Title: How do People Become Homeless? - How Homelessness Works | HowStuffWorks
Headings: How Homelessness Works
How Homelessness Works
How do People Become Homeless?
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Content: How do People Become Homeless? - How Homelessness Works | HowStuffWorks
How Homelessness Works
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By: Stephanie Watson
How do People Become Homeless? It’s hard to imagine how someone can go from having a home one day to being out on the street the next. Many homeless people start out with jobs and stable residences, but then social and economic factors intervene, causing a rapid change in their living situation. The two biggest factors driving homelessness are poverty and the lack of affordable housing. In 2004, 37 million people, or 12.7 percent of the American population was living in poverty, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Many of these people live from paycheck to paycheck with nothing saved in the bank. The loss of a job, an illness, or another catastrophic event can quickly lead to missed rent or mortgage payments and ultimately, to eviction or foreclosure. Advertisement
Losing a job happens much more readily today than it did a few decades ago, when most people worked for the same company until retirement.