More recent research estimates that close to 2 million Americans are now without a roof over their heads. In the total number of the poor in Europe, according to the European Union’s research, the share of homeless people is about 2.7 million. The United Nations estimates that the number of homeless people around the world exceeds one billion. Worldwide data show that 50,000 people, mainly children and women, die every day as a result of poor shelters, polluted water and inadequate sanitation, and at least 600 million people live in shelters that are life threatening and health-threatening. According to estimates, 1.3 billion people worldwide live in poverty, of which 70 percent are women and girls. It is estimated that there are 23 million refugees. Homelessness directly affects health, for example in London, the expected life of the homeless is almost 25 years lower than the national average. In the United States, it is estimated that 842 000 people have a homeless experience at least for one night. According to this estimate, annually there are about 3.5 million homeless people in that country. In the Republic of Germany, the 2004 survey shows that 272,000 people live as homeless, without a roof over their heads or without adequate housing. In Poland, it is estimated that every year about 33 434 people stay in accommodation, temporary accommodation or in hostels for homeless people. In India it is estimated that there are 2.3 million homeless people. In Australia, according to a 2001 census, there are 99,900 people without a home. The exact number of homeless people is impossible to determine, but the fact is that it would be much higher if you added the number of those who are “marginalized” (those who are at risk of becoming homeless due to poverty or inadequate housing) and “hidden homeless people” (they who are hostile to their relatives or friends). To explain the dramatic increase in homelessness, especially in the 1980s and ’90s, many reasons have been stated. Apart from the fact that the level of poverty in this period in the developed world is generally on the rise, at the same time the possibility of cheaper housing in many cities is rapidly decreasing. Waiting for social housing is lasting for years, and social assistance is not following the inflation rate. In addition to these factors, the trend of increasing homelessness has also been accompanied by changes in the treatment of chronically mentally ill, drug addicts, the inability of the family to support their adult members, and an increase in reported cases of violence against women.
Homeless in the United States
Recent research estimates that today there is no roof over 700,000 to 2 million Americans. Homeless people used to be mostly white men, men and alcoholics, but during the 1980s there were more and more members of minorities, women and children among homeless people. For a long time, there is a belief that homeless people are mostly people who ended up on the street when during the eighties many patients were discharged from mental health facilities. However, research has shown that among homeless people there is a relatively small proportion of those with severe mental illnesses, and a much greater number of those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Many remain on the street and for many other reasons why it is very difficult to describe a typical homeless person.
Interesting from the US
An initiative called the “Common Goal” was launched with the aim of rearranging abandoned buildings into hotels that would provide homeless people with a permanent home and thereby restore their dignity. Rosanne Haggerty, the president of the initiative, believes that this can help a lasting solution to the problem of homelessness. Not only are they provided with a roof over their heads, they are also provided with the social environment necessary for their re- socialization. The first project was related to the renovation of the luxury Times Square in New York, which was abandoned and in a very bad condition. Rosanne managed to persuade large companies, an office of the mayor and the social welfare service to support her initiative by constant lobbying. The first radical step was the combination of accommodation for homeless people and low-income workers.
Now it is home for 652 tenants, and half of them were homeless before. The success of this project
has initiated the opening of three new shelters in New York.
K. Ga
