What Are the Causes of Homelessness?

Identifying Causes of problems

Most of the time, homelessness is not because the person is bad/lazy - there are lots of reasons why someone can be homeless, and most of them can be out of a person’s control

Economic

if a person loses their job, they don’t have the money to pay for rent or mortgage repayments on their house as well as food and other basic necessities. The landlord or mortgage kicks them out of their home.

2 Societal

certain groups face discrimination, which makes it harder for them to find housing. For examples, certain marginalised racial groups could have issues being accepted by a landlord, or getting a job so that they have enough money for rent

Social

some people are subjected to violence within their own homes towards them or their children - this is called domestic violence. Even though they have a house to live in, they have to escape to keep themselves or their loved ones safe.

Political

governments have the ability to set policies and regulations (rules) that affect how we live. Governments can do lots of things to change the accessibility of housing, which affects homelessness. Examples include building regulations, zoning, and rent controls

Personal

sometimes, people can have issues that affect their ability to function as part of society, such as mental health or addiction issues. These issues take over their lives, so that they can’t do things like keep a normal job and make rent payments.