Homelessness and houselessness

Homelessness and houselessness

Many think that if you have a roof over your head – housed that is (shelter, rooming house, somebody’s couch) then you are homeless.   They think you are homeless only if you live outside, on the streets.  They are wrong.

The old saying, “home is where the heart is” is quite valid and true.  Just because a homeless person is in shelter or sleeping on a friend’s couch, or living in a cheap motel, doesn’t mean he or she is not still homeless.

There are homeless veterans and houseless veterans, two different levels of homeless, but don’t say that someone housed cannot be homeless.  The houseless veteran is one that sleeps in a doorway or back alley or along some creek bank somewhere.   The homeless veteran covers that and also the housed that cannot make a home out of their accomidations.

From Wikipedia:  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines the term “homeless” or “homeless individual or homeless person” as — (1) an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and (2) an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is: A) supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill); B) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or C) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodations for human beings.

Definition 1) covers the unhoused homeless and 2) covers the housed homeless.  There are others, including those living in cars, campers, paid motel rooms/flop houses, rooming houses, bus terminals, transit cars, and couch surfing that kind of blur whether they are covered at all or included in C).

Most homeless census counts do not count the homeless that are able to score time in a motel or hotel as homeless, although usually they get that brief stay for only a few days or a week.  Most homeless census counts also do not count homeless in transit (those at bus or train stations or actually in transit), even though some live in the metro transit systems for years.   The result is an undercount.

References.-

• Olltimerspeaksout (2007) Houseless and Homeless Same?  Not exactly. 
  https://oldtimer.wordpress.com/2007/05/21/houseless-and-homeless-not-same-thing/

Homeless and Drugs, Synonyms?

 

In all society exist a group on the streets, denominated, The Homeless.
The Homeless is a person who doesn't have a place where stay, and in some situatons they ask for money, but a just a little percent, use this money to eat or do something else in benefit of them. The majority of the people around the world think that they lie to get money and then use to buy drugs. This is a stereotype that create a different perspective about them, and generate big disscussions to the goverment.

But, ¿Is this true?

According to the NIDA (National Institute On Drug Abuse), in recents survies of 432 homeless youths in "Los Angeles", the 71% had an alcohol or drug abuse disorder or both in some situations. Also, another National survey of 600 youths living on the streets, the 50% of those tried to kill themselves for drug or alcohol abuse.
In the other hand, a big percentage of the runways become homeless, because the majority of them didn't get job or leave the streets.

Another study of the APHA (American Public Health Association), estimated that the homeless people in United States is between 250000 to three million, and they present a a serious health problems, icluiding the heavy use of alcohol and other drugs which heighten the morbidity rate among the ppopulation.

Also, According to APHA "Today's homeless population is more diverse than in the past. It includes women, children, families, adolescents, people of color, the mentally ill, and users of other drugs, as well as the male skid row alcoholic. Their lives tend to be marked by multiple risk factors, including poverty, malnutrition, unemployment, physical disabilities, and mental illness, in addition to the complex problems arising from homelessness itself and use of alcohol and other drugs."

In my opinion, is imposible to asure of at least one homeless on the strees didn´t prove one substance during their lifes. So, for me, the homeless people derseve this stereotype, and the goverment should take action like shelters, jobs; to eliminate the homeless on the streets.



References:

• https://www.google.es/search?q=the+homeless&sa=X&biw=1600&bih=789&tbm=isch&tbo=u source=univ&ei=JExqVafMK8H7sASF5YG4Dg&ved=0CC8QsAQ#imgrc=1N97LlLJ6D4UBM%253A%3BFaoX7g7RH14SyM%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fnursing322sp10.files.wordpress.com%252F2010%252F03%252Fhomeless 003.jpg%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fnursing322sp10.wordpress.com%252Fspotlight-on-the-homeless-population%252F%3B660%3B495 

• National Institute On Drug Abuse. (1997). Drug Abuse Among Runway and Homeless Youths Calls for Focused Outreach Solutions. Retrived May30th, 2015. From http://archives.drugabuse.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol12N3/Runaway.html
• APHA. (1989). Alcohol and Other Drug Problems among the Homeless Population. Retrived May 30th, 2015. From https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2014/07/30/14/37/alcohol-and-other-drug-problems-among-the-homeless-population

Preventions and Solutions for Runaways

According to the National Runaway Switchboard, one out of every seven children will run away before the age of 18. 

Most runaways will return home between 48 hours and 2 weeks of leaving home; however, some runaways choose to stay on the streets.

A number of runaways are actually "throwaways," which means that their guardians have kicked them out of the house, encouraged them to leave, or made it impossible for them to stay in their home.

prevention and solutions

Many runaways feel as if they are unheard, powerless, or unimportant in the home.  These feelings can be prevented by:

• Fostering communication that is open and honest, 
• Keeping the home environment safe and secure 
• Ensuring that the child's school is dealing with conflict 
• Respond to a child's emotional needs 
• Therapy  can be extremely helpful in facilitating communication within troubled families

before you runaway consider these things

If things are so bad that you feel like your only option is to run, please take a minute to stop, think, and ask yourself these questions.

• If you are being abused, call 911. They have the resources to help you get out of this situation.

• Is running away really going to solve your problems? What will happen if you decide to return home?

• What are you running to? Will you really be in a better place?

• How much money do you have?  How long do you think it will last once you're on your own?

• How will you support yourself?  What job skills do you really have? Do you have experience? If you have a job, is it enough to support a home, food, clothes, and other necessities for the long term?

REFERENCES:

• Operational comitte (2014). Teen Runaway Resources. retrieved on 11 march 2015. From http://bandbacktogether.com/runaway-resources/
• Tracy J (2015). Parenting Skills: Problems and solutions with Runaway teenagers

Rethink about the dangers of the street.

Before running away from home, think about the dangers that exist on the street

• 1.)    You run the risk of being neglected or abused by corrupt people.
• 2.)    Fend for yourself in adverse conditions, it is not always easy.
• 3.)    Get food on the street is an everyday challenge.
• 4.)    Do not have a proper place to sleep or rest, rather than a cold sidewalk.
• 5.)    You're at the mercy of the unforgiving climate.
• 6.)    You will be away from your parents care.
• 7.)    Being hungry and thirsty most of the day, it is not good for health.
• 8.)    You will feel alone.

Before running away from home, think of the points discussed above and reconsiders.

There are many other options to more than run away from home. An example communicate it to the appropriate authorities in your city.

Examples of differences "Runaways and Thrownaways"

This problems exist no only in a society, also exist in all parts of world. Are much factrors that influence in runaways and thrownaways, the most common are the problems in the family, so in the next text we see the differences of each one.

The Runaways is a situation where a guy take his own destiny,

represented in the next examples:

• A child or young that leave home and not ask permission.
• A person that resignation in the company of form voluntary.
• Take decisions of form voluntary in a situation.

                                        

The Thrownaways is a situation where a guy is prohibited or forced en his destiny, represented in the next examples:

• A child or young that no can leave home, for no reason.
• A person that is expulsed of a company.
• A young that is forced for leave home.

             

Source:

• Flores R. (2002), Nismart "Runaway/Thrownaway Children: National Estimates and Characteristics", tomado el 11 de mayo del 2015. Disponible en:https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/196469.pdf 

                                                                                            

You are never alone!

We understand Runaways as those youth people who “voluntary leave home” and on the other hand, Throwaway youth people to those who are force leave that solid place called home. In spite of these differences, they are not totally different, because Runaway and throwaway people, both of them have reasons to leave, and these reasons are based on the environment they life, the people around them. On runaways, these youth people have emotionally problems, they feel insecure, misunderstand by their parents, or they have been physical, sexual or psychological abused as beaten, sexual abused, and most of the time is because of “family problems”. 

What makes a young person run away from home ?

According of some researches done by the institute of National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children (NISMART), “The most common endangerment component was physical or sexual abuse at home or fears of abuse upon return.”

• Of 35 homeless children, seven were considered homeless due to family problems.
• Economic situation. Neglect such as lack of food or affective attention (love) .
• Girls who run away are often fleeing sexual abuse at home.
• Girls who were sexually abused at home were likely to prostitute themselves and meet with violence on the street.

References.-

• Williams, Linda M. (2011) "Community Responsibility for Runaway and Thrownaway Youth--Commentary," Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 11
• Gina Putt. (2014). Runaway/Throwaway Children: Predictors and Preventions. May 11th, 2015, de Decoded Science Sitio web: http://www.decodedscience.com/runaway-children-predictors-preventions/44560

Runaways, a problem of the society?

All the families would like be together without troubles, but this is impossible, in some cases the members of the family over separated, and the principal affected are the kids.

A research from New York Times mentioned “Federal studies and experts in the field have estimated that at least 1.6 million juveniles run away or are thrown out of their homes annually. But most of those return home within a week, and the government does not conduct a comprehensive or current count.”  

The runaways try to scape of the abuse and the families conflicts like the violence that the parents give to them, and the percentage continue increasing, and in worst case they over stealing, selling drugs, and a lot of the problems with the authorities. Some reasons by that they desire let their home are the behavior, the physically abuse, economic problems etc. The runways take a decision and find places where live and survive alone. Somebody pay a hotel and look for jobs, the 30% of the teenagers runways had jobs. More than 78% percent are reported like adolescent significant violence towards themselves.

The majority of the runways try to avoid the police because they think that they send to home again. But some studies, in some cases, the police help to them. In another hand, is important remember that the runaways take a hard road because they have to live a difficult situations, but they scape of the problems in their homes.

References:

Ø  Farber, E & Kinast, C & McCoard & Falkner Deborah. (2002). Violence in families of adolescent runaways. Retrieved on 9 march 2015. From: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0145213484900693

Ø  Almeida, M. (2009). RUNNING IN THE SHADOWS Recession Drives Surge in Youth Runaways. Retrieved on 9 march 2015. From: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/us/26runaway.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

Ø  Td, C & RM, S. (1998). Adolescent runaways and family strife: a conflict-induced differentiation framework. Retrieved on 9 march 2015. From http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/8266840