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| Homelessness | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Houselessness, unhoused, unsheltered, out the front, destitute, deserted, vagrancy |
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| A homeless person in Moscow, Russia in 2021 | |
| Specialty | Public health, sociology |
| Symptoms | For long-term cases, usually both mental and physical health issues. It can eventually culminate in more serious conditions |
| Complications | Mental illness, drug dependency, stress, anxiety, depression, disease, in severe cases death |
| Duration | Potentially chronic |
| Causes | Drug dependency, alcoholism, domestic violence, lack of affordable housing or housing options, mental illness, sexual abuse, poverty, by choice (rare) |
| Prevention | Housing First, homeless shelters, affordable housing, drug rehabilitation services, outreach |
| Frequency | 150 million, worldwide (2023 estimate) |
Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, living in boarding houses with no security of tenure,[1] and people who leave their homes because of civil conflict and are refugees within their country.
The legal status of homeless people varies from place to place.[2] Homeless enumeration studies conducted by the government of the United States[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 standardized method for counting homeless individuals and identifying their needs; consequently, most cities only have estimated figures for their homeless populations.[7]
In 2024, an estimated 150 million people worldwide were homeless, and as many as 1.6 billion people live as squatters, refugees, or in temporary shelters.[8][9] Unhoused persons who travel have been termed vagrants in the past; of those, persons looking for work are hobos, whereas those who do not are tramps. All three of these terms, however, generally have a derogatory connotation today.
- ^ a b Hanson-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. (2001). "Advocacy and Enumeration". American Behavioral Scientist. 45: 105–120. doi:10.1177/00027640121957042. ISSN 0002-7642.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Global Homelessness Statistics". Homeless World Cup. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "Home Equals | Home Equals". www.habitat.org. Retrieved 7 June 2024.