Effects of Homelessness
Financial ProblemsIn an article from cnn.com, statistics and results of surveys demonstrated that single homeless people had an income of $348 while homeless families had one of $475 and still that almost 50% of these people would still go for days without food since they could not afford it (cnn.com, 1999).
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College EducationEffects of homelessness can also been seen in college students. According to Masterson, author of the news article Program helps UTEP homeless students, over 100 UTEP students are homeless without a place to go at night and sleep. Therefore, they end up sleeping “on benches, in their cars or at local shelters” (Masterson, 2012). Mario Blanco, a nursing major student confessed that he “would just find random friends to stay with during the week and then go back to Juarez.” Unfortunately, the number of homeless students increased from last year and not having a place to stay affects the students’ education forcing them to drop out or to barely finish one semester (Masterson, 2012, kvia.com).
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Abandonment of ChildrenAn article extracted from the website cnn.com informs the public about three little kids that were found abandoned one Thursday morning behind a house in East Portland, Oregon. It is believed that they were left there the night before by their mother. The only information about them is that the youngest girl weights 15 pounds I the ages of 8 to 15 months, the next one is a 2 year old girl that weighs 28 pounds, and the oldest one is a 3 year old boy that also weights about 28 pounds. They are all currently being medically evaluated and the identity of the three kids has not been found but authorities are working on it (cnn.com, 2012).
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Personal EffectsShutt, author of the book Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness, states that some effects of homelessness on people are depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicidal attempts (Shutt, 2011, 149).
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The CommunityIt increases the number of emergencies rooms use by hospitals, increases the use of jail cells, and “the stretching of local, state, and federal budget” (National alliance to end homelessness, 2012).
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