Homelessness in California: A Growing Crisis - Research Paper

Introduction

Homelessness has been a central theme in films and writings as the artists strive to bring the problem to the public's attention. It is depicted in cinemas, music, documentaries, and books that appeal to human emotion. California's homeless make up almost one-quarter of the total number of homeless people in America. The number of people who cannot afford to house themselves is increasing due to the number of baby boomers who are retiring, but their pension cannot provide them the ever-increasing housing costs. This situation throws them in a financial crisis. Some of the homeless are affected by traditional problems such as drug and substance abuse. The financial crisis usually pushes most people who become homeless after the age of fifty, loss of property, poverty, loss of jobs, and lack of anywhere else to go. Most of those who go to the streets while young; their reason is mainly drug abuse.

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Political Promises and Societal Discontent

Settling homeless people has become a tool used by politicians when asking for votes. In 2018, the governor's race faced homelessness as a significant issue. Former state Assemblyman Mike Gatto proposed that mentally ill and drug addicts on the streets are detained and forced to accept treatment. This would reduce the overall number of homeless people. Despite politicians making promises about what they would do about the homeless people's situation, the state programs are not enough. Therefore, the number of homeless people increases every year, making people doubt the promises of their political leaders.

Media Portrayal and Public Perception

On social media, articles have been published addressing the plight of California's homeless and the trouble they cause. They are violently aggressive, defecate on the streets, providing breeding grounds for fungus. The articles compare California to other states which are said to spend less in the annual budget, less advanced hospitals, and worse progressive policies on mental health and drug addiction but have manageable numbers of homeless people (Shellenbereger., 2019). Most of California's homeless are African-American and Latinos. According to statistics, more African-Americans are homeless compared to other groups. Almost 30% of homeless people in California are black. This is caused by discrimination by race in rental housing, among other problems (Lewin and Botts., 2019).

Educational Impacts and Vicious Cycles

In my opinion, comfort, which is brought by knowing that your basic needs are provided, is necessary for any success. A peaceful environment for study. This would, therefore, mean that homeless children and highly mobile children would have a lower chance of succeeding academically. Education is more expensive than housing fees. The number of days spent away from school affects the performance of homeless children, but their performance was at par with that of housed children (Allen. et al., 1996). Housed children also spent days away from school for different reasons, together with other academic-related problems.

Academic performance has always been associated with success. Jobs are given based on academic achievement (Tobin., 2016). This places homeless people with little theoretical knowledge on the edge of poverty, and the chances of these generations remaining poor are higher. Many surveys do indicate that most homeless people have no long term academic plans, which include going to college.

Most of the youth on the streets are drug addicts and mental health patients, and the older ones are the baby boomers generation who are in a financial crisis. This reduces the number of homeless people who can go to school if given a chance. Some of them, who are chronically homeless, and are taken to shelters also risk not having a chance of going back to school. What remains are welfare programs to help them stop taking drugs and to keep them away from crime.

Struggles and Triumphs: Homeless Success Stories

Several successful people are known to have been homeless before their big breaks-most of them excelling in films, comedy, magic, music, and talk shows. Not many were pursuing an education while homeless. Chances of homeless people going back to school after being successful are low. Talent or good looks is their primary source of relevance, and this is what they use to get ahead. Some of them have confessed to living in their cars, or found shelter in abandoned vehicles, in shelters either alone or with their parents and siblings. Some of them becoming orphans after the death of their parents. The pain of homelessness was what pushed them to work harder to get out of the situation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, homelessness is a crisis that can befall anyone, though some people are at a higher risk of being homeless. It should be addressed even by landlords who can build cheaper houses for this group of people. Overreliance on a pension is one of the reasons older people are also ending up homeless because the amount disbursed per month is barely enough to buy food, let alone pay rent. High rates of poverty is also a significant problem among younger families. This pushes their children to the streets to beg for food, and they mingle with their hassling peers who are likely to introduce them to drug abuse. Chances of returning home after becoming addicted are low.

In some neighborhoods, primarily African-American communities, violence is collective. This pushes children away from home when they can't take it anymore. Some of these violent adults also become homeless. Their extreme behavior is evident even on the streets, even having sex on pavements. If the issue of homelessness is not dealt with fast enough, the number of homeless people will double in no time and become unbearable.

According to the Governor, homelessness is a disgrace to California (New York Times, Feb 2020). Openly attacking homeless people is not the solution to get them off the streets. Law enforcers cannot get people from living on the sidewalks off by beating them up. A permanent solution is highly required, considering the number increases every day. Finding the state is the fifth-largest economy in the world, tents on streets, and pavements paint a terrible picture (The Guardian, 2019).

References

Jacquelyn Smith., and Erin McDowell. 2020. Business Insider 20 rich and famous people who were once homeless.

Matt Lewin ., Jackie Botts., (December 31, 2019). Updated 8 January 2020. California's homelessness crisis- and possible solutions- explained.

Michael Shellenberger., (September 12, 2019). Why California keeps making homelessness worse. Forbes magazine. New York Times. Feb 19, 2020. California Governor Declares Homeless Crisis 'a Disgrace'

Rubin, D. H., Erickson, C. J., San Agustin, M., Cleary, S. D., Allen, J. K., & Cohen, P. (1996). Cognitive and academic functioning of homeless children compared with housed children. Pediatrics, 97(3), 289-294.

The guardian., (December 17, 2019). They've turned their backs on us': California's homeless crisis grows in numbers and violence.

Tobin, K. J. (2016). Homeless students and academic achievement: Evidence from a large urban area. Urban Education, 51(2), 197-220.