Though representing different socioeconomic concerns, poverty, and homelessness are often considered in tandem, mainly due to the cause-and-effect relationships between the two. Namely, homelessness can be regarded as one of the most devastating and desperate outcomes of poverty (Peterie et al., 2020). By considering the problem of poverty as the combined effect of numerous issues, including economic, social, political, technological, and environmental factors, one will gain an opportunity to create a solution that will support vulnerable groups and prevent the further development of global poverty.
What makes the task of defining poverty particularly difficult is the discrepancy in the distribution of social capital and, therefore, the resulting differences in the understanding of what constitutes poverty, particularly, where the line should be drawn in determining it. First, the very notion of poverty is quite nuanced, with the current approach to its analysis implying a distinction between absolute and relative poverty (Meo et al., 2018). Determined by the United Nations, the concept of absolute poverty is deemed to be represented by the following interpretation: “A condition characterized by serious deprivation of fundamental human needs that includes: health, education, shelter, safe drinking water, food, sanitation facilities, and information” (Meo et al., 2018, p. 296). Therefore, absolute poverty is characterized by the absence of basic resources needed for sustaining one’s life.
In its turn, the definition of relative poverty is much more blurred. Being undertheorized and having different criteria set for it depending on the country, relative poverty is usually understood as the circumstances in which one is precluded from participating socially and being an active part of a community due to economic restrictions (Peterie et al., 2020). Thus, the concept of relative poverty remains highly subjective. In turn, the notion of homelessness as the absence of housing options is quite transparent. Nevertheless, the problem of poverty is evident both on global and local levels. Specifically, the recent UN report warns that the levels of global poverty have been increasing despite the concerted effort to contain the development of poverty (Jindra et al., 2020).
Similarly, the problem of homelessness has been growing globally. Namely, 2% of the world population presently remains homeless for various reasons (Peterie et al., 2020). The causes of homelessness vary, yet poverty remains the dominant one (Peterie et al., 2020). Specifically, given the current lack of affordable housing in most countries, people experiencing a significant shortage of vital resources are incapable of renting an apartment (Peterie et al., 2020). As a result, poverty leads to the loss of opportunities for renting a house, thus, leaving impoverished populations homeless.
Remarkably, providing financial resources alone is unlikely to eradicate poverty since the subject matter is defined by the cycle of resource mismanagement that starts with the failure to provide citizens with educational opportunities, which, in turn, extends to the loss of employment options for the target population (Meo et al., 2018). As a result, vulnerable groups of people are denied a chance to receive vital resources, which, in turn, causes poverty and the resulting loss of renting options (Meo et al., 2018). thus, the phenomena of poverty and homelessness, while not explicitly connected, are inextricably linked.
Since poverty is defined not only by financial concerns but also by social, cultural, political, economic, and even technological factors, it is vital to create a comprehensive program that could encompass the specified issues. Namely, a program aimed at educating people about the effects of poverty and the factors that cause it, as well as the connection between poverty and homelessness, is needed. Furthermore, the program in question will need to have a twofold focus, specifically, the emphasis on preventing homelessness and poverty along with addressing the needs of those populations that have already crossed the poverty line.
Regarding the implementation of the program, one will need to introduce both temporary and long-term solutions to the subject matter. For instance, while offering homeless shelters and social support for vulnerable groups should be regarded as a short-term method of helping the impoverished, educational and employment opportunities should be viewed as long-term ones. Namely, approaching the problem of poverty and the issue of homelessness as its direct consequence, one will have to admit that the inability to access vital resources due to the lack of career opportunities and the related issues lies at the core of the challenges faced by most impoverished communities (Peterie et al., 2020). Therefore, granting the target demographic the much-needed options for education, mainly, the development of skills required to become experts in a particular field, and discovering employment opportunities related to the newly acquired abilities, will serve as the premise for managing poverty and homelessness on sociocultural and socioeconomic levels.
Additionally, barriers associated with language and culture will have to be acknowledged within the program and addressed accordingly. Indeed, research shows that the presence of language barriers and misunderstandings defined by cultural differences reduces the range of opportunities that vulnerable groups have when exploring job-related opportunities and educational options (Peterie et al., 2020). Therefore, tools for managing the language barrier and cultural differences will have to be introduced. Namely, the proposed solution will need to encompass the barriers that people from disadvantaged backgrounds typically encounter when attempting to advance in the community. These include language- and culture-related issues for migrant communities, the presence of prejudices toward specific minority groups, and the lack of available and affordable resources for the vulnerable groups in question. Thus, economic, financial, cultural, and technological concerns will have to be addressed. In turn, the proposed program will manage the described issues by focusing on the principles of inclusivity, continuous dialogue with the target population, and the use of innovative solutions for keeping communication with the groups at risk consistent.
A program aimed at integrating not only financial but also sociocultural, socioeconomic, political, technological, and environmental issues affecting the development of poverty and the emergence of the risk of homelessness will allow addressing the problem. Specifically, the focus on education about the nature of poverty and the necessity to support community members at risk of crossing the threshold thereof is bound to serve as the foundation for an effective program against the further development of poverty and homelessness. Though the issue at hand is affected by a range of local concerns, which makes it excessively difficult to tackle poverty and homelessness on a global level, a concerted effort geared toward education about the issue and the attempts at balancing out the current socioeconomic concerns will lead to creating benefits for the struggling demographic. As a result, while the program will have to be adjusted on local levels to ensure that the specific needs of particular groups are addressed, it can also be coordinated on a global level as a set of homogenous strategies geared toward education and support.
References
Jindra, M., Paulle, B., & Jindra, I. W. (2020). Relational work in the struggle against poverty: Balancing scholarly critiques and emancipatory practices in the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 49(1), 160-179.
Meo, M. S., Khan, V. J., Ibrahim, T. O., Khan, S., Ali, S., & Noor, K. (2018). Asymmetric impact of inflation and unemployment on poverty in Pakistan: new evidence from asymmetric ARDL cointegration. Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 28(4), 295-310.
Peterie, M., Bielefeld, S., Marston, G., Mendes, P., & Humpage, L. (2020). Compulsory income management: Combatting or compounding the underlying causes of homelessness? Australian Journal of Social Issues, 55(1), 61-72. Web.