The Homeless Population in the United States, Research Paper Example

Among the victimized populations in the United States, the homeless are one of the most susceptible groups. Therefore, it is essential to understand demographic factors and to characterize the victimization of this group in order to put an end to this violence. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as of January 2013, there were 610,042 homeless on a given night. 65 percent of these individuals were living in emergency shelters or transitional living programs while 35 percent were living in locations without shelter. Surprisingly, one-fourth of these homeless individuals were children and ten percent were young adults. Approximately half of all homeless individuals were found to be living in major cities (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2013).

Victimization of homeless individuals can vary based on the gender and racial background of the individual as well, so it is essential to understand gender and racial demographics for this group. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, most studies show that homeless adults are most likely to be male, at 67.5 percent of the homeless population. However, this group is least likely to be associated as coming from a household where there is a homeless child as well; only 35 percent of homeless men are accompanied by a child. In a survey of six American cities, it was found that the ethnic breakdown of homeless individuals was 42 percent African American, 38 percent white, 20 percent Hispanic, 4 percent Native American, and 2 percent Asian. We therefore see that African American and Caucasian males are the groups that are most likely to be homeless (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009).

Other factors to consider when determining who could potentially be victimized as a homeless individual includes an individual’s mental health status, potential drug or alcohol addiction, employment, previous status of domestic violence, and having served as a veteran. Therefore, studying the victimization of homeless individuals is complex because of their diverse experiences that have led them to either homeless shelters or the streets.

Researchers believe that victimization is linked to homelessness and can occur for a variety of reasons (Fischer, 2009). Typically, the victimization is associated with the reason that the individual became homeless in the first place. One cause of homelessness, domestic abuse, is a primary example of a chain of victimization that will likely continue for homeless women; in order to distant themselves from their abuser, they were required to leave their homes. However, it is difficult for these individuals to reverse their homelessness status without returning to their abuser and the homelessness is a constant reminder of this initial abuse. Therefore, it is important for social workers to help these individuals improve their situation because it will not be possible for them to do it on their own in many cases.

Research also highlights the connection between childhood events and adult dysfunction (Fischer, 2009). These individuals are at risk for victimization because they are unable to effectively cross the barriers necessary to return to mainstream society. In other situations, such as with homeless veterans and homeless drug users, the cause of their homelessness is what forces them to become victimized. Homeless veterans are typically unable to work due to severe post-partum stress disorder and homeless users are unable to either due to their addiction or struggle with cessation. As a consequence, all members of the homeless population can be described of having their own weakness that others could take advantage of. In the streets, a sleeping homeless individual is easier to mug due to their environmental vulnerability. In other situations, they will be beaten or raped for similar reasons and their diminished ability to physically protect themselves. Furthermore, when these individuals are victimized and wish to be protected, there is a limited number of places they are able to turn to, making it more likely for the pattern of victimization to continue.

Interestingly, housing organizations utilize an index of vulnerability to determine which individuals should be prioritized for housing. Three of these vulnerabilities include those who are hospitalized three or more times per year, are aged 60 years or older, and have a history of frostbite and other environmentally-related illnesses (100,000 Homes, n.d.). In this sense, we are able to view the victimization of the homeless in two categories; those who are victimized due to physical abuse from other individuals and those who are victimized due to a lack of help from the population. Both situations lead to harm of these individuals and need to be considered when generating helpful solutions to the homelessness problem.

There are laws in place and non-profit organizational support to prevent crimes against homeless individuals. Under law, abuse of homeless individuals can be considered a hate crime. This is under an amendment called the Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Statistics Act of the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 (HCSA). A second piece of legislation that provides for defense of homeless individuals includes the Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act. This marked the status of homeless individuals as a protected class so that crimes targeted against this group would result in more severe punishment. However, these policies combined with awareness are often not enough to prevent the violence against this group. Therefore, many non-for-profit organizations attempt to bring change to these policies in order to ensure that the homeless are offered greater protection.

The number one way that the government attempts to put a stop to the abuse of the homeless is by altering their living situation. This includes making room at shelters more available for families and offering the homeless job opportunities that will help them get back on track. In addition, these programs often include counseling services to allow the homeless individuals to mentally cope with whichever issues led to their current situation. The government believes that this is the most useful technique that could be applied to the assistance of the homeless because it is a direct intervention (National Homeless, 2012).

In conclusion, a majority of homeless individuals are African American men, although homeless individuals represent a diverse group. There are many reasons that contribute to the homelessness of these individuals and they often result in a circle of victimization in which their reason for being homelessness keeps them particularly vulnerable. Despite this, there is legislation in place to prevent crimes against this group. However, it has been found that placing homeless individuals in shelters and helping them return to society by helping them find jobs and providing counseling is more useful in the long run.

References

100,000 Homes. (n.d.). The 100,000 Homes Vulnerability Index. Retrieved from            http://100khomes.org/sites/default/files/About%20the%20Vulnerability%20Index.pdf

Fischer PJ. (1992). Victimization and Homelessness: Cause and Effect. New England Journal of Public Policy. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1552&context=nejpp

National Coalition for the Homeless. (2009). Who is Homeless? Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/who.html

National Homeless. (2012). Hate Crimes Against the Homeless. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/hatecrimes/hatecrimesmanual12.pdf

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2013). The 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. Retrieved from https://www.onecpd.info/resources/documents/ahar-2013-part1.pdf