Chapter 8

Over the course of my research, many people asked me how to solve homelessness. Structural forces are the most powerful component of the phenomenon. Increasing awareness of the problem is a start toward resolution but not the solution. Redefining the concept of “homelessness” is helpful but not comprehensive. Reducing the stigma placed upon coping strategies contributes to a reduction in perceived deviance. However, the only way to eliminate “homelessness” is to dismantle to structural forces that produce the symptoms. Those structural forces are the same forces that maintain the status quo. The nation should democratically elect leaders who represent marginalized groups. The solution to homelessness is simple – give everybody a house. “Homelessness” is not the problem.