Homelessness (UK: sleeping rough) is the condition of people and social category of people who don't have a regular house or dwelling because they cannot afford, pay for, or are otherwise unable to maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or they lack, "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence" [1] The actual legal definition varies from country to country, or among different entities or institutions in the same country or region.[2]
The term homelessness may also include people whose primary nighttime residence is in a homeless shelter, in an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or in a public or private place not designed for use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.[3][4]
Some estimate that there are about 100 million homeless people worldwide.[5]
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines a "chronically homeless" person as "an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously homeless for a year or more, or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years."[6]
|
San Jose Mercury News
A new fence has been put up a day after authorities evicted 30 people from a homeless encampment in downtown Fresno. Fresno police and city officials ...
and more »
