Survival of the Richest: How the Elite Exacerbate Homelessness

                              
                                              Survival of the Richest: How the Elite exacerbate homelessness.

https://theconversation.com/being-homeless-means-not-being-free-as-americans-are-supposed-to-be-214627

Have you ever thought about how many Americans spend their nights sleeping in the streets? Over 700,000 have. With 340 million people living in the US, 771,440 are homeless, caused by the ever evolving housing markets, the metastasizing of illicit drugs in the streets, and mental issues or childhood trauma. This problem isn't getting better, unfortunately, as the United States has recently experienced an unprecedented rise in homelessness, driven by the nation’s affordability crisis. .

The primary cause of homelessness, Unsurprisingly, is the lack of affordable housing.

The United States experienced an unprecedented rise in homelessness, driven by this affordability crisis. Homelessness increased 18 percent, from 653,104 people during 2023 to 771,480 people during 2024. For many lower income people, the absurd prices of homes or even renting apartments monthly can mean they have to choose between housing and other necessities, such as groceries or clothing. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Only 35 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households. This number is stagnant or very incrementally increasing, as lawmakers have failed to fix the problem, especially by allocating too few resources to programs that help people pay for increasingly expensive rent. The immigration of thousands of people also contributes to the lack of housing, as immigrants tend to take the jobs that impoverished or lower earning people tend to work. 

https://coloradosun.com/2024/06/19/homeless-payments/

Some argue that homelessness is primarily due to poor financial decisions, not market forces. Many more claim that budgeting and saving properly could prevent homelessness regardless of housing prices. However, with the increasing cost to live in today's society, this is an outdated and incorrect claim. An example which helps highlight this is the country's minimum wage. A livable wage in today's economy (matching inflation) would be anywhere from 23-26$ an hour, while the US’s actual minimum wage sits at around 7.25$ an hour.

Another huge issue increasing our homeless population is the drugs and drug dealers in the streets. With 140,000 pounds of Methamphetamine seized by the DEA in 2023, and dozens of other drugs being smuggled into the US each year with similar quantities, it's no surprise drugs have taken a hold on our most vulnerable populace. Recent studies conducted by the University of San Francisco show that around 65% of people experiencing homelessness reported using illicit drugs regularly, or at least three times a week at some point in their life.  Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative and senior author of the report quoted: “Our research shows there is an increased risk of becoming homeless if you use drugs; and that homelessness itself increases drug use because people use it as a coping strategy”. 

https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/they-still-are-homeless,15269

Opponents to these ideas say drug users have personal choice and accountability, and that homelessness from addiction is self-inflicted rather than caused by drug dealers and cartel lords. Others argue that drug addiction is more a symptom of homelessness than a cause, and that people turn to drugs because they are already struggling economically or mentally. However, the researchers found that while becoming homeless increases one’s risk of using illicit drugs,  drug use also increases the risk of homelessness. About 42% of all participants said they began using drugs regularly before they became homeless for the first time, and 23% said they began using drugs regularly after becoming homeless for the first time, thus proving that while average drug usage does go up after homelessness, drug usage tends to lead to it. Drug abuse isn't the only thing prevalent among homeless populations, however.

Most researchers agree that the connection between homelessness and mental illness is a complicated, two-way relationship. An individual’s mental illness may lead to cognitive and behavioral problems that make it difficult to earn a stable income or to carry out daily activities in ways that encourage stable housing.  The combination of mental illness and homelessness also can lead to other factors such as the aforementioned alcohol and drug abuse as well as health issues, and trouble finding steady employment, if any.

Some argue that mental illness alone doesn’t cause homelessness, but instead its lack of affordable treatment and societal support. however, this argument falls flat as even areas with high amounts of mental health support tools (e.g. California) still grapple with an ever growing homeless population

https://www.npscoalition.org/post/fact-sheet-cost-of-homelessness

Within the past decade, homelessness was on the decline. Targeted investments in deeply affordable housing, voluntary wraparound health services, and income support contributed to large reductions in veteran homelessness, demonstrating how policies and programs can end homelessness among all groups. There is a way to stop this rapidly growing crisis, but our politicians and lawmakers need to step up and do their part before anything will change.