Bay Area Housing Crisis: Unjust Violation of Human Rights - Essay Sample

Introduction

Access to adequate and affordable housing is the basic human right of every individual. The international law on human rights recognizes that every individual has a right to adequate living standards, which is inclusive of adequate housing (United Nations, n.d.). However, a lot of people live in crowded slums, which do not uphold human rights. A perfect case scenario of the violation of the basic human rights on housing is experienced in the Bay area in San Francisco. Therefore, the paper focuses on the housing issue in the Bay area by focusing on its origins and impacts.

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Origins of Homelessness in the Bay Area

It is estimated that the population of homeless in Bay is positioned among the worst in the United States of America with a population of 28,200 individuals being homeless (Bay Area Council Economic Institute, 2020). A lot of factors contribute to the cases of mass homelessness in the Bay area. Some of these factors include poverty, high unemployment rates, lack of affordable housing, cases of increased substance abuse, among many other factors such as divorce and separation (Phillips, 2015). All these issues have been addressed one way or another by the private sector, as well as the local government, but cases of homelessness continue to increase. For instance, one of the mayors in the area started using tiny homes and cabin homes to keep the homeless intact, while providing shelter and services. Besides, many other initiatives have been launched to offer jobs and placement services for the homeless. The private sector has also launched programs to build more houses, improve the technological capacity, and scaling programs as well.

Impacts of Homelessness

One of the significant impacts of homelessness is the fact the government and the private sector have tried across all fonts to fight the issue of homelessness. There have been interventions across all stages to provide accommodation from homeless individuals and increasing the units and housing facilities directed towards homeless persons (Bassuk, 2010). The state government has also come with rent laws based on the advances of the economy. At the individual level, some of the impacts of homelessness are that these populations are susceptible to mental and physical health due to social safety nets and lack of shelter. The homeless are also prone to injuries, psychosocial pressures, and infectious diseases that may lead to increased mortality within these regions. Further, as victims of structural and social disenfranchisement, most of these homeless individuals end up in drug abuse as ways of coping with their social issues. Ideally, cases of homelessness in San Francisco are highly correlated with substance abuse.

Solutions to Prevent Homelessness

The solution to homelessness simply has a home for every individual or every home. Therefore, the housing supply within the Bay area should be expanded to ensure everyone has a house. A lot of resources should also be channeled to offer mental health services to mitigate excessive drug abuse, which is highly correlated to homelessness. Lastly, programs to provide jobs for the homeless and low-income earners should be created to reduce poverty. With these measures, cases of homelessness will be controlled.

Conclusion

In summary, inadequate housing is a great cause of concern within the Bay area. It is equally a violation of basic human rights. Therefore, measures should get taken to reduce cases of homelessness due to the impacts.

References

Bassuk, E. L. (2010). Ending Child Homelessness in America. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(4), 496.https://booksc.xyz/book/18665084/56e2a5

Bay Area Council Economic Institute. (2020). Bay Area Homelessness: A Regional View of a Regional Crisis. Bay Area Council Economic Institute. http://www.bayareaeconomy.org/report/bay-area-homelessness/

Phillips, L. (2015). Homelessness: Perception of Causes and Solutions. Journal of Poverty, 19(1), 1-19. https://booksc.xyz/book/42914716/b80238

United Nations. The Right to Adequate Housing. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/fs21_rev_1_housing_en.pdf