Poverty and Homelessness

Poverty and
Homelessness
Housing Policy, UK
12/30/2019

Introduction
Homelessness is a very serious issue increasing continuously in the country in many forms;
the government always made plan to solve issue but this is increasing dramatically and
causing many other issues in the society. From the last decade, this issue has raised at a very
broad level in the state of the United Kingdom from the period Great Depression many
people lost their accommodation and became homeless. This essay will discuss the causes
hidden behind the economic instability of a person that leads the poverty and poverty is
assumed a reason that create issues in one’s life to buy a safe place for living (Crisis, 2019).
These issues are related to earning, job, employment, and inability to afford safe houses due
to poverty. This essay will focus on poverty and fewer income factors as the main issue,
which causes homelessness to a person, and the role of these factors behind the increasing
rate of homelessness in the state of the UK. This essay will be based on the following thesis
for its research about homelessness in the state of the United Kingdom (Crisis, 2019).
Thesis
”Poverty, unemployment restricts affordability for better accommodation and leads to
homelessness in the country”
Homelessness can be caused by many reasons related to living and earning of a person to
afford a suitable house for living. According to the Homeless Assistance Act, lack of fixed,
regular, and safe nighttime residence is homelessness, emerging as serious issue and this
issue require a solution because living without home and safety is very critical for survival.
Homelessness can be said root to many other issues related to crime increment and increased
death rate of children, and women (Wise and Phillips, 2013). In England, more than 50,000
people were found living and sleeping on the road and local streets, and more than 1 million
are recorded in the list of waiting for the approval of social housing from their government

(England.shelter.org.uk, 2019). The history of the emergence of homelessness is expressed as
a dramatic issue emerged in the country in 1960 this lead to many changes in the political
environment if the country. The government made many efforts from the initial stage to
control the problem but it never gets a solution and still increasing rapidly. Many acts like
Housing (Homeless Persons) Act in 1977, Neo-liberal housing policies from 1980, Growth of
homelessness in 1980 and Homelessness Act in 2002, The Homelessness Reduction Act
2017, Coalition and Conservative Government’s 2010 -2019 to implement effective step
towards controlling homelessness in the state. Homeless people face issues with their basic
living and surviving activities, they need shelter to sleep because a shelter is important for the
overall growth of people. People living without shelter live a nomadic life with no proper
identification of living place and this leads to many mental and physical health challenges for
them(England.shelter.org.uk, 2019).
Poverty and housing issues
Poverty and homelessness are strongly connected, in this relation, lack of income sources
cause issues to access sources for living and homeless peoples involve those having lack of
permanent shelter and residence in a range of less satisfactory housing conditions. Homeless
people are not only those living in the street but this also counts those living in night shelters,
temporary hostels, bed and breakfast, and squatter and people living in the crowded houses.
The legal definition of homeless people includes all people living without satisfactory
accommodation and face difficulty to access a suitable house to live are homeless they have
no access to buy a house legally. According to the present data, street sleepers have high
death rates in the state because they face rough sleeping that causes illness and fear of
accident by the moving vehicle (Crisis, 2019).