Why Do People Stay Homeless?

Homelessness often worsens mental illnesses to the point that formerly functional people become severely mentally ill. Many homeless people who start out mentally sound develop PTSD or other mental illnesses as a result of physical assaults, sexual assaults, sleep deprivation, and exposure to trauma.

Some types of mental illness prevent a person from being employed or in some cases prevent a person from being able to care for himself or even unable to seek help from others.

Some homeless people gain a disability from severe injuries that they cannot get proper treatment for. Assault is often a cause of injury. Head injuries due to beatings are very common among homeless people. Exposure to the elements can also cause injuries such as frostbite which, if left untreated can lead to the loss of digits, dexterity, or mobility.

Once a homeless person becomes disabled, getting out of homelessness will become extremely difficult.

Many homeless people have an inability to work due to physical or mental disability. Some are so mentally ill that they are not even able to apply for what meager assistance is available to select individuals. Additionally, the Social Security Disability application process is not easy to navigate even if one is emotionally and mentally stable. Without a contact phone and address, it might be impossible.

Additionally, the process of applying for Disability is lengthy. The first rejection usually takes about six months and appeals can take up to a year to get the next rejection. Over two thirds of disabled people who apply for Social Security Disability (and eventually qualify) are rejected the first time they apply. Also, most people wait until they are out of money and have been disabled for some time so they don't have enough savings to live on for the typical one to three year wait for approval. Most Americans don't have enough saved up to survive without new income for even six months, much less three years.

Once they become homeless, people have extreme difficulty jumping through the bureaucratic hoops - they can't be available to wait for a call and don't have a dependable address to get the appointment letters mailed to them. And when SSA makes an appointment for them a hundred miles away, they have no way to get there. People who are already homeless who then become disabled are in a far worse situation.

When I filed for Social Security Disability, there was so much paperwork mailed to me to mail back with more information, each piece extremely time-sensitive. Even having a home, I missed one return by date because the piece of mail requesting the information arrived the day it was due. I was able to call and fax the information the same day but it was a very near thing. A homeless person probably wouldn't have gotten the piece of mail (using a friend's address, general delivery, or a PO Box doesn't lend itself to frequent mail checking) in time and probably wouldn't have access to a fax machine. Homeless people also often lose all of their ID and vital paperwork and can't slip a copy in the mail on short notice.

Most elderly people become unable to work eventually. If they have no family willing to support them they will often become homeless. While some elderly people can collect Social Security it is often either too little or too late.

The average Social Security check elderly Americans collect is usually not enough to pay for housing, food, and utilities. This can sometimes be solved by getting roommates but then the death of roommates often leaves elderly people homeless.

For some elderly people, Social Security comes too late. Many people develop age related diseases or conditions before they reach 65-67 years of age. They become too ill or frail to work before they qualify for retirement and must try to navigate Social Security Disability which can take years to get. Once they become homeless it is very difficult for them to collect either.

If you are homeless, landlords and employers will assume you are a drug-addicted criminal who is mentally ill. Although not all homeless people have problems with addiction the societal perception is that they do.

Additionally, there is a perception that homeless people are morally inferior to people with homes which compounds this problem.

Employers will often pass over people with spotty work histories or without a proper phone number and address on their job application. Additionally, many employers will not even consider hiring someone they know is homeless.

But even if a homeless person gets a job and finds affordable housing he or she may not be able to rent a place to live. Landlords often reject renters with any history of homelessness, unemployment, or bad credit ratings. Some landlords may even charge a double deposit to homeless or formerly homeless people making affordable housing less so.

Some homeless people gain an addiction due to the mental and emotional stress of homelessness or they turn to drugs to ease the pain of improperly healed injuries or age related maladies. Sometimes it's a conscious or unconscious effort to commit slow suicide. If you already have an addiction, it will probably spiral out of control once you are homeless.

If you are homeless a treatable illness may keep you from working because you cannot get treatment for it. Emergency rooms are required to treat people without insurance but they do not treat chronic illnesses or progressive diseases.

Family, friends, and acquaintances will usually not help out, often not even the well-to-do adult children of elderly homeless parents. They share the cultural fear and disdain toward homeless people. Any feelings of affection they may have had for you will be overshadowed by their fear, disdain, or hatred of homeless and poor people. You may think your family and friends would step up to the plate if you were in danger of homelessness but chances are, they wouldn't.

Many homeless people develop criminal records because in many places, being homeless is a crime because it causes one to sleep outside. Public urination is a major problem because it can get the person labeled as a sex offender. People with criminal records often have difficulty securing either jobs or housing.

Homeless people often lose their ID through theft. Sometimes they lose their ID in other ways. They may also end up abandoning their pack while being pursued by assailants. If your ID has been lost or stolen you will have great difficulty getting it replaced and even greater difficulty getting a job or apartment without it.

Without ID, a homeless person cannot get assistance and may even have his or her citizenship questioned in some states.

Homeless teens often become chronically homeless adults because they lack social skills and job skills. When a parent discards a teenager there are usually severe repercussions in the entire life of the child.

Many homeless teens are also voluntary or involuntary school drop-outs. Without at least a high school diploma it's very hard to get a job.

Other people become homeless due to their lack of job skills and social skills and it's difficult to remedy those deficiencies while homeless.

A few people have asked me "if homelessness has affected you so deeply, why don't you donate your lens earnings to charities that fight homelessness?"

I would love to donate the proceeds of this lens and all of my others to help homeless people. Unfortunately, I'm on the very edge of homelessness myself due to illness and disability.

You can read about why I'm in financial difficulty here.

Get your own Tip Jar