Homelessness is one of the greatest tragedies that face my community currently. Upon carrying in-depth research on the issue of homelessness, I have discovered that there are also many parts across the world where people suffer from homelessness, which in turn affects both the immediate society and the economy at large. In my neighborhood, there are many children who roam in the streets and they have no specific place where they call home. Even though a good number of such children are born and raised in the same streets, some children and adults also join the streets after a series of events that render them homeless. Other than affecting the subjects, the issue of homelessness bears significant adverse implications to the society and the national and global economy at large.

To start with, I identified a number of factors as the main causes of homelessness in my community. Structural factors are the leading causes of homelessness in my community. Such elements as lack of capital, discrimination, lack of adequate and convenient access to affordable housing support among others contribute significantly towards homelessness. A number of individual factors also play a role in promoting homelessness. For instance, mental health is a leading element that has made many people lead homeless lives even when such people have wealthy family members who could accommodate them. Alcohol and drug abuse especially among the youth has made them lose their focus in life since addiction makes them vulnerable and they end up spending most of their resources on getting such drugs rather than focussing on how they can improve their lives through such ways as saving and investment (Vangeest, Jonathan &Timothy, 2012).A correlation between structural and individual factors explains why common characteristics can describe the victims of homelessness.

In my research, I tried to identify the effects of homelessness upon an individual and the broader community. Firstly, individuals affected by homelessness often experience isolation from the rest of the members of the community. as a result, most of the homeless individuals turn to drugs as a source of fun and happiness. Addictions end up affecting the health statuses of such individuals whereby their immune system gets broken thereby making them more susceptible to diseases. Most of the homeless drug addicts end up adopting petty criminal behavior such as pickpocketing as they look for money to buy drugs and alcohol (Steen, 2018). Engagement in crime threatens the lives of such individuals even more whereby their chances of getting arrested get high. The main reason as to why most homeless drug addicts engage in crime is so that they can get the money needed to buy the drugs and alcohol that they use.

Additionally, there is a greater health threat among homeless individuals. Most of the people I identified to be homeless in my neighborhood do not have the appropriate clothing to protect them from adverse weather conditions such as the cold. Consequently, most of them end up contracting such diseases as cold during the cold seasons. In addition, they contract malaria easily considering the fact that they do not have anything to protect them from mosquitoes especially when they sleep at night. Irresponsible sexual behavior and abuse have also been identified as a significant threat among homeless communities since most homeless girls and even boys lack any moral guidance and protection (Daly, 2010).The increased number of cases of sexual abuse among homeless girls have in turn contributed significantly to the number of unwanted pregnancies, that result in abortions and unexpected and unprepared births.

In the long-term, homelessness bears profound implications on national and global economies homeless individuals are less likely to find any employment opportunities since it would be hard for them to present themselves before the common employers and convince them to employ them. , and there is only a small number of individuals who can comfortablywork together with a homeless person since they are generally described to be dirty and irresponsible (Quigley, John &Steven, 2011).In addition, homeless people do not have capital and they are, therefore, less likely to be engaged in trade activities. As a result, homelessness ends up affecting both the national and global economies negatively.

In conclusion, homelessness is one of the main problems that affect my neighborhood, where the number of street families has continued to rise rapidly. Even though the government and other common members of the society are less concerned about the wellbeing of such families, homeless individuals suffer in many ways and the effects of homelessness are expounded to the extent that they affect the entire national and global economy. Addictions, health issues and poverty and experienced by the homeless individuals are extended to the larger community when such individuals start engaging in crime as a means of sustaining themselves. The government also spends capital resolving the health issues and less capital is spent on trade and investment, thereby affecting the larger global community.

Works Cited

Daly, Gerald. “Health implications of homelessness: Reports from three countries.” J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare 17 (2010): 111.

Quigley, John M., and Steven Raphael. “The economics of homelessness: The evidence from North America.” European Journal of Housing Policy 1.3 (2011): 323-336.

Steen, Adam. “The many costs of homelessness.” The Medical Journal of Australia 208.4 (2018): 167-168.

Vangeest, Jonathan B., and Timothy P. Johnson. “Substance abuse and homelessness: direct or indirect effects?.” Annals of epidemiology 12.7 (2012): 455-461.

Do you need high quality Custom Essay Writing Services?