Research Paper on:
Literature Review on the Homelessness Problem

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that contributed to the information herein. This paper summarizes the current research, theories, and knowledge regarding this social problem. HOMELESS IN AMERICA The truth may hurt, but homelessness  is societys problem. The media, however, make it terribly difficult to gain public support because of their constant pessimistic coverage. When Americans were asked in a survey back  in 1997 if the United States was making progress with the rampant problem of homelessness, results reflected that fourteen percent agreed it was headed in the right direction. Thirty  percent said it was about the same as it has always been; and a resounding fifty-four percent thought America was losing ground (Davidson 1997). Homelessness in the United States is  not merely a representation of societys mentally unstable or lazy population; rather, it is a realistic view of how corporate Americas downsizing and cutbacks are affecting the very core of  the working population. Likewise, it is also a reflection of how spousal abuse has reached epidemic proportions, because escaping an abusive relationship is "one of the main causes" (Morris,  1998, p. 241) to which women attribute their homelessness. Families with children, a population that represents forty percent of the growing masses of homeless people, are often the most  victimized of all who have no place to call home. "These homeless families are portrayed as victims of insensitive caseworkers and shelter staff, unscrupulous landlords, and inadequate safety-net programs"  (Snyder, 2000, p. 440). There is no question that homelessness in the United States represents the most disturbing form of poverty, however, the media illustrate the problem in such  a negative light that public opinion is steered toward feelings of hostility, harassment and apathy rather than pity and benevolence. In fact, the fatalistic image of homelessness so successfully