Newsletter

December 2022

Homelessness is a problem for many reasons

"People who are homeless have higher rates of illness and die on average 12 years sooner than the general U.S. population." - National Healthcare for the Homeless Council

1.      It is unhealthy for the individual

Poor diet, disease, and mental and substance abuse disorders are all often created and or compounded by the stress of sleeping on the streets. The homeless are two times as likely as the housed to suffer from diabetes, hypertension, and heart attacks. They are more than twenty times more likely to suffer from HIV, and hepatitis C.

Without housing, it is also more difficult to recuperate from infections and physical and mental illnesses. Because the homeless cannot maintain proper hygiene, they often suffer from infections. Wounds do not heal properly. Pneumonia and hypothermia are commonly seen in emergency rooms. The homeless lack access to proper medical care so the emergency rooms are where they end up. The picture this all paints is clear; Homelessness is a problem because it poses a health threat to the individual.

2.      homelessness is unhealthy for society

When one is homeless, not a single business in the world will allow them to use their restroom. Park restrooms are closed and locked outside of park hours. Most cities have laws against loitering or sleeping near parks. Thus, when nature calls, what is a homeless person to do?

Public defecation creates unsanitary conditions. Lacking a place to use the restroom, homeless people are often forced to relieve themselves on the street. According to the San Francisco Gate, between ten and twenty thousand instances of public defecation are reported each year. What's shocking is that those are only the incidences that are reported. The fact is that public defecation is a health issue because bodily excrement transmits bacteria and disease.

3.      HOMELESSNESS IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE IT IS EXPENSIVE

In his essay, "Million Dollar Murray," Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of Murray Barr, an alcoholic homeless man who spent most of his days drinking and gambling. Barr, over just 10 years, cost taxpayers one million dollars in emergency room visits and correction facility expenses. While Gladwell's example of Barr is extreme, it illustrates a point: The problem with homelessness is that it is expensive to society.

the expense to taxpayers

A homeless individual costs taxpayers around 35,000 each year. To put that into perspective, the average American earns little more than 50,000 per year. This means that for every three people experiencing homelessness, the average salaries of two working Americans are needed to support them. Reasons for the high cost of homelessness include governmental food assistance, emergency room visits, and government-granted programs geared to end homelessness. So homelessness is a problem because it is expensive to society.

homelessness' effect on sales

Not only is homelessness expensive to taxpayers, but most businesses say it is bad for sales. To make a sale, a customer needs to feel good. That's basic human psychology. Seeing the homeless begging for food does not feel good. So when homeless people are starving in front of the store one is shopping at, shoppers tend to feel less motivated to make purchases.

Its effect on tourism

I once lived in a city with a lot of tourism and every time tourism suffered the city blamed it on homelessness. I suppose officials figured that tourists don't like to be hit up for change so when they saw all the homeless people they left. Regardless of how illogical that is, many people believe that homelessness is a problem because it impacts sales.

4.      HOMELESSNESS IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE IT IS UGLY

Ever heard of beautification projects? These are projects that aim to make the city more beautiful by removing the homeless people who make it ugly.

In her paper, "Urban Makeovers: Homeless Encampments and the Aesthetics of Displacement," Dr. Spear suggests that beautification projects are sometimes attempts by society to drive out the homeless, attempts under the guise of beauty. The implication? Society thinks that homelessness is a problem because it is ugly.