THE CAUSE OF HOMELESSNESS

Homelessness is not the stereotype that people think, drinking alcohol and doing drugs, there is much
more behind the sad faces that people see on the streets. It can be trigger by many causes such as
Physical and mental abuse, Substance abuse and Gambling.
One reason for this problem is physical and mental abuse in during childhood.
1. Parental abuse (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 7)
Traumatic life experience (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012,
P. 7)
o Due to the often traumatic circumstances that homeless individuals
cope with throughout life, it is unsurprising that high rates of mental
illness are observed in this population. (Kaitlin Philips, April 2002, P.11)
Abuse have highly negative effect on an individuals ability to properly cope with
stress, form stable relationships, make good decisions or have a healthy self-
esteem which in turn makes them far more vulnerable to mental health and
substance abuse issues (Kaitlin Philips, April 2002, P.8)
Violence against the child or violence witnessed by the child is both included in
having these negative effects. (Kaitlin Philips, April 2002, P.8)
o Depending on how severe the abuse occurring at home is,
homelessness can be seen as a solution to their problems. (Kaitlin
Philips, April 2002, P.8)

2. Bullying (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 7)
Early experiences of bullying will cause fear, anxiety and self-loathing. (Dr
Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 7)
Young people who flee violent homes are at heightened risk for emotional and
behavioral problems. (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 7)
The results of these behaviours according to researchers (Whitbeck et al., 1997;
Yates et al., 1998) are ready targets for exploitation from both adults and peers,
and victims of physical and sexual assaults. (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul
Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 7).
,
Other reason for this problem is Substance Misused
1. Drinking Habit (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 6)
People who are alcoholics are sometimes forced to live a life of homelessness.
(Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 6)
Two-thirds of homeless people report that drugs and/or alcohol were a major
reason for their becoming homeless. (Didenko & Pankratz, 2007; National
Coalition for homeless, July 2009, p. 1)
Most of the time the point at which the marriage broke down is when the
homelessness began. In part, this is due to the amount of alcohol that was being
consumed. (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 6)

2. Drug Abuse (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 6)
When people become addicted, either before or during homelessness, there is
no simple, easy solution. Instead, there is a web of complex, psycho-social
problems that need to be dealt by many agencies. (Dr Sharifah Mariam &
Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 6)
People who are homeless often turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with their
situations. They use substances in an attempt to attain temporary relief from
their problems. (Didenko & Pankratz, 2007; National Coalition for homeless, July
2009, p. 1)
Even if they do break their addictions, homeless people may have difficulty
remaining sober while living on the streets where substances are so widely used
(National Coalition for homeless, July 2009, p. 1)

Last reason for this problem is Gambling.
1. Gambling Debt (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 6)
Most forced to the streets because of gambling debts. (Dr Sharifah Mariam &
Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 6)
Individuals problem rather than circumstances that push the individual into
using addiction as part of their coping strategy. (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul
Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 6)
2. Gambling Addiction (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 6)
This is because many problem gamblers experience serious adverse
consequences leading to loss of jobs, families, and, ultimately, housing. (Dr
Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 6)
This kind of addiction as mental health problem. (Dr Sharifah Mariam & Alifatul
Kamaliah, April 2012, P. 6)

CONCLUSION
Being mistreatment during younger age and alcohol and drug addiction as well as gambling can be the
cause of homelessness in Malaysia.

RUJUKAN
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/addiction.pdf
http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/homelessness-exclusion-services-summary.pdf
http://digitalcommons.salve.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1088&context=pell_theses
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sharifah_Alhabshi/publication/255822895_Homelessness_in_K
uala_Lumpur_Malaysia_A_Case_of_Agenda_Denial/file/3deec520c335fb23eb.pdf