Do you have to be homeless?

Answer 1

Many people become homeless due to a major financial crisis such a the loss of employment or a major medical bill. Many working poor become homeless at some point due to a lack of affordable housing in America, according to a recent report from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. Some people are forced to become homeless due to mental illness that interferes with their ability to function in society, or severe addiction. Regardless of if it is their fault or not, circumstances often offer people little other choice than to be homeless.

Some people who are homeless face a number of barriers when it comes to finding a home. If they get a ticket for sleeping outside they then have a criminal record which will interfere with their ability to find work, enroll in assistance programs and their ability to find housing.

It is often quite difficult to get hired if you have no address or phone number and if you have nowhere to bathe regularly.

This is a complicated question but it seems that people are all in their situation due to various degrees of consequence and choice, and some people truly cant' help where they have ended up or change it without the help of others.

Answer 2

There is no specific law against being homeless, but there are various laws against loitering, trespassing, and vagrancy that homeless people frequently run afoul of.