 1900s

Source:wordpress.com
What homelessness used to be

Modern Day Homelessness

Government aid programs have helped to get a majority of the homeless off the
streets and into non-profit shelters.
Only about 23% of people that are homeless actually live on the street.
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development serves over 1 million
people every year. (Yeich)

Fig 6. What is Skid row

Source: belch.com Skid Row

Misconceptions of Homelessness
One of the major misconceptions of the homeless is that they are homeless for the same reason. Every
homeless person has a story, with different reasons that put them into the situation they are in. This could be
a mental or physical disability, or loss of income. When asking friends on their view of the homeless, one said
that they are just lazy. Although this could very well be a reason for some homeless people, a majority of
them are victims of under circumstances. A primary reason of homelessness in America is domestic abuse.
These people escape their dangerous situations with a partner or family, and have nowhere else to go. There
has been a rise in programs and groups that help victims of domestic abuse. (Misconceptions of
homelessness)

Fig.7 Misconceptions of
homelessness
Source: uniongospelmission.com

Misconceptions of Homelessness
Another misconception of homelessness in America is that nothing can be done about the problem, and
there will always be homeless. As covered in previous slides, federal aid programs and the increase in
volunteer groups has dramatically reduced the number of homeless people throughout the years. The main
fuel to the fire of this misconception is the reason they became homeless in the first place. If you believe the
stigma that the homeless are just lazy drug addicts then you are not gonna view them as people able to get
out of the cycle of homelessness.(Rethink Homelessness)

Fig 8 Rethink homelessness

Source: rethinkhomelessness.org
Rethink homelessness Today!

Skid Row

Skid Row is a 4.31 sq mile area in downtown Los Angeles, California

It contains one the largest stable populations of homeless people in the United
States
As of 2014 the estimated population in Skid Row is 17,359 (Napper)

Fig. 9 Skid Row Mural

Source: policylink.org Skid Row

Skid Row Aerial View

Fig. 10 Aerial View of Skid Row

Source: newsroom.ucla.edu Skid Row

Safer Cities Initiative

The Safer Cities Initiative is a

government plan first introduced in
2006 under former police chief
William Bratton
Police are tasked with the broken
windows approach to policing
Broken Windows- harsh punishment
for small offenses stop serious crime
(Napper)
Fig. 11 Safer Cities Initiative
Source: cangress.org LA Community Action

Skid Row

Fig. 12 Streets of Skid Row

Source:wordpress.com LA: Skid Row Files

Albert Bam Bam Olsen

Fig. 13 Bam Bam talking about Skid Row

Source youtube.com Lost Angels: Skid Row is My Home

The Cycle of Homelessness

Fig. 14 Cycle
Source: picsart.org Cycle

The cycle of homelessness is not a simple cause and effect relationship

It is usually a list of bad experiences or reasons to why they are on the streets.
(The State of Homelessness)

Cycle of Homelessness: Low Income

A familys income has a direct correlation to the familys available resources

The lower the income the harder it is to receive basic needs like food and
housing

A quality education and higher education become unavailable (The State of

Homelessness)

Fig. 15 Low Income Family

Source: pda.org People
Demanding Action

Cycle of Homelessness: Lack of Resources

Lack of food and inadequate housing leads to further

food insecurity, poor hygiene, malnutrition, and
physical and mental health issues
All of these factors undermine a persons ability to
work
People become stuck living hand to mouth(The State
of Homelessness)

Fig.16 Hungry Children

Source: shfb.org Second Harvest Food Bank

Cycle of Homelessness: Life or Education

Fig. 17 Job or Education

Source: collegerecruiter.com College
Recruiter

The most important factor in finding

gainful employment is having an
education
Education becomes a privilege once basic
necessities arent affordable
People drop out of school to work so that
they can have food or a roof over their
head
These people have children and then
their children are brought up in low
income households and the cycle starts
over (The State of Homelessness)

Homeless Veterans

The Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates there are

39,471 homeless veterans
Most of the homeless veterans have physical or mental ailments.
Government aid programs are constantly being put into place to help disabled
veterans.

Fig 18 Homeless Veteran

Source: capitolhillblue.com
Homeless Veterans living on the
streets

Who Is At Risk

The largest risk factor to becoming homeless is economic insecurity

People suffering from mental health problems or disorders are more likely to
become homeless
Lack of affordable housing in cities plays a huge factor in the size of the
homeless population

Fig. 19 Woman Sleeping on the Street

Source: npach.org National Policy on Homelessness

Chris Gardner

Fig. 20 Chris Gardner

Source: famouspeople.com Chris Gardner

Chris Gardner is an entrepreneur, investor,

stock broker, and motivational speaker,
author, and philanthropist
He struggled with homelessness during the
1980s
His book of memoirs The Pursuit of
Happyness was published in May 2006, the
same year the film adaptation was released
(Gardner)

Chris Gardner

Gardner became homeless for a year after gaining a position at Dean Witter Reynolds
stock brokerage training program
He only made $300-$400 a month from selling medical equipment and was unable to
meet his living expenses
Slept wherever he and his son could find safetyin his office after hours, at
flophouses, motels, parks, airports, on public transport and even in a locked bathroom
at a subway station (Gardner)

Fig. 21 Jaden and Will Smith in

the Pursuit of Happyness
Source: payposter.com The
Pursuit of Happyness

The Pursuit of Happyness

Fig. 22 The Pursuit of Happyness

Source: youtube.com The Pursuit of Happyness

What can you do?

Fig. 23 Urban Ministry

Source: urbanministry.org Urban Ministry

Works Cited
Lost Angels: Skid Row Is My Home. Dir. Thomas Q. Napper. Perf. Kevin Cohen and Danny Harris. Nexfltix.com.
N.p., June 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
"The State of Homelessness in America 2016." National Alliance to End Homelessness:. N.p., 2016. Web. 4 Nov.
2016.
Rothacker, Jen. "8 Sobering Stats about Charlotte's Homeless Problem." Charlotte Five. N.p., 7 Jan. 2016. Web. 5
Nov. 2016.
Yeich, S. (1994). The politics of ending homelessness. Lanham, MD: University Press of
America.
Hanson, L. K., & Essenburg, T. J. (2014). The new faces of American poverty: A reference guide
recession. Santa
Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

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