"Homeless" redirects here. For other uses, see Homeless (disambiguation).
Medical condition
Homelessness
Other names
Houselessness, unhoused, unsheltered, out the front, destitute, deserted, vagrancy
A homeless man in Paris, France
Specialty
Sociology
Symptoms
Lack of long-term shelter options which eventually culminates into further issues.
Complications
Mental illness, drug dependency, stress, anxiety, depression, disease or even death
Duration
Long-term
Causes
Drug dependency, domestic violence, lack of affordable housing or housing options, mental illness, sexual abuse, poverty, by choice (rare)
Prevention
Homeless shelters, affordable housing, drug rehabilitation services, outreach
Frequency
150 million (2023 estimate)
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. The general category includes disparate situations, such as living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation such as family or friends, living in boarding houses with no security of tenure,[1] and people who leave their domiciles because of civil conflict and are refugees within their country.
The legal status of homeless people varies from place to place.[2] United States government homeless enumeration studies[3][4] also include people who sleep in a public or private place, which is not designed for use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.[5][6] Homelessness and poverty are interrelated.[1] There is no methodological consensus on counting homeless people and identifying their needs; therefore, in most cities, only estimated homeless populations are known.[7]
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In 2005, an estimated 100 million people worldwide were homeless, and as many as one billion people (one in 6.5 at the time) live as squatters, refugees, or in temporary shelters.[8][9][10] Unhoused persons who travel have been termed vagrants in the past; of those, persons looking for work are hobos, whereas those who don't are tramps. Bum is a general term of disparagement for a stationary homeless person.
^ abHanson-Easey, Scott; Every, Danielle; Tehan, Bridget; Richardson, John; Krackowizer, Antoinette (2016). "Climate change, housing and homelessness: Report on the homelessness and climate change forum (why are climate change and homelessness in the same category?)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
^"Glossary defining homelessness". Retrieved 17 September 2014.
^Bogard, Cynthia J., "Advocacy and Enumeration: Counting Homeless People in a Suburban Community" Archived 25 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, American Behavioral Scientist September 2001 vol. 45 no. 1 105–120
^Gabbard, W. Jay; et al., "Methodological Issues in Enumerating Homeless Individuals", Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless Vol. 16, No. 2 / May 2007 90–103
^Office of Applied Studies, United States Department of Health and Human Services, "Terminology" Archived 23 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine
^"United States Code, Title 42, Chapter 119, Subchapter I, § 11302". Retrieved 17 September 2014.
^Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 348.
^Monte Leach. "A roof is not enough – a look at homelessness worldwide". Share-International.org. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
^"Global Homelessness Statistics". HomelessWorlCup.org. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
^Young, Lloyd. "Homelessness around the world". The Boston Globe. 14 December 2011.
poverty and prevent homelessness. Homelessness is closely connected to declines in physical and mental health. Most people who use homeless shelters frequently...
major driving factors and contributors to rising homelessness rates. The main contributor to homelessness is a lack of housing supply and rising home values...
Homelessness in the United States has occurred to varying degrees across the country. The total number of homeless people in the United States fluctuates...
statistics or generate news on homelessness. For example, in Hong Kong in 2017, media reports indicated that 1,800 people were homeless, with the problem mainly...
399 people were experiencing homelessness in California in January 2023.: 8 This represents more than 27% of the homeless population of the United States...
Homelessness in Indonesia refers to the issue of homelessness, a condition wherein people lack a stable and appropriate place of housing. The number of...
on "absolute homelessness" and there was no consistent definition of homelessness. In 2012 the York University-based Canadian Homelessness Research Network...
homelessness, including mental illness and addiction, and the per capita rate of homelessness around the country. By looking at the rate of homeless per...
Homelessness in China is a significant social issue. In 2011, there were approximately 2.41 million homeless adults and 179,000 homeless children living...
Homelessness in Japan (ホームレス, 浮浪者) is a social issue overwhelmingly affecting middle-aged and elderly males. Homelessness is thought to have peaked in...
end of homelessness through the sport of association football. The organization puts together an annual football tournament where teams of homeless people...
definitions of homelessness, making it difficult to compare levels of homelessness across countries. A majority of people experiencing homelessness long-term...
2020-02-17. Wedia. "Homelessness on the rise in Germany". www.iamexpat.de. Retrieved 2020-02-11. "Global Homelessness Statistics". Homeless World Cup. Retrieved...
Fran (1 November 2011). "From Homelessness to Community: Psychological Integration of Women Who Have Experienced Homelessness". Journal of Community Psychology...
related to Homelessness in the United Kingdom. Amnesty International UK's Homelessness Report: An Obstacle Course. Amnesty International Homeless Link National...
needed] However, this did not put an end to homelessness in the USSR and those who still struggled with homelessness were often labelled "parasites" for not...
Homelessness in Switzerland is a known social issue, however, there are few estimates as to the number of Swiss people affected. Homelessness is less...
homelessness, including mental illness and addiction, and the per capita rate of homelessness around the country. By looking at the rate of homeless per...
Coalition for the Homeless is a not-for-profit advocacy group focused on homelessness in New York. The coalition has engaged in landmark litigation to...
duties to homeless people under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002. There are five hurdles which a homeless person...
describe homelessness are formed around poverty and vagrancy. Some researchers maintain that a Housing First policy would not solve the homelessness issue...
chronically homeless individuals. Homelessness in Ohio has been declining, as Ohio ranks as one of the U.S. states with lower rates of homelessness and has...
homeless legislation and policy in Scotland has diverged in important ways from the rest of the UK. The Scottish parliament passed the Homelessness etc...
Homelessness in Ireland is an evolving social issue. During the 19th century, homelessness was a pervasive impact of the Great Famine (1845–1852). During...
Homelessness in Finland affected 4396 people at the end of 2021. Long-term homelessness affected 1,318 people. Finland and Denmark are the only European...
experience of homelessness is a gendered one, with pathways into homelessness differing on the basis of gender. One of the primary causes of homelessness among...
and Social Council Statement has a broader definition for homelessness; it defines homelessness as follows: ‘When we are talking about housing, we are not...
decade. According to the United Nations, homelessness can either be relative or absolute. Absolute homelessness describes people living in absence of proper...
the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, as of January 2017, there are an estimated 32,190 homeless individuals in Florida. Of this high number...
Global Information
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