A question we are frequently asked at ShelterCare is:
"Why are people homeless?" While the answer(s) to this question are quite diverse in nature (every person's story is unique), there are several common factors that can lead to a person becoming homeless. Many of these factors are related to the larger issue of poverty. Often, a person experiences a number of these factors, and they eventually lead to the experience of homelessness. The following are some of the most common factors.
-Declining employment opportunities/and or stagnating and declining real wages. When a person is forced to live paycheck to paycheck, all it takes is an unexpected expense to get behind on the bills.
-Job loss. Job losses happen, even if a person is a model employee. As the economy worsens, more people are experiencing job losses. If a new job cannot be found, and a person's savings dry up, homelessness can be the result.
-Lack of affordable housing. A general rule of budgeting is that you should not spend more than a third of your income on housing (rent or mortgage). Affordable housing for low-income people and housing assistance programs come nowhere near meeting the demand. Therefore, many low income families and individuals are putting half or more of their income towards housing. Once again, it is often nothing more than an unexpected expense that puts people on the brink of homelessness.
-Lack of education/employable job skills. Many people simply don't have realistic access to higher education. Student loans and grants are growing scarcer. Even community college costs have become prohibitive for many people in the lower income brackets, and many elect to enter the workforce as soon as they are able to do so. Many jobs available to people with a high school diploma or less are low paying jobs without benefits or much chance for advancement.
-Mental illness. A significant percentage of people experiencing homelessness are also experiencing mental illness. Many of these individuals have been unable to obtain access to supportive housing and other treatment that they may need and find themselves homeless.
-Disability. When a person is unable to work due to disability, it can lead to financial difficulties similar to those experienced by low-income individuals. Unexpected expenses can derail even the most carefully planned budgets.
-Healthcare costs. The cost of healthcare has skyrocketed over the past several years. Many employers have cut healthcare benefits to employees as a means to cut costs, leaving employees to find their own source. For many people, the costs of private insurance are simply too high for their income and they simply go without. Therefore, an unexpected medical expense can be catastrophic, particularly for people without much of a financial safety net to begin with.
There are, of course, many other factors that can lead to a person becoming homeless. The above are simply some of the ones that are seen again and again.
