Is Homelessness Caused by Laziness?

Many people assume someone becomes homeless because they are too lazy to get a job. But many homeless cannot find jobs, and even if they have one, the pay is not enough to keep them off of the streets.

Job loss is just one of the many reasons for homelessness, but not the main reason. The cost of living is the main reason. There are many homeless people that have jobs but don't make enough money at the job in order to get off of the street. It is easy to swiftly go from employed and in a home to being penniless and out on the street, whether you have a job or not. The National Coalition for the Homeless estimates that 13% of all American homeless have jobs.

Never Enough

The cost of everything has gone up, but wages have not. This means that people can't afford mortgage payments or rent when they are trying to buy food. With most companies dropping full-time employees and health benefits, taking time off from work when you are sick leads to loss of wages and gets you behind in your rent or your mortgage payments. Even if you have two jobs, you still can't make enough to pay your bills.

Misconceptions About The Homeless

Welfare or the dole (whatever your country calls it) only pays a fraction of what a minimum wage job would earn, making saving for anything like a house impossible. It's not even enough to over food. Keeping the welfare payments or the dole low helps to encourage people to get off of it as quickly as possible.

Who Are The Homeless?

Homelessness, by legal definition, is not having a permanent roof over your head. There is a rise in the number of "hidden homeless", which bounce from friend's home to abandoned car to another friend's home and have jobs or go to school, but do not have homes. They have become homeless due to domestic violence, war, natural disasters, mental illness or getting kicked out of their homes. In Canada, for example, 4 out of 5 homeless do not live on the street (see Resources). There are an estimated 400,000 hidden homeless in the UK alone, according to the UK charity Crisis. Many have jobs but still cannot pay the bills.

Future Warning

With more foreclosures and a worsening global economy, many once rich countries like America and England are reporting a rise in their overall homeless populations. These include homeless that are employed, which shows that job loss alone is not the cause for homelessness if jobs can't cure homelessness. When you work a full time job and can't pay the bills, it's depressing. What's the use of working so hard and still not being able to lead a decent life?

Will Give Solution For Money

The cause of homelessness is a complex problem that needs a multi-faceted approach to keep people off of the streets and become productive citizens. First, it needs to offer affordable housing. Getting a home can help give a sense of security, purpose and a reason to get off drugs (if they are addicted). A 2008 Seattle study shows that homeless addicts that were housed first were more likely to go clean than if they were required to get sober first and then get housing (see Resources). Next, jobs need to be able to offer wages that pay the bills, otherwise there is no reason to work a legal job and get homed just to loose it all again by getting behind in the bills.

Resources

National Coalition for the Homeless: Employment and Homelessness

Hidden Homeless in Canada

Seattle Program Proves that Housing First Works