Why are Women Homeless?

"Homeless Woman Has a Masters in Mathematics and Engineering." "Homeless Woman Has a Masters in Mathematics and Engineering." | In this video, a woman named Mona is interviewed about why and how she's homeless. Load video

Let's start with a hypothetical. Janet Raily, a homeless woman in Los Angeles, California, says that she became homeless after a job loss.

"My 6-year-old daughter became sick, and I didn't have anyone to watch her so I called in four days in a row. On the fifth day they told me to not come back."

(Janet's daughter now stays with her father until Janet gets back on her feet.)

Like Janet, many women are homeless today due to circumstances directly relating to childrearing.

Being that women are more likely than men to be primary caretakers of children, (though the likelihood of women being the primary caretakers of children in recent decades has been decreasing,) women are more likely than men to be homeless due to circumstances related to childrearing.

This is also true because raising children is expensive. A single mother working on minimum wage, even if working 40 hours plus overtime, has difficulties paying the rent. Children need new clothes, backpacks, and need to be fed.

So the first reason why women are homeless is that they are mothers.

Here are 7 other significant reasons why women are homeless in 2024:

7) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Domestic violence is a significant cause of homelessness for women.

About one in four women experience severe physical violence by a domestic partner in their lifetimes (✓1). Domestic violence leads to homelessness when a woman flees her home to escape an abuser. Many battered women go to homeless shelters.

Some, however, don't want to go to one or have difficulties getting into a shelter. Others are unfortunate enough to live somewhere where homeless shelters do not exist or are too full. If a victim of domestic violence is fortunate to live in or near a big city, however, many shelters exist that are specifically designed to help them get through victimization.

More than a third of all homeless women report domestic violence as their immediate cause of homelessness (✓2).

So another reason why women are homeless is that they are victims of domestic violence.

6) LOSS OF A RELATIONSHIP

Fleeing home to escape an abuser, however, is not the only way a woman becomes homeless due to spousal abuse.

The loss of the relationship itself can also have a negative impact on a woman's ability to retain housing. The reason is that spouses often help with a portion of the rent.

Though less common than it was half a decade ago, in some circumstances, the male spouse covers all or most of the rent. So a loss of a relationship can cause female homelessness when a woman is unable to come up with the full cost of housing.

Loss of a relationship for women is perhaps even more likely to be a reason for homelessness than for men because, despite society's great strides in wage equality, women, on average, still earn less than men (✓3).

5) LOW WAGES

Low wages cause homelessness by way of eviction. When a person earns too little to cover the cost of rent, eviction is often the result.

Being one of the most commonly cited reasons that all people cite - men and women alike - for why they become homeless, eviction cannot be overlooked.

The reason why people are most commonly evicted?

An inability to pay some or all the rent.

One of the main reasons why they can't is they earn too little. With high living costs and low average earnings, many people are simply too broke to pay the rent. This is especially true for women.

Despite the recent triumph of gender equality in the workplace, women, on average, earn $x per year more than men.

With the inability to pay rent as one of the most commonly cited reasons people say they are homeless, it is no wonder why many women are homeless; Women, on average, earn less than men.

So another reason why women are homeless is low wages in relation to living costs.

4) UNAFFORDABLE HOUSING

What this all boils down to is that rent is too expensive, and that housing is too unaffordable.

If a major reason why people are homeless is an inability to pay rent, and women earn less than men, then women are also homeless due to unaffordable housing.

Unaffordable housing results from employers and landlords attempting to maximize profits by paying less and charging more.

So the final reason why women are homeless is unaffordable housing.

OTHER REASONS WHY WOMEN ARE HOMELESS

Women are homeless due to other reasons as well.

These reasons are less gender specific and affect both sexes more or less proportionally. Substance abuse, mental illness, and physical disabilities are all reasons why women are homeless as well.

3) substance abuse

It is often difficult for researchers to directly attribute substance abuse as the primary cause of a person's homelessness. A person may use drugs, for example, but becomes homeless for reasons unrelated to substance abuse.

Nonetheless, substance abuse is known to be over-represented in the homeless community meaning a higher percentage of homeless use drugs or alcohol than do non-homeless people. It is estimated that at least a third of all people experiencing homelessness use drugs or alcohol (✓4).

2) mental illness

Mental illness is also a cause of homelessness that affects men and women alike. While the data does show that slightly more women than men tend to experience mental illness in their lifetimes, that variation is insignificant.

What we know is that severe mental illnesses, like schizophrenia and dementia, cause homelessness. They do so by making it difficult for an individual to earn an income.

1) physical disabilities

In the same way that mental illness predisposes a person to be homeless by rendering wage earning difficult, physical disabilities do.

Many women are sleeping on the streets right now because they have a physical disability that prevents them from working.

So like men, women are also homeless due to substance abuse, mental illness, and physical disabilities.

FINAL THOUGHTS

More often than men, women become homeless due to reasons related to childrearing and unaffordable housing. The reason is women are more likely to be primary caretakers of children and earn less money.

But women also, on average, have more intimate relationships with friends and family. Perhaps largely as a result of this, fewer women than men become and remain homeless. Only about 3 in 10 homeless people are females.

summary

Women are homeless for many reasons.

First, children are expensive. Being that women are more often than men's primary caretakers of children, this is a significant reason for female homelessness.

Next, many women are homeless due to the loss of a relationship. Like men, women often depend on all or some of a spouse's income to pay the rent each month. When a woman experiences an unexpected break-up, homelessness often results.

Women are also homeless due to low wages. Females, on average, earn less than males.

Unaffordable housing is also a reason why women are unsheltered. As a result of not being able to pay the rent, women often lose their homes. This often attributable to an expected and dreaded eviction.

Other reasons why women are homeless include substance abuse, mental illness, and physical disabilities.

conclusion

So the next time you see a homeless woman outside trying to survive the cold, think of child-rearing and the inability to pay rent as probable reasons why she is homeless.