Hey, Homelessness is Still a Problem, and America’s Youth are Suffering Because of it

 

A man walks past a homeless encampment beneath an overpass on June 5, 2019 in Los Angeles, California, from Urban.org

Over the past 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a significant economic and psychological strain on Americans. Over the span of the two months that marked the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the national unemployment rate skyrocketing from an all-time low of 3.4% to a record high of almost 15%. Lost and lowered incomes had the average American worried about meeting basic needs, threatened with evictions and the inability to purchase food. And for many, this was the first time they had even a glimpse of what being homeless in America is like. The Homelessness Crisis affects almost 600,000 Americans, with about 20% of those being children and young adults who have been forced into homelessness, either alongside their families or completely on their own. The government has an obligation to ensure a base standard of wellbeing for its citizens, and as such the correction of homelessness in youths needs to be an active priority.

A patient being rushed into the ER, from Carthage Area Hospital

 Homelessness put youths at a significantly higher risk for illnesses and medical incidents. Without protection from the elements and no stable access to methods of maintaining proper hygiene, the body’s immune system cannot work at full capacity.  According to a study published in Paediatrics & Child Health, the lower hygiene, lack of sleep and poor nutrition in homeless youngsters resulted in significant increases in lice, fungal infections, blisters/sores, and respiratory tract infections, as well as various other viruses and diseases. 74% of these homeless youths also reported living with one or more chronic medical conditions. This increase in medical translates to an observed mortality rate of 0.89/100 homeless youths, 11 times the mortality rate of similarly aged youngsters not experiencing homelessness. When translated to the population of homeless youths, that’s almost 1,200 children dying to homelessness. As a point of reference, that’s almost three times the amount of American youths who have lost their lives to the epidemic of school shootings in the 21^st century. And while both issues are very much ongoing and tragic, the struggle of homeless youths goes largely unseen, apparently not warranting political conversations or media coverage.

Used syringes and needles piled up under a Sane Antonio underpass, Eric Gay ,AP , from USA Today

Contributing to the health risks that these homeless children face is their susceptibility to substance abuse and precocious sexual activity. The health detriments of alcohol and most drugs widely known and undisputed. A study from the Journal of Sex Research indicates that 68.5% for homeless youths have a family history of substance abuse. 74.6% have drank alcohol and hard drug use (like heroin, meth, crack and more) and numbers ranging from 10.4% all the way up to 32.2%. For non-homeless school aged children, only about 46% have used and type of substance. This increase is equated to frequent exposure to drug use on the streets and is commonly seen as an outlet to cope with the strain that homeless life put on them. Sexual activity also sees a dramatic increase among homeless individuals, starting from a younger age and seeing higher occurrences of HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and other STIs. As many as 10% of homeless youths and children have reported in engaging in “survival sex”. Survival sex constitutes an exchange of sexual favors in exchange for base necessities like food, clothing, shelter, or the funds to acquire them, and is a form of prostitution. And children who become homeless at a younger age are more likely to engage in these survival sex behaviors, doing what they need to survive. This can wreak havoc on the growing psyche and is a largely overlooked instance child molestation and sexually that needs the attention of the federal government to correct.

I can personally attest to difficulties of homelessness. I was homeless before I finished high school, being sent out under threat of violence from an abusive family with a history of alcohol abuse. I saw declines in my mental and physical health and found that homelessness feeds into a vicious cycle of that ends in an early mortality or a limbo of poverty. Without government assistance, of which there is, in my experience very little actually available, the only chance for breaking the cycle is if you happen to get lucky while working as hard as you can every day.

Breakdown of US Discretionary Spending in 2021, from the National Priorities Project

While voices cry out for federal action on the matter, the US federal government has not set up any nationwide programs for the assistance, and the little funds that do get dispersed to smaller locally run programs are not federally monitored and do not comprehensively include everyone who needs the aid. Many argue that the government is doing as much as they can and should to curb the issue, and that it’s impossible to aid because of the lack of money in the federal budget. However, this argument is invalid, as there is plentiful room for adjustment to the federal budget that would allow for a complete elimination of homelessness with minimal repercussions to other government sectors. According to reports on spending that the National Priorities Project have cited from Congress, in 2021 that 46.53% of the federal budget (~$752.06 billion) went towards military funding. That number is tremendously high for a peace-time government to be investing in military. And while some people attempt to justify the amount spent there, you cannot justify spending when you’re wasting billions of it. While no exact number has been officially reported, the withdraw of US troops from Afghanistan left an estimated “tens of billions” of dollars in equipment behind, which the US will undoubtedly replace the following year. According to estimates from GlobalGiving, the US would need to invest $20 billion towards permanent housing and aide programs. Reducing that amount from the military spending would hardly effect the percentage given to military, and could be less than the amount that the US military threw away last August.

It's obvious that the crisis of homelessness is not a priority to the US federal government, when the detriments to the American youth are so readily apparent and solutions are possible with relatively minor budget changes. This needs to change, as these youngsters, the future of our nation, deserve better. Everyone deserves a fair chance in life, it's about time that these kids get theirs.