Every night more than 3.5 million people are homeless and 1.35 million, almost half, are children. This is something that could change with more awareness and education. Homelessness is a problem in today's society that many communities suffer from. Homelessness is a condition in which people do not have access to housing. It is caused by several factors such as mental illness, drug abuse, physical or sexual abuse, or simply not having enough money. There are three trends that are primarily responsible for the increase in homelessness over the past 25 years: a growing shortage of affordable rental housing, a concurrent increase in poverty, and an increase in mental illness. Some of the causes of why people are homeless are due to individual factors such as drug and alcohol abuse, lack of achievement, lack of social support, debts, poor physical and mental health, relationship accidents and involvement in crime at a young age. Other reasons that may arise for homelessness include family background, including family accidents, disputes, physical abuse in childhood, parents who abuse drugs, and previous experiences of homelessness in the family. Some of the underlying causes of homelessness are unemployment, poverty, lack of affordable housing, housing policies, the structure and administration of real estate profits, and broader policy developments, such as the closure of long-standing psychiatric hospitals. “Affordable housing advocates say occupied homelessness is evidence of the growing gap between wages and rents – which also widened in the city during the last recession – and, given the shortage of subsidized housing, how difficult it is to escape to the reception system, also for working people". (Navarro) The reasons given by...... half of the document ......eless would not exist. Works Cited “10 Causes of Homelessness” Portlandrescuemission.org., Portlandrescuemission.2011. Network. 27 October 2013. “35 ways to help the homeless” Justgive.org., Justgive. 2013. Web. October 27, 2013. “Drug Abuse Statistics” Drugabuse.com. Drug abuse. 2013. Web. October 27, 2013. “Facts and Figures: Homelessness” PBS.org., PBS. 2009. Network. October 27, 2013. “Quick Facts on Homelessness and Poverty” Familypromise.org., Familypromise. 2011.Web. October 27, 2013.Navarro, Mireya “In New York, Having a Job, or Two, Doesn't Mean Having a Home” Nytimes.com., Nytimes. 17 September 2013. Web. 27 October 2013. “Solutions” Endhomelessness.org., Endhomelessness. 2013. Web. 27 October 2013. Toppo, Greg. “The number of homeless people in the United States has declined since 2005, despite the recession and weak recovery in employment.” Usatoday.com. UseToday. 3 September 2013. Web. 27 October2013.