Homeless And Dehumanization

A social issue is a form of conflict that influences members of a society and often extends into debates about what should be considered morally justifiable. Social issues such as: illicit drugs, gender inequality, age discrimination, education, and recidivism are all heavily discussed topics of debate. However, one social issue that affects several people on a day to day basis is homelessness. Homelessness is the condition of having no permanent dwelling such as a house or apartment. Homeless is a prevalent problem on a global scale that can be viewed and interpreted many ways. To understand homelessness, people must examine the issue using the sociological perspective, which is a perspective based on human behavior as well as person’s connection

One social concept that heavily affects the homeless population is that of dehumanization. Dehumanization is the deprivation of human rights from a person or group with the intention of undermining the individual being represented by a specific situation. In the case of the homeless population, they are often segregated from society and abused in various forms. The segregation of homeless people from society is often given two arguments as to why they are a “class apart”. These two arguments are that homeless people have done or are doing things that society sees as morally unacceptable and that homeless people have received help from their social community and have not made efforts to make connections. These assumptions often give people a negative outlook on the homeless people, to which many people treat them as second class citizens. The homeless are also abused physically and verbally, by people who assume that their asking of assistance is an affront to the person at hand. This has created a bad stigma against the homeless population, who are often feared and even seen as and treated like

When Habitat for Humanity was first constructed, the goal was to create housing for misfortunate families and individuals without any form of government funding. However, through the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP), the Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing grant, and the Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME), Habitat for Humanity has been able to allocate over $370 million dollars solely for the purpose of building housing for those in need. From this, the mission of Habitat for Humanities is to provide anyone in need of safe, durable housing a decent shelter in a decent community, regardless of cost, background, and/or financial status. However, most homes built by the organization are constructed for families pitted by low-income or homelessness. According to author Christina Smith, “Habitat affiliates built or rehabilitated 4,970 homes across the United States…and HFHI is currently ranked as the 18th-largest nonprofit organization in America” (Smith 95). Habitat for Humanity has shelters and volunteers within over 1400 communities across over 70 countries, to which over 9.8 million people have been able to sustain some form of housing after being helped by the organization