HOME FOR HOMELESS

Sheltered homeless people spend the night in emergency shelters or in transitional, or temporary, housing. Unsheltered homeless people sleep on the streets, in cars, in abandoned buildings, or in other places not intended for human habitation.Homelessness is an extreme form of poverty characterized by the instability of housing and the inadequacy of income, health care supports and social supports. People become homeless for lots of different reasons. There are social causes of homelessness, such as a lack of affordable housing, poverty and unemployment; and life events which push people into homelessness. People are forced into homelessness when they leave prison, care or the army with no home to go to. Many women experiencing homelessness have escaped a violent or abusive relationship. Many people become homeless because they can no longer afford the rent. And for many, life events like a relationship breaking down, losing a job, mental or physical health problems, or substance misuse put people under considerable strain. Being homeless can, in turn, make many of these problems even harder to resolve. However, in nearly all cases homelessness is preventable and in every case it can be ended.