As of right now approximately 3.5 million people who live in the United States are homeless. The current state of the economy and the fact that the banks are foreclosing on so many homes means that the number of homeless Americans is expected to be climbing even higher.
The attitude that many American’s have towards the homeless isn’t all that favorable. The average American tends to think that the homeless are homeless by choice and that if they are serious about correcting their situation, than they should get a job. Sometimes this is not as easy as many of us would like to believe.
What many people don’t understand is that many of the homeless in the United States really don’t have a choice. While there are many who have lost their home and jobs, many are people who are in fact mentally ill and who never got the help that they needed. These people don’t have the mental capabilities to get and keep a job. Many of today’s homeless are suffering from things like severe depression and PTSD.
Some of the homeless are homeless by choice. Many of the people who fall into this category are women who are desperate to escape a really bad, usually abusive situation. Their home life was so bad that they feel living on the streets and moving from one shelter to the next is better than letting the person who beat them find them. Most of these are women who have spent the better part of their life as a victim of domestic abuse.
Other people who live on the streets are hiding from their own criminal past. By living on the streets and being very careful to not draw any attention to them, these individuals are able to escape prosecution.
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