...which I received while producing this paper, has been acknowledged in the References section. This paper includes no trademarked material, logos, or images from the Internet, which I do not have written permission to include. I further agree that my name typed on the line below is intended to have, and shall have the same validity as my handwritten signature. Student's signature (name typed here is equivalent to a signature): Christopher Holland Introduction The purpose of this paper is to explore the homeless population in the United States while thinking critically. The research for this paper shall detail the history of homeless from its first noticeable conception. The paper will examine the time line of homelessness stating contributing factors as well as detailing the homeless struggle. This paper shall research the nature of the social problems or issues experienced by homeless people meanwhile showing the stereotyping and discrimination of homeless people. This paper will explore the different demographic groups along with common clinical issues and intervention strategies. After the research has explored the many aspects of homelessness then this paper will detail the future intervention to alleviate the the struggle of homelessness. The History of Homelessness The history of homelessness teaches us the epidemic dating back as far as the Middle Ages where most emphasis was put...
Words: 2052 - Pages: 9
...Crystal Carter Ms. Reynolds DC History 20 March 2016 The structure of Washington, DC.'s city government has changed several times since the City of Washington was officially granted a government in 1802. From 1802 to 1812, the mayor was appointed by the President of the United States. Washington's first mayor was Robert Brent, appointed in 1802 by Thomas Jefferson. As time progress, the city's mayors were selected by a city council, popularly elected, etc. The purpose of a mayor varies across the country. Some cities are run by city councils who appoint a city manager. Others are run by a mayor, who is usually elected by the citizens. Mayors may have strong or weak powers, depending on the position given by the council. A mayor with strong powers makes executive decisions and has veto power over council decisions. On the other hand, when the city council makes executive decisions, the mayor has no veto power. From 2007 to 2011, Adrian Malik Fenty served as the sixth mayor of the District of Columbia. Many believe Fenty was an outstanding mayor and that the work he completed is legendary. Currently, Muriel Elizabeth Bowser serves as the eighth Mayor of the District of Columbia. Although Fenty benefited the nation’s capital in tremendous ways, Mayor Bowser has attempt to escape his shadows by decreasing the unemployment rate, increasing police presence in communities, and creating pathways for the middle class. During Fenty’s tenure, he added police officers...
Words: 1062 - Pages: 5
... Randall Oberhoff According to Comer (2011), patterns of psychological abnormality are typically deviant (different, extreme, unusual, perhaps even bizarre), distressing (unpleasant and upsetting to the person), dysfunctional (interfering with the person ability to conduct daily activities in a constructive way), and possibly dangerous. Behaviors that are un-predictable and defy society’s norms are considered abnormal. I live in Maryland, but I am very close to the Washington, dc line. I see a lot of abnormal behaviors daily in such a diverse place. One of the recent encounters of abnormal behavior that I heard about was recently on the news. On Sunday, January 8, 2012, several people boarded the Metro in DC without pants; they were all in their underwear. This event is known as the No Pants Subway Ride. Supporters of this event participated as a way to have fun and to freely express themselves. Another encounter that I have seen almost every year is homeless men or women wearing winter coats and sweat suits in the summer. Lastly, another behavior that is viewed as abnormal which I have witnessed is some who is severely depressed and who has nightmares of being murdered. The Four Ds It is abnormal to go out in public displaying one’s undergarments. In the United States, we except everyone to wear clothing that fully covers their unmentionables. Each society establishes norms-stated and unstated rules for proper...
Words: 772 - Pages: 4
...Pierce County, WA Community Assessment Western Governors University Pierce County, WA Community Assessment Community Description and Data Interpretation Pierce County is situated in the central west of Washington State. The county is divided by Puget Sound, with the majority of the land to the east of the major waterway. There are several small islands included in the county that are located near the southern edge of the Sound. At the county’s eastern border, the beginnings of foothills lead to the actively volcanic Mount Rainier’s summit. Many parts of the county today are built upon the deposits of lahar from past eruptions. The geography of Pierce county ranges from a rocky shore to a lush, national forest with many lakes, rivers, and creeks in between. Overall, the county has 1794 square miles of land and 118 square miles of water, not including Puget Sound (Pierce County Department Of Emergency Management, 2010). Pierce County became well known in the late nineteen hundreds when the city of Tacoma became the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad – the first transcontinental railroad in the north. The introduction of this railroad led to an increase in shipping and manufacturing in the area. At the time, lumber, shipping, farming, and coal mining powered Pierce’s economy. With the exception of mining, all these industries are still present today, though industrialization has made them less prominent than in the past (Pierce County Department...
Words: 1765 - Pages: 8
...for the problems, complications, and obstacles they provide for the population. Each of these issues in their own right is important and needs to be addressed because it affects every person in the country. However, there is another problem that poses a challenge to the American people that does not receive the attention it so desperately needs. The issue is American homelessness, a segment of the population that continues to grow with each passing year. Homelessness is caused by a number of factors that differ for each person. The most significant causes of homelessness are the lack of affordable housing coupled with a national increase in poverty, mental illness and addiction disorders. According to the McKinney-Vento Act of 1987, a homeless person is defined as any person who lacks housing. This includes individuals whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary accommodations or an individual who is a resident in transitional housing. This means an individual who lacks fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is either a supervised shelter that provides temporary accommodation, an institution that provides temporary residence for those that should be institutionalized, or a private or public place not intended for regular sleeping accommodations. (McKinney-Vento Act, Wikipedia) The United States Conference of Mayors has indicated that the...
Words: 1900 - Pages: 8
...Homeless Youth: Research, Intervention, and Policy by Karen Spuriel Coleman- MBA Abstract Homelessness among youth in the U.S. is disturbingly common, with an estimated annual prevalence of at least 5 percent for those ages 12 to 17. Although homeless youth appear throughout the nation, they are most visible in major cities. Rigorous research on this special population is sparse, making it difficult to capture an accurate and complete picture. Despite its limitations, recent research describes homeless youth as a large and diverse group. Many homeless youth have multiple overlapping problems including medical, substance abuse, and emotional and mental problems. Literature suggests that comprehensive and tailored services are needed that address both the immediate and long-term needs of homeless youth. Where appropriate, services should include assistance with meeting basic needs as perceived by youth as a gateway to other needed services. In addition to serving those already homeless, interventions are needed to prevent homelessness among at-risk youth. Lessons for Practitioners, Policy Makers, and Researchers • As used here, the term “homeless youth” focuses on minors who have experienced literal homelessness on their own—i.e., who have spent at least one night either in a shelter or "on the streets" without adult supervision. On occasion, where warranted by the research being discussed, the term is also used to describe homeless young adults up to age 24. • Homelessness...
Words: 15735 - Pages: 63
...and Urban Development (HUD) regarding the demographics of the homeless population throughout the country. People become homeless for a number of reasons. Primarily homelessness is due to a lack of funds. Homelessness can also be attributed to severe mental illness and chronic substance abuse. In the United States, 20-25% of the population is affected by some form of severe mental illness. People affected with mental illness are more likely to become homeless than the general population. Mental Illness can disrupt a person’s ability to carry out essential daily tasks of living, such as self care and household management. Mental illness can inhibit...
Words: 379 - Pages: 2
...The Homeless Plight Student Name Course/Professor Date The Homeless Plight Homelessness is on the rise. Homeless people can be seen sleeping in a variety of places such as city subways, terminals, stations, and the underground world of transportation. In the winter, the homeless may be sleeping on top of grates for the warm steam; fires may be burning from cylinders on street corners, under bridges, or in alley ways for warmth. In the summer, buses, subway cars, malls, and fountains are but a slight relief for those homeless until an authority figure moves the person(s) on. In small suburban areas, most of the homeless are hidden and out of view. The United States faces many social problems; however, homelessness is a major dilemma. To understanding the issue of homelessness from a sociologist point of view, different lenses need to be used. The sociological perspectives of functionalism, conflict structuralists, and symbolic interactionism, provide the best angles to assess homelessness in the United States as well as analyzing the efforts to resolve the homeless dilemma the nation faces. There are approximately two million homeless men, women, and children, and the numbers are increasing. For the second consecutive year, homeless families are on the rise (AHAR, 2009). Causes of this dilemma are vast and include hardships from loss of employment, illness, lack of affordable housing, poverty, and the current economy. The number of homeless is constantly changing. Researchers...
Words: 2914 - Pages: 12
...home provides continuity and a social context for individuals and families, and those become homeless lose more than a shelter (Smith Barusch 165). With its many causes, homelessness is an extremely diverse problem that has proven difficult to remedy. Though some homeless people find themselves in unfortunate situations, others are homeless by choice. Those who choose homelessness do so either indirectly, by making decisions that result in negative consequences, or directly, by opting to be free of life’s responsibilities. This belief is not commonly found in print since society most often feels compassion and pity toward the homeless. Still, assistance is offered on a federal level, as well as on local levels. Although there are many charitable organizations, along with the government, that offer assistance to the homeless nationwide. Homelessness remains a prevalent problem mainly due to the fact that some of the homeless choose that lifestyle. The Stewart B. McKinney Act, which provided assistance to protect and improve the lives of the homeless, defines a homeless person as “one who lacks a fixed permanent nighttime residence or whose nighttime residence is a temporary shelter, welfare hotel, or any public or private place not designed as sleeping accommodations for human beings” (Blau 8). These people can usually be categorized into two types: “the episodically homeless and the...
Words: 2977 - Pages: 12
...Many Americans have heard of Homeless vets and homeless runaways, but a very uncommon yet very percentage of homeless are out on the streets know as the mentally ill and homeless. According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, approximately one-third of the total homeless population are people with an untreated serious mental illness. Most of the people with mental illness include people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or A major depression. It’s is next to impossible for these people to get a job and without jobs they would not be able to pay rent. To make matters worse, most of these people don’t know their problems and how and where to go to get their problems fixed. Being mentally ill makes it easier for others to push them around....
Words: 1052 - Pages: 5
...lasting partnerships with their tenants, maintain their reputation as trustworthy landlords and to provide their shareholders with profitable returns on their investments. They are known to be an ethical and trustworthy organization and are committed to long-term partnerships with their tenants and brokers. They are also a publicly traded company and have a concentrated portfolio in the Washington, D.C. area (First Potomac Realty Trust, 2015). Energy and sustainability are the center of First Potomac Realty Trust’s corporate social responsibility initiatives. Their decisions are geared to meet social and environmental standards in a positive way (Tesia Vargason, personal communication, April 1, 2015). With the purchases of properties in the DC Metro area, they are frequently improving their buildings to meet LEED or Energy Star standards, which creates better efficiency for lighting and heat and the environment simultaneously. They believe that this approach creates the best value for tenants of the buildings and employees (Tesia Vargason, personal communication, April 1, 2015). Their sustainability efforts are focused on resource conservation and tenant health and productivity. Their resource conservation efforts include initiatives concerning energy, water, and materials. It is stated on their website that almost 60% of First Potomac’s multi-story office portfolio is Energy Star certified and that their efficiency efforts save approximately $2.5...
Words: 2889 - Pages: 12
...Engagement in Homeless Services: A Review of the Literature Jeffrey Olivet*,1, Ellen Bassuk1,2,3, Emily Elstad1, Rachael Kenney1 and Lauren Jassil1 1 2 3 Centre for Social Innovation, 215 Spadina Avenue, Suite 120 Toronto, Ontario M5T 2C7, Canada The National Center on Family Homelessness, 181 Wells Avenue, Newton, MA 02459, USA Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, USA Abstract: Outreach and engagement are regarded by many who work in homeless programs as essential services. Outreach on the streets and in shelters is often the first point of contact for people who are not served by traditional sitebased services and is often the first step in engaging homeless people in services. While outreach and engagement are critical components of the response to homelessness, consensus is lacking about the nature and effectiveness of these services. The purpose of this paper is to examine what is known about outreach and engagement for people experiencing homelessness. The authors review quantitative studies that examine outcomes and augment this understanding with information from qualitative studies and non-research literature. The latter provides information about the goals of outreach, assumptions and values, staffing issues, and consumer involvement. The paper concludes with implications for practice, policy, and research. Keywords: Homeless/homelessness, outreach, engagement, review. INTRODUCTION At a recent discussion among outreach workers in Washington, DC, one participant...
Words: 11383 - Pages: 46
...The homeless are often perceived as inhuman and disgusting by society as shown by professors Lasana Harris and Susan Fiske in Dehumanizing the Lowest of the Low, and as a result, suffer from unforeseen effects on their psychological health (Harris and Fiske, 2005). These perceptions may be caused by the fact that the homeless are not give adequate care. An explanation of this is the lack of services with the purpose of helping them integrate back into society as they are expected to, which can have an additional influence on their mental health.from this one can can conclude that the psychological health of the homeless is negatively impacted by societal perceptions and lack of resources dedicated to helping the homeless. The perpetuated negative view of the homeless hinders their ability to heal from psychological diseases, and may lead to deteriorating mental health. In the paper, Discrimination and Economic Profiling among the Homeless of Washington, DC by the National Coalition for the Homeless, a national network of people who have personal experience and expertise in homelessness, a study was conducted and it concluded that “roughly two thirds of homeless...
Words: 1219 - Pages: 5
...solutions are responsibilities of the society Affected Population The meaning of being homeless in the United States helps define who is able to receive shelter and assistance from health and social service providers. In order to live a normal life requires having a home to live in. Yet people with no home and unable to afford anything can be found in all countries. The main reason is the individual cannot get the housing loans or welfare accessible to others. The causes of homelessness can be caused by family altercations or tragedy (or prison), or even a natural disaster. The larger proportions of homeless parents who are separated from their children in the US and the larger number of families in the homeless population are both likely because of the US social policy. Higher levels of inequality and lower levels of social benefits are associated with higher rates of homelessness. The Stewart McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 describes a homeless person as any place not meant for regular sleeping accommodation by humans. In 2005, an estimated 744,313 men, women, and children were homeless in the United States (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2007). Adults that are homeless are poor and have high rates and they don’t qualify for health care. There are also a large number of former veterans who become homeless. It is estimated that between 23 percent and 40 percent of homeless adults are veterans (National Alliance to End Homelessness). Poverty is related with...
Words: 1398 - Pages: 6
...| Writing Assignment (Part 2): Outline and Preliminary List of References | Christina WinfreyProfessor: Beth StewartIntro to Sociology 100 | | | 1. “Veterans with a college degree are more hirable than Veterans who don’t have a college degree, should this be fair?” Specific Hypothesis. 2. The Concept of Veterans who have fought in war, whether recent or past wars, shows that because of this, hiring a veteran should not just be based on college preference. 3. Homeless Veterans: In past wars, Veterans during those times did not have access to majority of the benefits that are available to Veterans today. Theory A a. What resources are available today for Veterans that were not available to Veterans from past wars? Concept 1 b. How can resources that are available to Veterans be useful to them? Concept 2 4. If there were a way to inform Veterans of the benefits that they could use, what would be the best way to inform them? Implications for public policy 5. Although education is an important factor when hiring an individual, I personally feel that a veteran should be considered for a specific position, if there experience from the military meets the requirements for that job. Education 6. All Employers or agencies should have a Veterans preference program. Implications for employers 7. Evidence. Many soldiers have lost their lives fighting in war for our country and those who have been injured do not...
Words: 408 - Pages: 2
