Surveys of homeless families have identified the following major immediate causes of episodes of homelessness: eviction; doubled-up or severely overcrowded housing; domestic violence; and hazardous housing conditions. A lot of these things are out of the control of these people and these are things that can happen to anyone at a point in their life, some are just more fortunate to have people to go to when in a time of need such as this. .
Fitting in with the topics in the class cultural and ethnic identity can play a role in homelessness as well. Approximately 53 percent of New York City homeless shelter residents are African-American, 32 percent are Latino, 6 percent are white, 1 percent is Asian-American, 1 percent is Native American or other race/ethnicity, and 9 percent are of unknown race/ethnicity.
Fortunately for the people who are suffering from this in their life there are organizations that take time out to help these people who have lost all hope and have no one else to turn too. Most organizations are shelters which help with one problem but only temporarily letting them stay there. During the research portion of this paper one organization stood out to me. It is known as the mid-night run. The way they do things is very unique to me and very heart felt. .
Midnight run is a volunteer organization dedicated to finding common ground between the housed and the homeless. As we spoke about in class there are a lot of things that people view as normal and if you're homeless you're an outcast to those who aren't looked upon as some sort of monster or loser. In over 1,000 relief missions per year, Midnight Run volunteers from churches, synagogues, schools and other civic groups by distributing food, clothing, blankets and personal care items to the homeless or poor on the streets of New York City. These late-night relief efforts create a forum for trust, sharing, understanding and affection.