{"id":21893,"date":"2023-08-30T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T13:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=21893"},"modified":"2023-08-18T16:51:10","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T20:51:10","slug":"when-multiple-social-systems-go-down-at-once-homelessness-prevails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/when-multiple-social-systems-go-down-at-once-homelessness-prevails\/","title":{"rendered":"When Multiple Social Systems Go Down at Once, Homelessness Prevails"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">How Do System Failures and Social Inequalities Affect Homelessness?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">New York City\u2019s homeless shelters are overloaded to the highest capacity in recorded history. In late June, a record-breaking 100,000 people lined the streets in search of shelter. But there are no beds left in the city that never sleeps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The spike in shelter needs\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/06\/28\/nyregion\/nyc-homeless-shelter-population.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">has been attributed<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to the tens of thousands of asylum seekers who are ever flowing into the city from all across the globe. While\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/05\/18\/1176935390\/new-york-state-is-becoming-a-battleground-for-migrant-rights#:~:text=New%20York%20City%20has%20received,NPR&#039;s%20Jasmine%20Garsd%20reports.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NPR<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0reports that as many as 50,000 migrants have, indeed, been bussed into the Big Apple, one keen observer on Twitter pointed out the not-so-subtle truth:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">If only it was just a broken immigration system, and not also a broken housing system, foster care system, healthcare system, criminal justice system, education system, elder care system, childcare system, labor and employment system\u2026\u2026.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Z28oQQ64Eg\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/t.co\/Z28oQQ64Eg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tom Murphy (@TVM_Comms) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TVM_Comms\/status\/1674409987924193280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">June 29, 2023, <\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cIf only it was just a broken immigration system, and not also a broken housing system, foster care system, healthcare system, criminal justice system, education system, elder care system, childcare system, labor, and employment system\u2026\u2026\u201d said\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tvm_comms\/status\/1674409987924193280?s=51&amp;t=lpsZ-aXycwrswiODG6lPXg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Tom Murphy@TVM_Comms<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0in a tweet quoting the article.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This is an important point as well. We are so quick to find the flaws in whichever system is visibly ripping at any moment that we tend to overlook that our entire social safety net is ripping under the weight of overburdened intertwined threads.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Let&#8217;s take a deep dive into each of these system failures and determine how they increase the state of homelessness.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A Broken Immigration System Has Left Asylum Seekers Out in the Cold<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The US is a nation built on immigration and diversity, a place where more than 2,200 migrants arrive each day. According to the latest census, immigrants account for 13.6% of the national population, totaling roughly 45 million people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">From fleeing conflict to seeking economic growth and evading climate-driven natural disasters (see\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/climate-change-is-now-the-leading-cause-of-global-homelessness-by-internal-displacement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Climate Change is Now the Leading Cause of Global Homelessness<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0for more on that subject), people often arrive here down on luck, high on hope, or exhibiting some combination of the two.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sadly, many\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/homeless-immigrants-and-how-they-are-living-near-the-mexican-border\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">seeking asylum<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0will find little more than misery upon arrival. Immigrants make up a vast portion of the homeless population in New York and other notoriously unaffordable cities like Los Angeles and Toronto.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It was recently reported that the Big Apple buckled under the pressure of its \u201c<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/advocates-say-ending-new-yorks-right-to-shelter-is-misguided-and-unethical\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Right to Shelter<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201d law, leaving a surplus of 90,000 migrants in some of the most desolate conditions imaginable. One makeshift shelter in Brooklyn was described as having two bathrooms to share amongst 80 people and two showers trailers for the entire facility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Residents there complained of physical and verbal harassment, spoiled food, and lacking basic necessities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">America has a broken immigration system and bigger problems contributing to the homeless crisis still.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A Broken Housing System Has Left Most Hardworking Americans Defeated<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A March 2023 report revealed this sobering truth \u2013\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/markets.businessinsider.com\/news\/stocks\/housing-market-unaffordable-mortgage-home-prices-rates-fed-mba-finance-2023-6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">housing in America is more unaffordable than ever<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. Rental rates reached record highs for a solid 17 months consecutively, and that market is short more than 7.3 million affordable housing units.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Meanwhile, the National Home Price Index reveals a shocking 18.6% increase this past year alone. The average median home price now teeters dangerously close to half a million dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wages haven\u2019t come anywhere close to competing with these skyrocketing rates. The median wage has lagged behind the rental rate increase fourfold, and inflation has made other necessities unaffordable on top of that. Working Americans are catching the aftereffects of the housing crisis coming and going, to the point where millions can\u2019t afford to keep going home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">America has a broken immigration system, and a broken housing system, too. Still, bigger problems are also contributing to the homeless crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A Broken Foster Care System Has Contributed to the Fact That 3.5 Million Young Adults Endure Homelessness Each Year<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One in ten youths between the ages of 18 and 25 are subject to the harrowing state of homelessness each year. 25% of youths aging out of foster care will be among them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Youths aging out of the foster care system have often also experienced one or more of the following negative situations:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Loss of parents or guardians<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Multiple episodes of abuse and neglect<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Juvenile incarceration<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">No social or familial support system<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Academic obstacles like disrupted or limited education<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Social stigmas and more<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Our youth are falling through the cracks of the foster care system. Their shelter space is limited because we also have a broken immigration system, not to mention a broken housing system. And in the background, a more significant problem looms.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Housing is Healthcare, Which Means Our Healthcare System is in the Perpetual State of Disrepair<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Homelessness creates a vicious cycle around just about everything it touches, including healthcare. People who are enduring homelessness are less likely to have access to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Transportation to and from doctor\u2019s appointments<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Potentially life-saving screenings and prescription medications<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Routine checkups for physical and mental health and much more<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">As a result, they are more likely to die from commonplace, treatable diseases. To that end, members of the homeless population statistically die three decades sooner than their housed peers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Furthermore, the lack of access to primary healthcare forces people enduring homelessness to spend significantly more time in emergency rooms. This, in turn, puts a\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/how-much-is-a-lack-of-affordable-housing-costing-us-in-healthcare\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">strain on the healthcare system<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, the very system that\u2019s been failing them in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">As you can see, the burden currently placed on New York City\u2019s homeless shelter system and, to a broader extent, the entire homeless services sector is not the result of any one flawed system, be that immigration or otherwise. Rather, it is glaring evidence that the entire social foundation is cracked from the floor to the ceiling. More people are entering into homelessness as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Talk To Your Local Legislators about the Structural Causes of Homelessness<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Some say the system isn\u2019t broken at all. It is working precisely as it was designed. Suppose that is, indeed, the case. In that case, it is working because the true causes of homelessness are not only being ignored but also, more egregiously, they are being supported by the current legislation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Please urge your local legislators to address the structural causes of homelessness by making housing a human right.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Do System Failures and Social Inequalities Affect Homelessness? New York City\u2019s homeless shelters are overloaded to the highest capacity in recorded history. In late June, a record-breaking 100,000 people lined the streets in search of shelter. But there are &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/when-multiple-social-systems-go-down-at-once-homelessness-prevails\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":21894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[769,752,515,13302,15791],"coauthors":[8785],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21893"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21893"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21984,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21893\/revisions\/21984"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21893"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=21893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}