Alcoholism and the Homeless Population

Alcoholism and the Homeless Population
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Introduction
Last year in January, statistics indicated that the number of homeless people roaming the streets in America were about, 578,424 (Endhomelessness.org, 2015). More than 216,197 of this group had families on the streets as well, while the rest of the groups totaling up to 362,163 were recorded as individuals (Endhomelessness.org, 2015). Going by the numbers and the lack of concrete efforts to resolve the issue of homeless people in America, the figure is likely to have come up this year. The staggering statistics also indicate that, close to 15% of the homeless population are chronically homeless (Endhomelessness.org, 2015). This means despite the efforts, they still end up being homeless.What is even more astonishing is the fact that, more than 9% of the people that are homeless on the streets across the United States are actually veterans (Endhomelessness.org, 2015). Over 25% of this population is composed of children who are under the age of 18 years. It is important to note that close to 30% of the population have at one time in their lives experienced domestic violence and more than 20% suffer from mental illness. There are different reasons that force these people to come to the streets other than lead successful lives (Brown, 2011).
Relative to complexity of life on the streets, stress levels and in some of the cases social pressure among the homeless, cases of alcoholism and drug abuse are high. Most of them tend to use the alcohol to get away from their current predicament and in the end become addicted to the vice. The rate at which the homeless population abuses alcohol is estimated to be higher than that of the general population.However the general notion that homeless people are associated with alcohol and substance abuse are not substantiated (Apha.org, 1989). It is not all the homeless people that abuse alcohol or other drugs and not all the people that abuse alcohol end up being homeless. While there are cases that have followed this general trend, it is not correct to make a generalized bias on the case. All the same alcoholism has been a major concern among the homeless people in the United States, and situation is far from being sustainable resolved (Abel & Cummings, 1993).
Reasons for homelessness
At the center of the homeless people lies the main reason that on most cases renders them to their situation and one that causes the most amount of stress leading alcohol abuse, economic status. Homelessness problem is aggravated by the ever increasing gap between the costs of housing and the wages earned (Brown, 2011).The minimum wage has been decreasing in light of inflation but the housing costs rise. Political factors have also been cited to have led to the situation worsening. In the 60s, the housing projects almost got to a point of resolving the issue, in the 80s the funding to the projects were slashed in half. Aspects such as immigration laws, work requirements and time limits have also exacerbated the problem, by imposing limits and reducing the level of access to the assistance services for people at or below the poverty line (Apha.org, 1989). One other reason that forms the basis of the p...