One of the most disturbing social issues that affect the lives of many Americans is the threat and the reality itself of being left homeless. Homelessness, aside from the deprivation of shelter as a basic human need, also connotes the deprivation of other things including the one’s dignity and self-esteem. Arguably, homelessness is a not only a grave political and economic problem but also a deeply moral and ethical one. Hence, the government and the private sector must make concrete efforts to implement measures to alleviate, if not completely eradicate, homelessness as an increasing phenomenon.
The seriousness of homelessness as a problem is illustrated in the results of a recent government study which reveals that approximately 744,000 Americans are homeless. (Associated Press, 2007) The study, which was conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is an effort at establishing a baseline figure for the number of individuals and families living on the streets and in temporary shelters provided by the government.
However, the results of the study point out that the figures could be higher as homeless people are usually mobile, which makes it extremely difficult to establish the exact numbers of homeless Americans. Undoubtedly, homelessness is a complex issue with political and economic underpinnings. In his essay “On Dumpster Diving,” Eighner (1993) describes not only his experience with having to literally live off the garbage other people throw out because what little money he earned was spent on paying the rent.
(p. 713) This was before he finally became another homeless person on the streets of America after he could not pay the rent anymore.
Thus, homelessness reflects not only the lack of affordable housing that drives people to live people on the streets but also the glaring insufficiency of existing livelihood and job opportunities to provide living wages that would enable individuals and families to live decent lives. Consequently, homelessness also produces or contributes to other wide-ranging problems.
Being deprived of one’s home clearly has a profound impact on the physical, psychological, and emotional condition not only of individuals but entire families who have no permanent or adequate shelter. Eighner (1993) illustrates the disquieting effects of having to live off the streets by showing how one is eventually compelled to adopt survival mechanisms, including learning how to eat safely from food scavenged from dumpsters. (p. 713-717) He notes that literally eating food from garbage exposes an individual to heightened risk of acquiring diseases or even death.
More importantly, homelessness conditions the individual psyche in a state of constant deprivation, leading to the normalization of experiences and living conditions below acceptable human standards. Eighner (1993) relates that being homeless and having to “live off the refuse of others” (p. 713) at first leads to feelings of “disgust and self-loathing” (p. 718) but ultimately becomes a normal way of earning a living or a meal for many homeless people.
Clearly, homelessness is not only a political but a moral and ethical issue that should be addressed. Homelessness is an indication of American society’s failure at providing a decent life for many Americans. Moreover, it is a telling sign of the significant imbalance in wealth distribution is characterized by the affluent and wasteful lifestyle of the former and the inability of the latter to gain access to basic social services such as decent housing, food, and livelihood.
Thus, the government must recognize the interlocking problems that result in and contribute to the depraved situation of many American people in order to come up with responsive and appropriate political solution to homelessness and other problems.
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