INTODUCTION
Urbanization and industrialization has resulted to homelessness of many people in the world. The homeless population is increasing especially in many urban areas. Various factors have pre-disposed people to homelessness, and some people think that factors like natural disaster, domestic violence, inability to afford housing and health care among other are the major causes of the steady increase. The argument may be true, but the homeless people are not of similar age group, gender, nationality, and race, meaning that very many factors are likely to be excluded in the list. For example, the homeless population of children in the total homeless population is considerably high, and people have related the issue to domestic violence, lack of needed services and drug abuse.
The lifestyle of homeless population exposes them to many problems such as medical problems, and violent crimes against them. The lifestyle exposes them to injuries and other medical issues related to nutrition, weather elements and violence. They don’t have access to health insurance, and because of poverty, they never get medical services. Lack of homes, hinders their privacy, and limits their possessions. They have nowhere to store their documents and possession, and they easily loose even what they posses. Despite how much they try to secure some of these important possessions, other people tamper with them, intentionally, or without the knowledge.
When homeless people in essay try to replace some of the documents such as identification cards, it become impossible because the nothing is left to prove the information they give. The homeless people are among the major criminals especially adults. They commit crimes to earn liking and being in jail or prison where they can get shelter and food, or in health institutions.
The wealth and income inequality has made decreased affordable housing. The amount earned by the inpiduals is low to maintain a permanent housing. However, this is not usually the only cause of homelessness in many people. Domestic violence has been reported to expose inpiduals to the problem, because they fail to bear the violence and escape. Many land in refugees camps some of homeless people are mentally ill, or are disabled.
Majority of homeless people have families, or are single. Children run from their homes either because the life there is unbearable, or because they are drug and substances abusers. Adults who loose their job, end up loosing houses because they cannot afford.
Homeless need to be helped out of the problem. The help can either be to get refuge camps where they can be provided with shelter, and food. The refugee can be public places, derelict structures, friends, or city run homeless shelters among others. They also need health care because of their exposed lifestyle and lack of funds to get treatment and health insurances.
In many countries, government and non government organization have intervened to help homeless people. They have made efforts to ensure they protect the homeless people, and provide health care facilities to them free of charge.
Since many states and countries do not offer free medical treatment, and the homeless people are in great demand of the services, they volunteer to help. The homeless people are exposed to extreme weather conditions such as colds, especially during winter. They get infections due to poor (if any) sanitation, and the results are spread and transmission of the infection to large population, due to lack of treatment. The transmitted infections include skin diseases due to close contact and air bone diseases especially in camps.
Non profit organizations have developed programs to help develop homeless people’s skills, especially for those who lost their jobs, as well as work opportunities. They consider the people in media publications, at a rate they can afford.
Homeless people have varying versions of what made them homeless. Some were prisoners who had nowhere else to go after their jail term, others, their countries engaged in war which destroyed their homes, reducing them to refugees and displacements.
An international law for the homeless has been established, to ensure that the human right are respected especially the housing, migration and traveling.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Homeless population is in steady increase. People have different destination of homeless people. Some say they are people without adequate shelter, others argue that homeless people are those without any shelter, and are maintained in temporary residential area as refugees. The cause of the increase in the homeless population remains in arguments. Some people argue that the homeless people are homeless out of their willingness, claiming that majority are nomads. According Ann (1994, pp. 498). This is different, because he argues that these people meet themselves in the situation because they cannot afford safe, regular, adequate shelter, making them to acquire temporary accommodation in odd places.
Various researchers have attempted to research the reason or rather causes of homelessness in the population. an inpidual can be homeless because of crisis in one’s life, or because of the society unfair in organizing and distributing power and wealth. Ferguson argues that the homeless people end up to the problem because they cannot afford the funds required to secure permanent housing, because of their poverty life. (Ferguson, 1989). The many people have believed that the homeless people end up homeless because they are mentally unwell, or because of the drug or addiction to the drugs which reduces their mental functioning (Bliommaert, 2005).
Inpiduals are subjected to domestic violence and abuses, such as sexual mental or physical abuse are likely to run from their homes, without a defined destination. This finds them homeless studies show that some inpiduals who formerly incarcerated inpiduals, undergo a transformation that limits their social, and financial lives. They loose family friends and because of their criminal records, they hardly get employment after their terms in jail. The financial instability and new social life leads them homeless.
According to statistics, the homeless population is composed of children, youth, and the adults, and the elderly. Some predisposing factors are similar, but others vary. For example, a child and an old person can escape domestic violence and become homeless, ant the adult can become homeless because of loosing job or retiring (Vaughan & Hogg, 2002). The highest population of the homeless population ranges between the age of thirty and fifty, while the percentage in children and elderly is a little bit lower. The reason for the high percentage in the middle aged inpiduals, is yet to be determined. Some people argue that its because of their antisocial behavior, while others think its because of low or lack of income to enable them secure permanent houses.
HYPOTHESIS
Homelessness in homeless population results from domestic violence and majority of the population is aged between thirty and fifty years.
PARTICIPANTS
The research will involve at least a hundred inpiduals, regardless of their age, gender and race. The research will be carried out in a wide area in order to avoid bias in the results, because a small area is likely to include a specific population of the homeless population. For example when a single street in a city is likely to include children, the days and time of the research need to be considered to ensure valid data, because at some of the homeless people have families and work, meaning that when the research is carried out during working days and hours, most of the adults are likely to be the children and aged.
This with limit the findings, and the deductions from the collected data will be false, and biased. The sampling will be carried out randomly. (Ezawa, 2002, pp. 286) The targeted areas include refugees camps, city streets, and all other areas which are likely to be the temporary homes of the victims.
In order to encourage participation, the participants will be given a brief importance of the activity. This will be based on the fact that the results or rather findings will be used to facilitate provision of homes for them. I will ensure that sympathetic when interacting with the participants to win their participation because they won’t turn up in large number if they wont get the concern the society has for them. To many of the homeless people, their situation is against their will, so telling them the participation will ensure provision of houses, and homes for those with families, will greatly encourage them to participate in order to air their grievances and to show their high population with this the turn up for my research will be high, giving better and valid results for my report (Feldman,1983, pp.6)
MATERIALS
Stimulus materials
Use of cameras to get the participants images will have greater impact to the research. The images will support the information and data that will be collected. The information from the media, especially from newspapers articles and other visual facilities such as television, can also go a longer way in giving more information, but there is a probability of distortation which might, interfere with the collected data. The images will back up the collected information, and data.
Equipment
Recorders will be useful. They will help in getting the information at the scene of interview, will record and produce the information later, for use in when writing the report.
Questionnaires will help get information from the homeless people who can read and write with provision of writing material, they can give reliable information. Enough pens need to be provided because the homeless people are likely to have no pens, and inadequate provision for those who can write is likely demotivate them from participating.
PROCEDURES
The research data will be collected using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The homeless population is likely to be composed of both learned and unlearned inpiduals, as well as people with language barriers. The homeless people are likely to be illiterate, so applying the statistical method in collecting the data will be important.
Interview
All participants who can communicate freely will be interviewed. Before the actual interview, and to win their total participation they will be given the importance of the results – to determine their problems and help them out of them. A friendly and sympathetic and clear language will be used to ensure that they understand and give feedback to the questions. Complicated, and hearse language is likely to demotivate them from participating, or might make them fear giving all the information, making them hide some sensitive and important information.
Questionnaire
Questionnaire will be given to those who can read and write. Enough pens will be provided to save time, and for effectiveness. The questionnaire will e set in a way that it will cover all areas that are likely to give answers to the hypothesis. Questionnaire will have short questions with answer choices, but the answers will not be leading. This will ensure that the answers the participants gives are from their own experience, and thoughts. Questionnaire will include the ages of the participants.
Quantitative method
Interviews and questionnaires will be applied to participants who can read, write, and generally communicate. Sampling of illiterate participants who hardly communicate, and other random, in all targeted areas to avoid biased sampling will help determine the ages of inpidual participants, in all the methodology the participants will be briefed about the purpose and the reason of the research. The randomized sampling will be carried out in a way, one person will be counted the other will be left.
IMPLICATION
According to the worlds just social physiological phenomena, people think that what one has is what he/she deserves. Many people believe that the homelessness of homeless people is their fate, and think that it’s the choice. Instead of providing security, protection, and helping them to earn for their living, they fear them, and argue that that is what they deserve. People hold a negative attitude towards the homeless. People will leave them, begging, and will remark that they have earned their fate.
The findings will help people understand that the homeless could be in homes if they had choice. They will advance the understanding that the causes of the homelessness of the homeless population as a problem, and will participate in helping them out of their miserable and hearse temporary homes.
APPLICATION
The findings will help people change their negative attitudes towards the homeless, and will consider them as human beings who require rights like any other human beings. The findings will enable people in the society to correct their social behavior and welcome the homeless back home, especially those who escaped the domestic violence.
In future, a research on the type of social life the homeless can live in home after many years homeless. Studies need to be made to determine if the homeless people can live a similar life to other inpiduals in the society when provided with shelter. After many years homeless and in social negligence, there is a high probability that they are likely to live antisocial life.
Many of these homeless people engaged in antisocial behaviors as a way of earning for their living, meaning that when they get a home to live with other people in the society, they either need to change the behavior, or become threat to others and the society (Lenehan & McInnis,1985, pp. 1239).
References:
- Ann, A. (1994). Health status of vulnerable populations. Public health annual review,15, 498
- Bliommaert J. (2005). A critical introduction. Cambridge : Cambridge University
- Ezawa, A. (2002). Japan’s new homeless. Social distress and the homeless, 11(4),286
- Feldman, S. (1983). The overselling of benevolence. Hastings Center Report, 13(3), 6.
- Ferguson, M.,(1989). Shelter for the homeless. American Nursing journal ,1062
- Lenehan, G.,and McInnis, B. (1985). Clinic for the Homeless. American Nursing journal,1239
- Vaughan, G. & Hogg, M. (2002). Social psychology. Sydney: Prentice Hall.