Why does homelessness still exist?
Homelessness is a problem present in the majority of countries around the world today, some with worse rates than others. The word 'homelessness' is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as 'the state of having no home'¹ but the idea of homelessness does not have a universally defined definition and can therefore not always be identified correctly. As of a 2021 survey, 274,000 people were acknowledged as homeless² with no permanent place of residence. According to the most recent total population estimate of the country, it currently stands at around 68.5 million³ and about 0.86% of the English population is currently homeless. However, if the term itself does not have an agreed definition, how did the problem arise to begin with and how can we, as a country, prevent that number from growing? In this essay, I will be answering these questions by exploring the causes of homelessness and the debates on this topic, the ways in which these problems could potentially be solved now and in the future, and finally how, if we combine all these ideas and arguments, we may be able to create a better future for many people across the country and potentially around the world.
Causes of Homelessness
If we are to find out why homelessness is still an issue, we must first look into the causes and reasons as to why it occurred initially. This is a very widely debated topic throughout the academic world but the answer remains unclear and is still based primarily on individual opinion. There are however many arguments that seem plausible and in my opinion, the root causes of homelessness are a combination of many. The arguments listed below are a very small part of all the factors that contribute to homelessness.
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Capitalist Social Structure
One of the main views on this subject is that the problem of homelessness is down to the capitalist society that we live in. The fundamental concept of capitalism is that private individuals or businesses own goods and the competition of businesses to provide customers with more efficient products will make people work harder for their own money. This puts forth the problem that not everyone can be put at the same starting point if they are born into an area or family of poverty. Because of this, the system is flawed and the issue of homelessness is one that slips through the cracks in society because some people are at an unfair advantage and therefore a lower risk of becoming homeless in the first place.
House Prices
The main cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. Prices for both buying and renting have been soaring and making it difficult for people to make a start on the property ladder. This has been more evident than ever before in recent years, with a 10% increase in average prices from November 2020 to November 2021¸. The average house cost is expected to climb even higher over the course of 2022, with a 9.6% increase already seen from January 2021 to 2022¹. This establishes yet more problems for people of all ages but especially young people who are new to the housing market. As a result of the exponential growth of house prices and other factors, the homelessness rate has seen a 94% increase in the past decade alone¹°.
Causes of Youth Homelessness
It is estimated that 121,000 young people are homeless¹¹ and 86,000 of these are under 18 years old. This makes up a staggering 53% of the total homeless population of ¹². There are many reasons that young people can become homeless and these include but are not limited to, family breakdowns, mental and physical health issues, discrimination, poverty, and leaving a government care system¹³.
Family breakdowns have risen by 8% in the last decade¹´. This has had an extremely detrimental effect on thousands of people, especially the youth of these families, and has led to it becoming the most prominent cause of youth homelessness¹µ.
Mental and physical health issues can also lead to a young person becoming homeless. Roughly a third of homeless people under the age of 24 have been reported to be suffering from mental illnesses like depression or anxiety and another third from substance abuse¹¶. This is a reason that people become homeless as well as an after-effect of becoming homeless; people turn to drugs and alcohol to escape the reality they are experiencing or develop mental health problems such as depression as a result.
Discrimination against young people of certain minorities is also becoming a bigger factor in youth homelessness. An example of this is young members of the LGBTQ community which now make up 24% of all young homeless people¹. Around this age, many young people 'come out' - reveal their chosen gender identity or sexual orientation - to their families and carers. However, homophobic beliefs are still very present in our society and many young people get rejected from their families because of this. A study showed that young people in the LGBTQ community are fourteen times more likely to become homeless than their non-LGBTQ peers¹¸. Other minorities that are more likely to become homeless than others include young refugees, asylum seekers, and people of ethnic minorities ¹¹. However, these groups are often overrepresented in homelessness statistics because of the fact that they have a higher chance of living in poverty and facing hardships to begin with²°.
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