Homelessness in the United States
Understanding the difference
Typical reasons leading to homelessness
Strategy to end homelessness
New Orleans
How can you help?
Images
Stereotyped
Naturally walking down a street people like to jump to conclusions as to why someone is homeless if they saw them. They stereotype them as, "they're a druggy" or "they killed someone" or just flat out "they're a bum". It's honestly the most stereotypical thing anyone can say. Although 68% of homeless people are some sort of drug addict doesn't mean that at one point they weren't. Some people could have lost their jobs or just have terrible income and this goes back to their image. They aren't very clean but that also doesn't mean they're a druggy, murderer, or a bum. It's hard to get your life on track when you're stereotyped by your image.
Turned Away
A huge reason it is so hard for the homeless to get back up to their feet is because of their under budget jobs. People who are homeless look for very cheap places to call their own just to help them back on their feet. Many small towns have cheap and affordable places to rent. But within a year 52% of cities turn away any new population because they don't have the capacity to accept new people.
Teens
39% of the homeless population or 1.7 million teenagers running from the ages 14 to under 18 are currently homeless. Up to 5,000 teens die every year due to assault, suicide, or illness while living out on the street. 50% of teens report that when they ran away from home their parents knew about it and didn't say anything or their parents told them to leave.