Significant minorities of homeless people are mentally ill, alcohol/drug-dependent, or HIV/AIDS infected. Single adults may become homeless because of job loss, trouble at home, or a health problem. Veterans are discharged from the military; prisoners are released after serving sentences; young adults “graduate” from the foster care system (Hombs 2). Children are another group of the homeless. The number of single teenage mothers is rising at an epidemic rate and it is estimated that some parts of the country, 20% of the homeless children are of single parents (Kosof 4).Loss of income is a frequent cause of homelessness. Income determines people’s lifestyles; in other words, the kind of home they live in, the food they eat, the clothes they buy, the medical and dental car they receive, and the types of entertainment they can enjoy (Nichelason 1). Many people fall into poverty because of low income and eventually risk homelessness because of their jobs. Many poor and homeless are working but don’t make enough money to get above poverty line (Nichelason 1). They don’t earn enough money to pay their bills. At the same time that people are earning less pay inflation is decreasing the value of the dollar they have. If prices rise the money a person earns will buy few and few goods and services (Nichelason 1). Some people may end up choosing whether to feed and house their family or to pay the heating bill. Inflation also affects elderly people because they live on fixed incomes, income that remains at the same level regardless of inflation. When the cost of goods and services rise however many elderly Americans must use their limited funds such as social security checks, for food and medicine instead of for rent or house payments (Hurwitz 3).Until the mid-1960s most of the mentally ill were cared for in state mental institutions where they had around the clock care and supervision. During the 1960s...
