Homelessness has been an issue for as long as people have been settling communities (Martin, 2011). Prior to the Middle Ages, the church cared for the homeless, and they welcomed the opportunity to help the poor (Martin, 2011). During that time, the homeless population was mostly men moving from place to place looking for work. The poor laws were very tough on the poor and created residency restrictions to prevent the poor moving into a wealthy area to collect financial assistance (Martin, 2011). This was the time the attitude shifted and the common thought was that there were deserving and undeserving poor, and that people had a choice to be poor or homeless. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the majority of homeless were men either unemployed or migrating west (Martin, 2011). The face of the homeless has changed drastically over the years. It was during the Great Depression that large numbers of families become homeless, and the people of the United States became more compassionate for the homeless population and understood that poverty and homelessness could happen to anyone. Homelessness is increasing in the United States, today’s homeless come from all walks of life with children making up the fastest growing demographic in the homeless population. The majority of homeless in shelters are single men of color (Martin, 2011). Men generally used emergency shelters and stayed about two weeks, and women usually went to transitional housing.
It is difficult to understand the size of the problem and the number of people homeless in the United States. Homelessness defined at the federal level is very limited and does not include the entire population. This government defines homelessness as people living in shelters and other temporary housing and not those who live in motels, cars, on the street, or staying with friends and family temporarily. Also because of the transitory nature of homelessness, coupled with those who do not want to be...