Homelessness in the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Homelessness in the United States - Essay Example This essay will look at the conflict theory to explain homelessness. Homelessness, in reference to the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, means the situation where an individual does not have a fixed, consistent, and adequate nighttime abode. A homeless person can also be defined as an entity with a principal night time residence that is not commonly used for human habitation or a principal nighttime residence that is a temporary shelter with the intention of being institutionalized. In addition, it means a principal nighttime residence that is an administered or a publicly managed sanctuary that provides short-term accommodation and includes welfare hotels and transition shelters for the mentally ill. Homelessness has been a problem in the United States since the pre-industrial era. In the 16th Century, the homeless in the US were few and were taken care of by the immediate community since it was viewed as a communal duty to offer help to them. This was promoted by the local churches and community organizations. In the late seventeenth century, however, a more systematic system was employed. For instance, the New York City working with the local churches rented a house to use as a temporary shelter for the homeless. This culminated in an official ‘almshouse’ in 1734. ... But after the civil war, opportunities especially for women dwindled in these rural settings and people moved to the new growing cities to work as bar maids, clerks, housekeepers, and even commercial sex workers. For most people, home was where they spent the night thus began a system of loosely attached people engaged in all sorts of activity including vices such as crime. Young men and women unhappy to work in the orderly disciplined factories carried about their own business and travelers for which constant moving became a way of life. The number of people who could not find work increased and became too many for the existing shelters. Consequently, some people started spending without roofs over their heads. This problem worsened during the great depression where even warehouses holding as much as 4000 people were not sufficient; thus began the modern problem of homelessness in the United States. From the First World War to the second, the number of unemployed people increased si nce manual labor was taken over by mechanization and industrialization. This resulted in a large number of homeless people in the seventies through to the nineties up to current times (Baumohl, 1996). In 1987, the number of the homeless was estimated at 500 – 600 000 with 81% being male, 54% non white, and 48% not having cleared high school. In 2010, it was estimated that the US had 3,500,000 homeless people. The majority of the people were between 25 to 44 years of age. 70% of the homeless live in the urban areas, 20% in sub-urban areas, and 10% in the rural areas. 67% of the homeless are single men while 20% are women. In addition, 25% are veterans and 15% are parents with children. Los Angeles has the highest

Coffe Shop Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Coffe Shop - Assignment Example Such a center would comprise of the serenity of a calm environment while also providing the rejuvenating refreshments that often correlates with a hassle-free refuge as a necessity for academic or professional research. Of course, the goal of combining the library/caf institutions would be to increase attendance to both the establishment and the downtown community. Like any business, a survey of current customers, i.e. readers/researchers, along with potential attendees must be taken into account if this establishment is ever expected to thrive. Therefore, samples of both categories of people were surveyed to answer the caf/library proposal. The first category of people were provided by Tony Barnett and library staff to meet an established criteria of frequent users, ages ranging from thirty to fifty years. Category number two is composed of individuals solicited by researchers that reside or are employed within a one-mile radius of the downtown area. These individuals are also within the thirty to fifty age ranges. With these candidates, the survey brings the opinions of both current attendees and very potential attendees. To better understand these candidates and their aspirations for the library, they were asked their own personal reasons for utilizing the library. Responses were various to include matters like researching, enjoyment, a place to bring children, internet accessibility, to save money, to utilize a silent environment, the abundance of informational resources, and for the programs any given library often offers. The fundamental purpose for any library will naturally be maintaining and offering informational resources. This correlates with the need to research and the quiet setting to achieve such a goal. Internet accessibility can also be paralleled with informational resources as the internet is perhaps the most modern and rising form of informational media. In fact, many libraries use the World Wide Web as a basis for cataloging the entire inventory of literature they may preserve. Accessibility to the internet in conjunction with the entire stock of literature allows people to save m oney on internet bills and book prices. Without this free access to media and literature, the general public would lack an overall ability to be successful, free-thinking citizens. And of course, there are the children to take into consideration, a population with the highest need of informational as well as imaginative enlightenment. Though schools are the primary establishment ordained to teach children, it is the library that allows for independent study in any field a pupil may deem fascinating. Without the library, the supportive ammunition essential to education would be seriously hindered. In essence, libraries are the pillars of the American educational system and still they remain the preserving force of all human knowledge. The question that comes to bear is how to reinforce these pillars: how can the library improve This question was bestowed to both groups and again a variety of responses were given. The primary concern of group one can be summarized as a need for a more