User:Qshablog/Discrimination against homeless people

Homelessness
The problem of homelessness is affecting our country, and it is only expected to get worse over the next few years. In his talk show, Last Week Tonight, Oliver mentions that homelessness increased in America for the fourth consecutive year, and is expected to increase 49 percent in the next few years because of the COVID-19 recession. To better understand this issue and the repercussions that people face as a result of homelessness are dire. Whether it is facing discrimination, or lack of empathy from the general public the problems faced by the homeless are enormous.

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Use of the law to discriminate against homeless people takes on disparate forms: restricting the public areas in which sitting or sleeping are allowed, ordinances restricting aggressive panhandling, actions intended to divert homeless people from particular areas, penalizing loitering or anti-social behavior, or enforcing laws on homeless people and not on those who are not homeless. American Civilities Liberties Union (ACLU) report that claimed that the government of LA discriminated against the homeless residents. The report lays out the ways such as “harassment, segregation, issuing citations,” by which the government discriminates against the homeless people and holds back essential services that could save their lives.

Another example of public policy failure could be seen in employment opportunities. Sarah Golabek-Goldman writes about BAN THE ADDRESS campaign by making a case that banning the address on a policy level will help homeless people who experience discrimination in seeking employment get a job to sustain themselves. Passing this law will help homeless get back on their feet because when they provide their address now the employers see their address as homeless shelter, and never call them back. This law will help in protecting the homeless against employment discrimination.

There are at least 5 states which consider crimes against homeless people with the reason being due to their homelessness to be a hate crime, which include Florida, Maine, Washington and Rhode Island. It is also a hate crime stature in Washington, DC.

The French novelist Anatole France noted this phenomenon as long ago as 1894, famously observing that "the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges".

Criminal victimization
Precise factors associated with victimization and injury to homeless people are not clearly understood. Nearly one-half of homeless people are victims of violence. There have been many violent crimes committed against homeless people due to their being homeless. A study in 2007 found that this number is increasing. This can be further supported by another study that found that people do not perceive homeless as fully human, neither competent or warm.

Anti-homeless architecture
City and town plans may incorporate hostile architecture, also known as anti-homeless or defensive architecture, to deter homeless people from camping or sleeping in problematic areas. Research conducted by Crisis (based in the UK) recorded that 35% said they were unable to find a free place to sleep as a result of the designs. The named hostile architectures include; anti-homeless spikes, segregated benches and gated doorways.

The anti homeless architecture built by the government exacerbates homelessness in our society. Due to the politicization of the homelessness problem, the funds to help people with mental illness have been diverted to other areas leaving the mentally ill without any help. Mental health is considered one of the biggest contributing factors of homelessness.