Homelessness In America

Zhaohai Yan (Joyce)
Takushoku University

Photo by Franco Folini

Good afternoon everyone. I’m Joyce. I’m a Chinese student studying in Japan. This semester I took the English Speech course. At the end of the term, our teacher asked us to make a presentation about homelessness as the term-examination. At first I didn’t know who homeless people were, or what homelessness is, but now I really know many things about homeless people. Do you know about homeless people? If you don’t, it isn’t a problem because today I will tell you about the homeless in America. I am going to cover three main areas. First, I will talk about the population of America, and how many homeless people there are. Second, I will tell you about what the cause of homelessness is in America. Third, I will tell you what we can do to help homeless people.

Ok, to begin, let me start with the population of America and the percentage of the American population that are homeless people. There are about 303.6 million persons in America. Over 7% of these persons are defined as homeless persons.




Two point three to three point five million persons are experiencing homelessness every year. Forty-three percent of the homeless are single men. Thirty-three percent of the homeless are families with children. Seventeen percent of the homeless are single women. Three percent are unaccompanied minors. Point four percent of the homeless are from an unknown demographic.

Ok, I have told you about the population of America and how many homeless people there are. Now, I will talk about what the cause of homelessness is. As you know, America is the country that is considered to be more prosperous than any other country in the world. Why is there a rising number of homeless people in America? What is the cause? There are many different causes including: personal problems, lack of education, domestic violence, drug addiction, poor work habits, and lack of skills, but the main cause of homelessness is economic. Some people have the economic resources to deal with some things like personal problems and lack of education but others don’t have the economic resources to deal with their problems so they become homeless people. Once they have the economic resources, they will buy a house or deal with their personal problems, and they will become members of the common society. Therefore, most of those who are homeless aren’t seen on the street at all because they are somewhere working or going to school or doing something to help themselves. Maybe you could be standing next to a homeless person at the bus stop and not know it because she or he is dressed for her or his office job.

Ok, finally, I’ll tell you about how we can help these homeless people. First of all, the American government prepares food and clothes to give the homeless people and it sets up some tent villages for homeless people. Ok I have told you about what the American government is doing to help the homeless but what can we do?

Maybe we can give some money, food and clothes to homeless people, or we can take part in some activities to help homeless people but the most important thing we can do to solve the problem is to help them to find a job. So how can we do that? I think the basic thing we can do is pay taxes to the government. So the government can use the money to do something. For example: build houses, repair and build roads and so on. Then the government can employ homeless people and the homeless people can get a job and make a living. Ok, there are other ways to help homeless people. If you know some good ways, please contact me. I am very happy to research the problem with you.

In conclusion, let me go through the main points again. I have told you about homeless people in America. I covered three main areas. First, I told you about the population of America and how many homeless people there are. Second, I told you about what the cause of homelessness in America is. Third, I told you what we can do to help homeless people.

Ok, now, I think you have got to know about homeless people. Last, I want you to know that to help homeless people is to help ourselves. It is because it is possible for anyone to become homeless. So we have to help homeless people. Good luck everyone! Thanks for listening.