Czhareen Anne Briones

Public​ ​Perception​ ​Towards​ ​Homelessness Homelessness is arguably an underrated but equally important social issue in the US which started to gain central political discussions since it was reported to have been significantly increasing in the 1970’s (Agans et al., 2011). In a study by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP), there are approximately 2.5 to 3 million homeless Americans before the 2008 recession, making the US as “one of the highest rates of homelessness among developed nations” (Agans et al., 2011, p. 5934; “Homelessness in America,” 2015). However, despite the growing number of people experiencing an unstable living condition, according to a study by Gallup Inc. , people rarely mention homelessness when asked about the most important problem that this nation faces today (“Homelessness in America” 2007). This gap translates to a curious case in which it is important to examine the public’s perception​ ​towards​ ​homelessness​ ​and​ ​analyze​ ​its​ ​relationship​ ​with​ ​the​ ​actual​ ​cause​ ​thereof. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (n.d.) gave various definitions of ‘homelessness’,​ ​in​ ​which​ ​among​ ​those​ ​was: A homeless person is an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-permanent situation. [Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C., 254b)] (“What​ ​is​ ​the​ ​official”​ ​n.d.). This and other definitions provided by HHS all boils down to a person without a stable living situation. Such definitions of homelessness hold various stigmatization or stereotypes from people that may marginalize this sector of the society. Crossman (2017) identifies stereotype as “​a rigid, oversimplified, often exaggerated belief that is applied both to an entire social category of people and to each individual within it”, which therefore causes positive or negative prejudice. These stereotypes may or may not be helpful, this is because as ​Cronin (2014) states, stereotypes and​ ​limited​ ​understanding​ ​of​ ​the​ ​issue​ ​hinder​ ​the​ ​solutions​ ​that​ ​may​ ​address​ ​homelessness. Identifying a roofless individual as being lazy, dependent, and irresponsible in handling their life is one example of stereotyping. Blaming the homeless for their current situation overlooks all possible external factors that lead them to rooflessness. There are homeless people with jobs, families to support, and schools to attend to. In the NLCHP study, 2.5 million school children overall​ ​were​ ​homeless​ ​in​ ​2013​ ​(“Homelessness​ ​in​ ​America,”​ ​2015). These reasoning puts an unequal pressure to the marginalized group instead of widening an understanding of how the society works and affects this sector. Furthermore Hinton (2002) argues that indicating that poor people are lazy and unintelligent while rich people are hardworking and intelligent give a problematic attribution to people (as cited in Cronin, 2014). Generalizing these characteristics overlooks the root cause of the problem which also leads to the public’s​ ​diminished​ ​sympathy​ ​towards​ ​homeless​ ​people. These stereotypes bring serious emotional impact to the homeless. According to Shier, Jones, & Graham (2010) homeless individuals often feel humiliation when they use services provided to them because of the feeling of judgement from other people (as cited in Cronin, 2014, p. 8). In addition to that, Cronin also mentioned the shame they feel when hygiene is denied to them. These has a huge impact on how they view themselves in the society in terms of their self-worth and existence. Access to health and safety may also be denied to homeless individuals that may cause​ ​serious​ ​harm​ ​especially​ ​to​ ​women​ ​and​ ​children. In a study by Cronin (2014), Americans generally blame an individual’s shortcomings while hard work, intelligence, and skills justify inequality. This perception invalidates the reality that there is a powerful social structure that controls existing norms and beliefs of people. This is supported by Seider,Rabinowicz, & Gillmor (2012), Lee, Farrell, & Link, (2004) study which was parallel to what Cronin said, stating that “Americans believe that poor individuals are responsible for their own​ ​struggles,​ ​rather​ ​than​ ​a​ ​failure​ ​of​ ​the​ ​greater​ ​system”​ ​(As​ ​cited​ ​in​ ​Cronin,​ ​2014,​ ​p.7). Kozol (as cited Cronin, 2014) indicated the perception of Americans that causes their uninvolvement​ ​this​ ​issue: The notion that the homeless are largely psychotics who belong in institutions, rather than victims of displacement at the hands of enterprising realtors, spares us from the need to offer realistic solutions to the fact of deep and widening extremes on wealth and poverty in the United States. It also enables us to tell ourselves that the despair of homeless people bears no intimate connection to the privileged existence we enjoy when, for example, we rent or purchase one of those restored townhouses that once provided shelter for people now huddled in​ ​the​ ​street”​ ​(p.​ ​10). This is a clear manifestation of the failure to identify the real causes of homelessness. Results from Gallup Inc., (2007) survey stated that people “feel” that drug and alcohol abuse is the major reason for homelessness, while mental health issues were the primary cause thereof among veterans. The results are also parallel with Agans’ et al., (2011) study where 91% of people rated drug and alcohol abuse as the top reason for homelessness, along with mental illness, shortage of affordable housing, mental hospital patients in the society, problematic economic system, insufficient government aid, physical disabilities, irresponsibility, laziness, failure education system,​ ​and​ ​bad​ ​luck,​ ​respectively. NLCHP data provided the leading cause of homelessness which include the following: (1) insufficient income and lack of affordable housing; (2) insufficient funds to support other basic needs due to increased budget allotted to housing; (3) 2008 recession; (4) and domestic violence especially to women, and children (“Homelessness in America,” 2015). Furthermore the US Conference of Mayors annual survey identified the same causes with unemployment, poverty, and​ ​substance​ ​abuse. In a study by Weinberger (1999), structural factors also played a major role in the increasing case​ ​of​ ​homelessness​ ​which​ ​include: (i) rising housing costs and transformations in the national housing market, (ii) the lack of relative expansion in the government "safety net" and the inability of social service programs to keep pace with increasing demand, and (iii) the pervasiveness of socio-political norms and attitudes that stigmatize the homeless in the policy sphere and thwart efforts of homeless service providers to meet​ ​the​ ​needs​ ​of​ ​the​ ​homeless​ ​population. The structural factors mentioned emphasized the problems in the society that the public failed to realize since the 1970s. Weinberger (1999) has also mentioned that social commentators have introduced the “culture of poverty” in which poor people with their inherent situation justifies the reason why they are most likely to become homeless. These situations include the stereotypes that the poor may have been lazy and are already contented to the life that they have. In addition to that NLCHP stated that “only one in four of those poor enough to qualify for low-income housing assistance receives it” (“Homelessness in America,” 2015). Ravenhill (2008) concludes that the social policies from the past and the present have been playing a crucial role in the existence of homelessness, stating that these policies resulted to “disjointed, uncoordinated projects​ ​and​ ​pieces​ ​of​ ​legislation,​ ​despite​ ​several​ ​attempts​ ​to​ ​unite​ ​them”​ ​(p.​ ​223). Instead of putting pressure on the federal government to address these problems for immediate action, the existing powerful social structure foreshadows this by blaming the homeless. The assumptions that the homeless are lazy while the rich were the opposite is an anti-poor generalization. The failure to recognize the state of those in the marginalized society in one manifestation of the perception of those standing in the Eifel Tower. What people always overlooks when thinking of solutions to further improve the society is their lack of analysis and their failure to check their privilege. However, this does not mean that the public’s shortcomings are solely to blame because of the dominant social construct that foreshadows the root cause of the problem. Weinberger (1999) questions the goals of public policies that the government might implement to cater to the needs of a diverse population of the homeless, however he adds “ any significant progress in resolving them depends upon a collective response on the part of all American citizens. Only in this way will it be possible to truly provide the type of social activism and national "continuum of care" that is necessary to combat the continuing problem of homelessness in America today​”. Public involvement, without their negative stereotypes and perceptions,​ ​in​ ​this​ ​serious​ ​national​ ​issue​ ​have​ ​the​ ​greatest​ ​power​ ​over​ ​all​ ​existing​ ​social​ ​norms. References: Agans, R. P., Liu, G., Jones, M., Verjan, C., Silverbush, M., & Kalsbeek, W. D. (2011, May). Public attitudes toward the homeless. In ​66th Annual Conference of the American Association for Public​ ​Opinion​ ​Research,​ ​Phoenix,​ ​Arizona​ ​(pp.​ ​12-15). Cronin, Julie. (2014). Perceptions and Misconceptions: The Relationship Between Education and Understandings of Individuals Experiencing Homelessness. In BSU Honors Program Theses and Projects. Item 37. Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/honors_proj/37 Copyright © 2014 Julie Cronin. Crossman, A. (n.d.). Stereotype - Definition in the Study of Sociology. Retrieved July 22, 2017, from​ ​https://www.thoughtco.com/stereotype-. Homelessness in America Americans’ Perceptions, Attitudes ... (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2017, from https://www.bing.com/cr?IG=7CF85992C44C46AEBA31B408BBB79BE7&CID=1DBB-E509A192CF413763D2&rd=1&h=iyDLUMmMTHaR8DX0qfPSLuQeqGg3iDQcT-OSX4i 6uN8&v=1&r=https%3a%2f%2fshnny.org%2fuploads%2f2007_Gallup_Poll.pdf&p=DevEx,506 2.1 Homelessness in America: Overview of Data and Causes. (2015, January). Retrieved July 23, 2017,​ ​from​ ​https://www.nlchp.org/documents/Homeless_Stats_Fact_Sheet. Ravenhill,​ ​M.​ ​(2016).​ ​The​ ​culture​ ​of​ ​homelessness​.​ ​London​ ​;​ ​New​ ​York:​ ​Routledge. Weinberger, D. (1999). The Causes of Homelessness in America. Retrieved July 22, 2017, from https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/soc_sec/hcauses.htm. What is the official definition of homelessness? (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2017, from https://www.nhchc.org/faq/official-definition-homelessness/