1. Hunter 1
Kathryn Hunter
Mrs. Corbet
AP Literature
18 April 2012
“Homelessness is a preventable and solvable problem; and allowing over a million
people to become homeless each year has enormous economic, social, and human costs”
(“Increases in Homelessness”). Every day, the number of homeless people in America continues
to rise leaving more people on the streets due to numerous reasons. Poverty and the amount of
people suffering from it also do not help the large number of people in need of a home around
the U.S. Although this is a colossal issue society is facing, it is a very curable matter. To put an
end to this problem throughout America, first citizens need to be aware of the predicament,
aware of the economical situation, and realize there are many options they can choose from in
order to help.
Homelessness throughout America is continuing to grow more rapidly each year as
more houses become foreclosed and the poverty level persists to greater amounts. “By definition,
homelessness refers to the state of being without permanent housing. It can also refer to persons
living in temporary housing, in shelters, or in places that are not traditionally considered
permanent dwellings” (“Homelessness Overview”). Studies each year are taken in order to
calculate the growing levels of the population living without a home in the United States.
Researchers have found that most of these unfortunate people are, in fact, finding temporary
places to live in public, nonchalant areas. “A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

2. Hunter 2
Development (HUD) report released in June 2010 revealed that there were about 170,000
American families in homeless shelters, up 30 percent since 2007” (“Homelessness Overview”).
The rapidness of the growing amount of homeless people continues to escalate at a quick pace
with more citizens being left out on the streets every day. “The National Alliance to End
Homelessness predicts that 1.5 million Americans could become homeless in the next two years”
(“Homelessness Overview”). The National Alliance to End Homelessness organization is
currently one of the most helpful and effective associations towards this cause in America today.
They began in 1983 and “the alliance [quickly] grew from a federation of more than 2,000
providers and public agencies to a current network of over 1,000 partners, making the Alliance
the largest partnership dedicated to ending homelessness” (“Increases in Homelessness”).
Researchers from this institution have developed many studies in order to find the approximate
number of people in need and discover different ways to put an end to it before the population
increases to even greater amounts. Another study shows that the “HRI projects the overall
homeless population [to] increase by nearly 5 percent in the next three years (2010 to 2013). The
baseline, 1.6 million people, is the number of people who were homeless from October 2009
through September 2010, as documented by The 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to
Congress (AHAR)” (“Increases in Homelessness”). The rapid pace at which the population of
America is increasing at results to more and more people in need and left out on the streets. As
people are joining the work force, job qualifications raise and ultimately create a greater
difficulty to find a job. “On any given night in America, anywhere from 700,000 to 2 million
people are homeless, according to estimates of the National Law Center on Homelessness and
Poverty” (“Homelessness”). Larger amounts of children, people, and families walk on to the
streets, looking for a place to sleep, every night, all over the nation. “The projection does not

3. Hunter 3
take into account the rising cost of housing, which is statistically linked to homelessness”
(“Increases in Homelessness”). Homeless people are in need of assistance and the economical
recession currently taking place does not help the struggling citizens trying to solve their existing
problem or put an end to their occurring hardships.
The economical state of America at this time can only be thought of as a major
disadvantage to the homeless population. “Throughout the country's history, the conditions of a
larger society, such as a frequently depressed industrial economy that struggled with
overproduction and labor surpluses, have resulted in family upheaval” (Shifflett). Recessions
throughout the economy limit the jobs available and also restrict the amount of people that can
be hired for said jobs. As the economy continues through its downfall, the amount of homeless
people, on the other hand, is steadily increasing. One key factor affecting the economy is the
increasing poverty over America. “Absolute poverty measures the number of people living
below the poverty line, which is the minimum determined income an individual needs to survive
adequately—to have enough money for food, clothing, shelter, and other necessities”
(“Poverty”). Poverty is a repetitive cycle, being passed on between generations. As one is born
into a family in the state of poverty, it is very likely that child will be in the same predicament as
they get older as well. “According to the United Nations definition, anyone living on less than
one U.S. dollar per day is in a state of extreme poverty. As of 2005, 1.4 billion people lived in
extreme poverty worldwide.” A study has been found which states that approximately 15% of
America’s population is living in poverty (“Poverty”). The economy is a vicious cycle; people in
poverty cannot find work, so they remain living in shortage, ultimately not helping the overall
economy, which therefore cannot pay for as many people to work. “The United States Census

4. Hunter 4
Bureau released further grim news about the worsening level of poverty in the U.S. in September
2010. According to the report, one in seven Americans lived below the poverty line in 2009.
That is the highest level of poverty in the U.S. since the 1960s” (“Poverty”). Homelessness
therefore is not going to go away until this brutal rotation comes to an end.
Another disadvantage to the economic troubles America is facing is how during this
recession the country is also struggling through a mortgage crisis. Hardships such as this one
does not add to the problem of Homelessness, and this is part of the cycle as well. “The U.S.
mortgage crisis is a set of financial failures that began in 2006. The crisis caused several million
Americans to lose ownership of their homes, cost other homeowners up to $4 trillion in lost
property values by 2010, severely damaged or ruined financial institutions, and affected
economies around the world” (“U.S. Mortgage Crisis”). Due to the economy, the mortgage crisis
is an immediate outcome of this recession. As the cycle continues, people cannot afford to buy
homes, ultimately keeping the poverty level and the number of homeless people both at high
amounts. “Nationally, banks foreclosed on 2.2 million homes in 2007, up from 1.2 million in
2006, after homeowners defaulted on their mortgages” (“Managing in A Tough Economy”).
Therefore, after homes are rapidly being foreclosed every day, most of the people that are being
affected are left homeless and without a place to go. Although these economical troubles are not
helping put an end to homelessness, there are still many other alternatives people can partake in
to help make a difference.
Fundraising and donating are two useful tactics which can be exercised in order to help
the homeless. Many different paths throughout the field of fundraising can be taken including:
fundraising events, direct mail, or telemarketing. In order to raise money for a charity, one would

5. Hunter 5
need to know the right steps and the overall process in order to raise money (“Take Action”). To
help out the homeless, a fundraising event could benefit in more than one way and the money
could be put forth to build houses for people in need. “Charitable institutions comprise the bulk
of America's nonprofit organizations. These include a wide variety of institutions involved in the
realms of poverty assistance, religion, science, health, and education” (Hillstrom and Hillstrom).
All throughout history charity funds have raised billions of dollars helping to benefit many
people spread all over the country. Fundraising is one of the most useful tactics in helping to
raise money for a plethora of good causes (“Take Action”). “In order to prosper, nonprofit
institutions not only need to know where the sources of funding are, they also need to know how
to solicit those funds and how to effectively manage that revenue when it comes into their
possession” (Hillstrom). Overall, if a company raises money, in any way they decide, if they
know what to do with the money and how to make a difference, then someone, somewhere, will
benefit from it. Homeless people specifically can advantage in multiple ways from any amount
of money they are given. In San Francisco, for example, Mayor Gavin Newsome in 2007,
created a “Housing First!” plan to last for ten years. Newsome’s arrangement stated that this will
stabilize homing and create support systems for homeowners (“Fighting Homelessness in San
Francisco”). In the long run, this plan is sure to be a success by, not helping the homeless
situation currently, but sure to prevent it from happening so excessively in the future. “In
addition, $1.5 billion was provided to a new Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing
Program (HPRP) in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act specifically to prevent a
massive increase in homelessness resulting from the recession” (“Increases in Homelessness”).
The HPRP is a program to help prevent homelessness in the future. Overall, there are many
different programs and charities around America that people can donate to, to help this cause.

6. Hunter 6
One popular fundraising organization, known as Must Ministries, is a nonprofit
organization, helping many families every year. “Due to innovative, fundraising approaches
focused on preventing homelessness and quickly and appropriately re-housing those who do
become homeless, homelessness declined by 2 percent from 2008 to 2009” (“Increases in
Homelessness”). Results according to this study show how much the economy and the homeless
people of America can be affected by donations from people around the nation. Homelessness
each year is increasing, but with nonprofit organizations, such as Must Ministries, helping out,
the amount of people without homes is sure to begin to decrease eventually.
Throughout time, the rapid growth of homeless citizens in America has continued to
increase more and more. Homelessness, by definition, is the state of being without a home. As
the amount of citizens without a home has continued to increase, the economical recession has
not been an advantage. Through rough times in the economy, people are losing jobs and houses
are being foreclosed on. As this occurs, houses are being lost and people are losing money,
therefore putting them out on the streets and without a home. However, with multiple successful
nonprofit organizations helping out, much benefit can be created. Programs and organizations all
around the nation and even the world are working hard to help put an end to this continuous,
heartbreaking situation.
Works Cited

7. Hunter 7
“Fighting Homelessness in San Francisco.” Discovering Collection. N.p., 2006. Web. 12 Nov.
2011.
Hillstrom, Laurie Collier, and Kevin Hillstrom, eds. “Nonprofit Organizations.” Gale Virtual
Reference Library. N.p., 2002. Web. 14 Oct. 2011.
“Homelessness.” Almanac of Policy Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.
“Homelessness Overview.” Gale Cengage Learning. N.p., 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.
“Increases in Homelessness on the Horizon.” National Alliance to End Homelessness. N.p., 28
Sept. 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.
“Managing in a Tough Economy: How Nonprofit Leaders and Their Organizations Are Facing
the Uncertainty.” Bridgestar. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2011.
“Poverty.” Gale Cengage Learning. N.p., Nov. 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.
Shifflett, Peggy A. “Homeless Children and Runaways in the United States.” Gale Virtual
Reference Library. N.p., 2006. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.
“Take Action.” National Alliance to End Homelessness. N.p., Sept. 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. .
“U.S.
Mortgage Crisis.” Global Issues in Context Online Collection. N.p., 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.