Homelessness: A Global Social Problem
Homelessness is a condition is which people do not have permanent dwelling like a house. A homeless individual can be defined to be a person, who lacks housing, regardless if the condition of their families, whose primary residence during the nights are private or public supervised facilities that provide them with temporary accommodation and those who live in transitional housing (Ravenhill, 2016). An individual can also be considered to be homeless if they are unable to maintain their housing conditions thus being forced to live with a series of friends or relatives. However the definition can vary from country to country and among different levels of jurisdictions. Homelessness is a social problem that is experienced in all parts of the world. This paper discusses the nature and extent of homelessness and further looks into the problem from a functionalist perspective.
The Devastating Consequences of Homelessness
Homelessness is a devastating condition and dangerous conditions. The life expectancy of the homeless people is considered to be less than 50 years. Living in the streets comes with a great deal of dangers (Pleace, 2016). For instance, people living in the streets are about 17 times more likely to have been victims of violence. These people experience a great lot of violence and about one in three homeless people have experiences violence at some time in their homeless lives. The homeless people are also more likely to be suicidal compared to the general population (Doran& Raven, 2018).
Causes of Homelessness
There are many different reasons that lead to people becoming homeless. Homelessness can result from social causes such as lack of affordable, unemployment and poverty; and various life events that can lead to people becoming homeless. Sometimes people can become homeless when they get out of prison and have nowhere to go, some may come from the army with no homes to go and many women can become homeless when they escape violence in their relationship. Mostly people become homeless because they can no longer afford the rent. In some cases events like breakdown of relationships, loss of jobs, problems with mental and physical health and substance abuse can lead to one becoming homeless. Once someone becomes homeless, finding solutions to these problems become even much harder.
The Difficulty of Documenting Homelessness
Documenting the number of homeless people can be very difficult, since the definition of homelessness can vary from one place to another and most of the homeless do not show up in the official statistics. However street counts and estimates by the government can give a snapshot of the condition at national level. For instance, in England it was estimated in 2017 that about 4751 people slept rough each night and the figures are estimated to increase every year. There are various types of homelessness. Sleeping rough is one of the most common type, it is the type that most people think of when it comes to the topic of homelessness, someone sleeping rough on the streets. These people suffer from various health conditions such as mental health problems and substance abuse and are at a greater danger to violence (Doran& Raven, 2018). The second type of homelessness is statutory homelessness, in which individuals have to meet some criteria to secure accommodation help from the local authorities. And the third type is hidden homelessness, many of these people are not accounted for in the official statistics and they often seek accommodation in some unconcealed places (Rodrigue, 2016).
A Functionalist Perspective of Homelessness
Here the paper discusses homelessness as a social problem from the sociological perspective of a functionalist. A social problem is a condition that affects a particular society, which affects a significant portion of the society, believed to be harmful to the society and needs a solution (Thompson et al. 2016). Homelessness matches the definition of a social problem. According to the functionalist concept, a society is made up of a system of interconnected portions that works harmoniously together to keep a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole society. Functionalist perspective stresses the interdependence of the society by showing how each part of the society is influenced and influences other parts. It emphasizes the benefits of integration and stability of the society (Heraud, 2016). According to this theory, homelessness is viewed as an inevitable component of the society and is necessary for the society to function. It holds the view that individuals occupy specific positions in the society and homelessness is viewed as a normal social class which is part of a functional society (Loseke, 2017). The theory believes that once someone belongs to a given social class he remains in that class for his lifetime and can only move up to another class through slow and gradual changes. Functionalists view homelessness as a problem of the individual since the society works so it’s the individual who have to be the problem. However it is just a component of the society like any other and contributes to the running of the society. It asserts that homelessness contributes to the society through jobs of those managing the condition and even those who study homelessness. Although homelessness is indicative of some dysfunction in the system, the society has made it into a functional component.
References
Doran, K. M., & Raven, M. C. (2018). Homelessness and Emergency Medicine: Where Do We Go From Here?.
Heraud, B. J. (2016). Sociology and social work: perspectives and problems. Elsevier.
Loseke, D. (2017). Thinking about social problems: An introduction to constructionist perspectives. Routledge.
Miller, G., & Holstein, J. A. (2017). Constructionist controversies: Issues in social problems theory. Routledge.
Pleace, N. (2016). Researching homelessness in Europe: theoretical perspectives. European Journal of Homelessness, 19-44.
Ravenhill, M. (2016). The culture of homelessness. Routledge.
Rodrigue, S. (2016). Hidden Homelessness in Canada. Statistics Canada= Statistique Canada.
Thompson, W. E., Hickey, J. V., & Thompson, M. L. (2016). Society in focus: An introduction to sociology. Rowman & Littlefield.
