The Question of Homelessness

Imagine what it might feel like to not be able to go home at night, to not have a place where your family can feel safe? To not be able to have something stable, something that you can call home and indulge in its security and comfort each day. Those are only a few of the unfortunate thoughts that go through the minds of homeless people. The amount of people who are homeless is becoming greater every day, and that needs to be changed with housing options which would provide a safe environment and an adequate source to live in, either long-term or temporarily.

Many people across the U.S. lack a regular night-time residence as a result of different things like substance abuse, the lack of affordable housing in their area, and mental health problems which, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 25 percent of homeless people claim to be. Housing in certain states such as our very own California, is expensive, apartments and houses. This is due to supply and demand, a lot of people want to live in California but there aren't enough houses to go around, but we can just build more buildings right? Wrong. Proposition 13 takes away a city's incentive to build more homes because it limits the amount of property taxes a local government can take. Intended to help homeowners it had unintended consequences for the homeless people in desperate need of a roof over their head. Also, the limited amount of money, 1.9 billion dollars that the Housing Department is allowed to work with, is only a tenth of what the nation would need to eradicate homelessness, which is at least 20 billion. 20 billion dollars is a little less than the amount that Americans spend on Christmas decorations, to put it into perspective.

There are a variety of housing options to choose from which can be beneficial to the homeless in terms of safety, living environment, and having a place in which they can stay. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, The January 2017 Point-in-Time count identified 553, 742 people experiencing homelessness in the United States. In New York, specifically, 89, 503 people are homeless statewide (National Alliance). A proven housing-based policy: Permanent supportive housing, has proven to be cost-effective and also successful to the homeless problem since it provides affordable housing assistance to individuals with a mental illness, HIV/Aids or other health problems (Coalition for the Homeless). According to the Coalition for the Homeless, the New York/New York

While these housing options are amazing for the homelessness, it has its problems. The Wheely made by Zo-Loft Architecture & Design is a great invention, but it seems as the when you open it the wheel is right in the middle. So when one is getting in to go to sleep, they will lay on top of the wheel and it mostly likely is really uncomfortable having to lay on a hard aluminum frame. While this might be a problem the Wheely has its benefits, not only can you sleep in it, it can carry and store belonging inside the wheel structure, it can transform into a chair, and it is available at really low costs(Lepisto).

Cite this page