Homelessness and Social Conflict Theory

Homelessness and Social Conflict Theory
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Homelessness and Social Conflict Theory
Homelessness
Homelessness is subjectively defined based on culture, values, norms and economic status of the country. Any individual who lives below the set standard or lacks basic needs inside the facility is considered homeless. There are multiple variations in categorizing homeless people i.e. individuals living on the street, sheltered living, people temporarily living in friends or family homes, living in boarding houses, etc. are also referred as homeless people. Prior to defining homelessness, UK also describes the essential components of a home such as security, sense of identity and feeling belonged (Busch-Geertsema, 2010). Home is also a place where a person has high emotional well-being. Hence, being in a house physically does not always qualify as having a home.
According to 2016 statistics, approximately 600,000 people were categorized as homeless in the US out of which approximately 400,000 were living in sheltered facilities while 200,000 were living in unsheltered homes. Results also show that homeless individuals tend to shift from one housing facility to the other or prefer to live in their cars or tents. Much of the homeless population is also found in parks, bus or truck stations, roads, and short-term housing transitioning.
The increase in homelessness has been attributed to multiple reasons e.g. inflation has made the rich richer and the poor poorer. The discrepancy between rich and poor, unavailability of opportunities and unequal distribution of resources. Moreover, the absence of government reforms for this population and inaccessibility to the available supplies also makes them live in such housing conditions. Another cause recently being realized is domestic violence which has also increased the number of homeless women. These causes although turn in to homelessness they also raise crime rates, mental illnesses, and health issues. Hence, the incidence and effects of homelessness might be a global issue needed to be dealt with and reduced.
Society and the Church
The society, in general, deals with homelessness in both ways, positive and negative. Viewing homeless people as a victim of inflation or helpless, try to help them out. Many recent social media activists have tried to spread awareness for such needy people and arranged food, clothing, and medicines, etc. as basic needs. Another campaign which started a while ago was to encourage restaurants and shops to gather hygienic leftovers, pack it in boxes and then provide them to the homeless people. Many shop owners also opened their doors for the homeless to sleep in times when the shop or restaurant was closed. On the contrary, people also tend to view the homeless as ‘someone who does not want to change’, or consider them fake. They are scared of such people discriminating them when giving jobs or offering opportunities. The general stigmatization of homeless people are either ‘drunks’ or ‘beggars’. Offering a helping hand, churches also provide refuge for these people. The homeless are given appropriate bedding and food to live on. While many street people are bullied, i...