Introduction to Homelessness as a Social problem under Poverty in the UK

Introduction

Chapter four of the book 'Social problems in the UK' talks about the issue of homelessness under the topic of poverty. Under British law, homelessness refers to an individual with no accommodation or a person who finds his or her current accommodation to be unsustainable for longer habitation (Uhrig, 2015). According to reports issued by charity Shelter of the UK, by 2018 there were about 320,000 people who are recorded to be homeless. A bigger percentage of this number is children. The total number of people perceived to be homeless has significantly increased by 69 per cent since 2010 (FEANTSA, 2018, p.10). A lot of studies have denoted that being homeless puts a person at a greater risk for encountering violence, experiencing failure and social rejection. Additionally, inadequate sleep or sleeping in an open-air environment leads to a shorter life expectancy as compared to the ordinary population. The number of individuals sleeping rough in the UK has doubled between 2010 and 2018 (Bramley & Fitzpatrick, 2018). They are the people who visibly sleep on the open-air environment, in bus shelter or doorways. They are the most vulnerable, nonetheless, the smallest percentage of homeless people (Allsop et al., 2014).

It may prove hard to quantify the homelessness scale due to the concealed nature of the problem. The government continues to collect data on the number of people sleeping on the street every night. It is estimated that about 500 individuals are sleeping outside every night. The government has recognized that at least ten times this number are sleeping rough annually ( Parsell & Marston, 2012).

After the Act of homeless person was implemented, the number of persons receiving assistance and advice from the local authorities has significantly increased. This rise has continued until the current year (Ravenhill, 2015). The act of housing established in 1996 set up new ways of recording the number of individuals coming out to seek for help as homeless persons. Rough sleeping had caused public concern in the UK, as a result, initiative of the rough sleeper was established and it managed to reduce the number of rough sleepers by two thirds in the UK by 2001( Shinn, 2010). The act of homelessness has brought preventative approaches and new duties consisting of the housing option introduction which enabled many people to access advice and assistance. In 2010, rough sleeping started to rise with the effect of welfare reforms, the housing crisis and rising rents. This resulted in significant reforms to the legislation of homelessness in 40 years. The act of homelessness reduction was then introduced in 2017 which has since brought new ways on how to prevent and relieve homeless people.

In summary, with the established government policies meant to battle the problem of homelessness there is much hope that soon this problem will be eliminated and the burden faced by these individual eradicated forever. However, this can only be achieved if authorities put coordinated and systematic effort to work sensibly and sustainably on every layer of the installation.

The recent legislation and policy on homelessness can be accounted for in the homelessness act of 2002 and the act of housing that was enacted in 1996. The housing act was the immediate legislation enacted to recognize the homelessness problem. It provided the formal homelessness statutory definition and particular agendas for allocation of housing among the homeless thus placing housing assistance responsibility upon the hands of local authorities. This policy played a significant step in recognizing and solving the problem of homeless. However, it was not ideal, since it failed to meet its objectives (Dear et al., 2014).

Types of homelessness

homelessness. Often when people think about homelessness the person who comes into mind is the individual who is sleeping rough on the streets. A lot of people who sleep rough tend to suffer from some chronic illness after a long period of sleeping rough. They may also suffer from mental health problems and drug abuse. Additionally, these people are more prone to violence as compared to the general population (Baum, 2019).

individuals. This is commonly known as the duty of homelessness. Every year, thousands of people seek assistance from their local authorities on the issue of homelessness. For one to be declared homeless he or she must be lacking a secured place to stay or the person is convincingly and reasonably not able to live (Fiszbein & Schady, 2009). In order to be given assistance under the duty of homelessness, a person must be in a position to meet a certain threshold of the criteria used to issue assistance to the homeless group. Local authority sometimes provides temporary homes to the families who meet specific threshold listed. Families and children are majorly given the priority (Timmer et al., 2019).

Hidden homelessness: A lot of people who are not allowed to be offered any help or rather don't seek assistance from their councils are not often covered in the formal statistics. Majority of these people live in hostels, squats, in concealed or overcrowded housing. For instance, sleeping on sofas or floors of friends and family. Hidden homelessness is troubled because of the inability by the government to accurately measure their number curtails the government from initiating legislation and policies that can help in solving the problem. The new policy that was enacted on homelessness facilitated a research in 2003. It was found that about 310000 persons are hidden homeless people living within the UK (Townsend, 2014).

Causes of Homelessness

With a lot of cases of workplace discrimination and layoffs still existing in modern society, many people fail to find a secure position to work. The nature of contingent jobs speaks for itself. It sometimes proves difficult to understand some people’s problems, however it is a fact that misfortunes in the workplace are unforeseen and everyone can be faced with one. The sudden loss in income generation can push some individuals to the extent of being homeless, this is due to challenges that may be faced while paying accommodation fees (Mani et al., 2013).

Disability and illness do not happen by choice and the effect of undergoing such traumatic circumstances normally leads to homelessness. Disability and chronic illness can deter an individual from getting employed and without employment, it can is impossible difficult for a person to sustain himself in a home (Lee et al.,2010). Without salaries or wages one is not able to afford to pay the rent. Illness may also result in homelessness. Research conducted recently denoted that a good number of homeless people have a specific type of chronic illness that is preventing them to work. These individuals often resolve to live in the streets asking for little handouts to sustain them (DeNavas-Walt, 2010).

Housing is another significant factor that can cause homelessness. A critical deficit in affordable housing that is stable and safe directly plays a major role in homelessness. A lot of people in the UK living in the major towns risk being homeless. Some families and individuals are spending about 30 per cent of their income on accommodation. Notably, lack of affordable housing nationwide is the most impactful factor to homelessness. However, access to housing, employment, helpful and justice services can be impeded by discrimination. Sexual and racial minorities are major perils of such discrimination (Alkire & Foster, 2011).

There is a great link between homelessness and domestic violence. In the UK, it is estimated that family violence affects 250 victims for every one million people. Such domestic violence can coerce some individuals to abandon their home without any proper support put in place. This is specifically an issue experienced by women and youths, particularly those having children. Young women who encounter domestic abuse and stay in poverty are normally compelled to leave their homes or live in an abusive relationship (K Hopper et al., 2010). Additionally, young people that are victims of a physical, sexual or psychological form of abuse normally end up encountering homelessness. A recent study shows that seniors who are encountering domestic violence but neglect are equally at risk of becoming homeless (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2012).

According to Dworsky et al., (2013) relational and individual factors apply to individual personal circumstances encountering homelessness. This may include traumatic events such as job loss or house fire, personal crisis (domestic violence or family break up), addiction challenges and mental health (such as fetal alcohol syndrome and injury of the brain). Such problems can be the root cause of homelessness. Relational challenges include addictions, mental health problems and extreme poverty.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as evident above homelessness is a menace in a society and a country as a whole. It must be therefore be battled by all means. The only way the government can provide a definitive solution for homelessness is through the extension of current understanding to homelessness problems limits. It has been reported that definitional analysis of data collection of homelessness is significantly lacking in many countries (Murphy & Tobin, 2011). There are a number of legislation and policies that have been enacted by the government of UK to assist in the battle of homelessness. However, these acts have done very little in curbing major causes of homelessness.

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