Why are People Homeless?

The root cause of homeless is prolonged poverty. In 1997, 13.3% of the U.S. population, or 35.6 million people, lived in poverty (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1998). While the number of poor people has not changed much in recent years, the number of people living in extreme poverty has increased. In 1997, 14.6 million people -- 41% of all poor persons -- had incomes of less than half the poverty level. This represents an increase of over 500,000 from 1995. Forty percent of persons living in poverty are children; in fact, the 1997 poverty rate of 19.9% for children is almost twice as high as the poverty rate for any other age group.

Homelessness is usually the result of a complex set of personal and structural circumstances that push people into poverty and force impossible choices between food, shelter, medical expenses, and other basic needs.

Often it is housing (which absorbs a high proportion of income) that must be dropped.

Being poor means being an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets.

Other Important Contributors to Homelessness

  • Housing inequality and unavailability (Click to read about Affordable Housing Facts)
  • Poor work opportunities A decline in public assistance available
  • Failure of the health care system, Domestic Violence, Mental Illness, Substance Abuse

Support the Goodwill Inn

Phone: 231-922-4890
For directions to the Goodwill Inn, click here