Homelessness Research Paper

Homelessness is a crisis across America which the government has overlooked. Unfortunately, 12% of Americans are considered homeless; on any night there about 554,000 people experiencing homelessness in the United States (Day). Homelessness is an issue that is apparent throughout many societies around the world, although it seems to be an exceptional struggle in the United States. Among the top homeless cities in the world, New York City ranks the second highest on the list, with Los Angeles following at a close third. Other American cities in the high ranks include Boston, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Phoenix. Causes of the mass homelessness include unemployment, poverty, and low wages. It is vital to put an end to the increasing number

Frostbite is the number one hazard for these people in the winter, followed by illnesses from the cold and hypothermia sometimes resulting in death. Homeless people often worry about freezing to death, reported by many homeless people themselves. A homeless man in New York City states "Life is hard because of the things that I have to go through, just trying to survive, you know, trying to put food on the table so to speak,” he says. “Winter makes a lot of things rough for me... It’s too cold. I don’t have the proper gear... Being out here, I can get sick from this type of weather. I’m taking a lot of chances, you know?" (Jarrett). The city of Los Angeles is also struggling with providing shelters, especially for the winters. City council members of Antelope Valley, a city in the Los Angeles area, have decided to step up to this problem. "Lancaster 's only emergency shelter actually closed around August, ' said Raquel Ziegler, crisis housing coordinator for the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority. 'There 's very limited shelter in that area and it gets extremely cold. "The Antelope Valley has some of the tougher temperature extremes in L.A. County, with hot summer days and winter nights that can dip into freezing temperatures. It also saw one of the biggest increases in its homeless population this past year, up 50 percent to 4,559 people (Palta). These city council members have decided to extend the shelter in the winters in looking to open a secondary shelter. The goal is to open about 14,000 beds throughout the LA area. More cities, like New York and Atlanta, need to be following this lead to provide the homeless a more safe and warm place to sleep at night, a better chance at surviving the harsh winter