A study in January 2024 showed that in only two years, homelessness around America increased by 18%. In 2023, there was also a study that showed that 73,312 people who were unhoused were counted in Los Angeles. The number of homeless people is still increasing, and if nothing is done, places like LA, San Francisco, New York, and many other cities will look completely different. Where I lived before, in LA, I would drive through streets with homeless people and trash lining them. Sometimes when I would get home from school, police would be surrounding the areas where they lived, and children would be walking around just watching. Having a lot of unsheltered and uncared-for kids can be really dangerous and bad for society and the future of America. Living in unsafe places where gun violence, drug use, and stealing or usual occurrences can be bad for the mind, especially when you’re young. The more unsheltered people, the more there’s crime. In areas like LA, where the homeless are everywhere, crimes are also more likely, and dangerous areas are more common. When there is an increase in crime and a need for public healthcare, government costs are significantly impacted. To be able to run a society with homeless people, you need extra work and money to keep your population in check. These things can increase government costs, especially when there’s more of a need for public services like emergency healthcare, shelters, and the criminal justice system.
Increases in unhoused people around America can also affect the economy and society in general. When more homeless and unemployed people are added to society, jobs and money are affected, and not in a good way. Homeless families around America with kids who can’t go to school can be really bad for society. Students and kids who aren’t educated because they have to help their parents with money or just pay for themselves will also be the future of America, and having uneducated people will never be a good thing. When the number of homeless people increases, economic output begins to decrease, and government costs go up. When a society has a big population of unemployed and uneducated individuals, its general output is low. To be able to start a business or be able to sell something, you need first to have an education so you know the basics and what is going on around you, so you know what people want and will pay for. Participation in jobs also makes up a healthy and thriving society. When people don’t have their diplomas and just work at a fast food joint, their overall contribution to society is low.
In America, the number of renter households who pay more than 50% of their income on their housing is around 12.1 million people. And the number of people who pay 40% of their income on housing is 32.8% of the whole population. The number of homeless people is rising even though there are ways to stop it. Currently, the minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour, and with that wage, it’s almost impossible to pay for a house and have extra money for food and other needed expenses. The average living wage in America for a single person with no kids is $21 per hour, and that’s just the average. A family, however, requires way more, especially if they have kids. Around 70 % of all Americans have kids, and 11.5% of all Americans live below the poverty line. That’s 37.9 million people! For a healthier and more comfortable life, the minimum wage should not be below the poverty line. If anything, it should be above it. Housing in America is very expensive, and in places like LA, where the average cost is 1 million, wages should go up, and the cost of housing should go down. Insane pricing for housing and wages below those costs are two of the main reasons homelessness in America is so high. Raising wages and bringing down prices is not something that can happen overnight and is something that only the higher-ups are really in charge of, but there is something you can do too. Something you can do to help is just speak up about it. Go to protests and maybe right a letter. Sometimes even the smallest things can do the greatest. Homelessness is a problem, but you’re not, fight it, and there can be good.
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