My research

History of Homelessness

Homelessness is a social condition that can be traced back to the economic decisions and hardships of the Great Depression as well as migration in the 1820s. Fewer than 7 per cent of Americans lived in cities before the 1820s, although as industrialization brought a steady migration to cities, the homeless problem began to grow along with that. People migrated to cities like Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and others—leading homelessness to become a national issue after the Civil War of the 1870s. In the 1950s a trend of de-institutionalization began to take place in which a long-term trend of discharge of inmates from mental institutions or prison became the norm. Mental institutions decided to do this because people were upset with the conditions in the mental institutions and believed our medicines were advanced enough for different treatments to occur outside of institutionalized settings. This affected thousands of patients discharged from psychiatric centres and hospitals in New York. Homeless populations began to soar in the 1980s and the racial divide became greater. New York then created a legal foundation in Callahan vs. Carey, which established that inhabitants had a right to shelter in and only in New York City. Although this case helped many New Yorkers there are many prevalent problems with the case even today as the policies focus only on dire symptoms or the most visible signs of homelessness.  Modern Day homelessness began to become more visible in the 1980s because of the gentrification of the inner city, deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, high unemployment rates, the emergence of HIV/AIDS, an inadequate supply of affordable housing options and deep budget cuts to the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, and rents increasing over this same time period.

Negativity Towards homelessness:

Our society not only ignores homelessness but pretends that people experiencing homelessness are invisible and criminalizes and penalises their condition. This leads to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination which leads to homeless people being marginalized and discriminated against in many ways. Stigmas surrounding the homeless have formed because of a lack of understanding or fears which are further misrepresented in the media. People experiencing homelessness often keep their housing status a secret in order not to be stigmatized. This leads younger people experiencing homelessness to be unable to enroll in housing services or find housing in their social network, and also avoid entering spaces of refuge because they are worried about being ridiculed or harassed. This leads them to struggle even more because they do not have access to care for basic human needs. To many, homeless people are seen as objects and are completely dehumanized. Research shows that self-blame and guilt because of homelessness lower self-esteem, increase loneliness, feelings of being trapped and hopeless, and suicidal ideation for people experiencing homelessness even beyond the effects of stigmatism.

Trauma in Homelessness

Homelessness's leading causes are childhood trauma and generational trauma. Many people are unaware of how prevalent trauma is. It does not need to be a big problem that has happened to someone but can be as simple as being left as a baby to cry without help. A handful of people that get housing support move very quickly back out to the streets or they tragically overdose in housing facilities more often than on the street because on the street there are more people around to help. People believe if we house people experiencing homelessness that their problem is solved but that is not true at all. People experiencing homelessness who have been living on the street for several years struggle to move into housing as more pain begins to surface living in housing than on the streets. Trauma has been proven to have brain-altering effects which make it difficult for survivors to obtain stable housing leading them to stay homeless.

Homelessness Portrayed in Media

Media has changed our world, how we consume information, communicate, influence people around us, etc. Nearly half of Americans are scared of people experiencing homelessness and many people believe that people experiencing homelessness create crime in their neighborhoods. These misguided opinions are informed by the media that paints this narrative of people experiencing homelessness. The media also paints the picture that people experiencing homelessness are homeless as a result of personal shortcomings, not systemic failures. Most stories on people experiencing homelessness are presented solely through the lens of how it affects people with homes in neighborhoods when the homeless are the people that actually need homes. A majority of people do not even think twice when they hear about people living on the street because it is constantly broadcast. Entertainment media also gives us a false or unrealistic narrative because the stories on it are the success stories but if stories are not ones of success then they follow the stereotype of a “crazy” person experiencing homelessness. Since mass media and social media are the main sources people begin to believe the norms and are influenced by the stereotypes perpetuated about homelessness. Our society is constantly seeing the negative side of homelessness and its effects on society rather than the stories of how help has worked for individuals who are struggling with it, and their story.

Why it’s so hard to end homelessness in America? 

Most people in our country believe there is one simple solution to homelessness. There is not. Homelessness is a collection of problems in our country. To begin to solve these problems there are many steps that need to be taken. Firstly, we need to stop avoiding the problem. Success stories exist and illustrate strong leadership but can’t be discussed if the topic is avoided. Education for the next generation of leaders on the issue must improve and funding towards research has to rise. On top of these social problems and perceptions, there are treatments for psychiatric issues and substance-use disorders that often underlie or accompany chronic homelessness. The nation’s unhoused population not only experiences poverty and exposure to elements but also a lack of basic health care. As much as trying to house everyone right now who is homeless should be the priority we need a more sustainable approach as more people will become homeless down the line and there will not be enough housing. To begin to solve our crisis we can begin with humanising and acknowledging the front-line problem although this process will take time in order to work.

New Yorks Approach

Eric Adams is enforcing a new law that allows police to involuntarily commit people experiencing a mental health crisis. He enforced this law because of the increase of violence in the City and the belief that we would be helping people with mental illness. Although Adams is receiving some backlash as advocates for the homeless oppose this. New York needs to help before this type of intervention, even if when we begin to do this there are not enough physical beds available. CNN writes, “Mayor Adams is proposing putting a Band-Aid on something for which you need sutures” (CNN). As of 2024, New York is seeing levels of homelessness that have not been seen since the Great Depression. The Homeless Bill of Rights in effect in New York gives people the right to sleep on the street, and complain about the conditions of shelters, and apply for rental applications. The one law New York has that is different from other cities around the United States is our Right to Shelter Law, but Mayor Adams is challenging New York City's right to shelter law because of the influx of migrants coming in to the City. Moving forward in New York City people are using fear to make themselves feel better about the subject, but leaders need to change their narrative and need to see the need for humanity to solve the issues going forward. 

Right to Shelter

The Callahan vs. Cary case was settled in 1981 but started in 1979. This case legally guaranteed access to shelter to all New Yorkers. However, the problem with this is that there is an influx of migrants coming to New York based on this law. Many Republican governments have sent buses full of asylum seekers to left-leaning states like NYC because of this law. This poses the new question of how can New York City deal with the influx of people seeking shelter. Eric Adams has decided to cut costs associated with this back and for the decree to be modified, while also creating more shelters in the City to help accommodate the surging numbers.

Types of Homelessness

  • Chronic homelessness refers to individuals who have been continuously homeless for at least a year or have experienced homelessness at least four times in the last three years, also including people with disabilities that make it difficult to maintain independent housing. 66% of the chronically homeless do not have shelter at all.

  • Individuals who live with others temporarily without a permanent home often going unnoticed. Since this population is hidden they lack access to housing support and resources and cannot be identified.

  • Statutory Homelessness is when authorities have defined the state of the homeless within the definition of homelessness legislation.

  • Emergency shelter means a population that uses short-term housing accompanied by support services when a family does not have a lease.

  • A Rough Sleeper is someone who sleeps on the streets because they have no sources of income. A rough sleeper has most likely been on the streets for several months continuously before they have access to a shelter.

  • Unsheltered means a person who resides in a place not meant for human habitation such as sidewalks, car parks, abandoned buildings, or on the street.

  • Transitional homelessness is a state of someone experiencing homelessness that is the result of a major life change or catastrophic event.

  • Lodging is when an individual is staying in a hotel, motel, camping ground, car or another place not meant for permanent human habitation.