HOMELESS HOMES

A homeless person sleeping nearby Segi College, Kuala Lumpur

>The alarming increase of Homeless people in our Metropolitan cities is becoming an eyesore and a worrying concern, says The Federal Minister of Housing

Kuala Lumpur Jan 15: It has become the main concern of the public nowadays about the homeless people in the urban cities of Malaysia, such as Kuala Lumpur. One may ask who this homeless people are and why are they homeless? An individual who lacks housing, including one whose primary residence during the night in a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary living accommodations; an individual who is a resident in transitional housing; or an individual who has a primary residence on a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation. 

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) definition of homeless, “a person is homeless if she lives in a place not designed for human habitation, like a park or a car, resides in a shelter, or lives in transitional or supportive housing”. Usually, you could find homeless people on street, roads or pedestrian’s way. It’s very common in Kuala Lumpur metropolitan city and as well a worrying concern. 

Few lazy people have seen begging as the latest trend of making money, whereby spending their whole day and night on roads to collect money. 

Looking at the factors that contribute to homelessness, several things were uncovered why those people do not have a proper place to live. It was discovered that Domestic Violence is one of the reasons why people are homeless. Battered women who are living in abject poverty are often forced to choose between abusive relationships and homeless destiny. Next to it is drug and alcohol related problems, which contribute largely to this problem. 

The rates of alcoholism and drug abuse are disproportionately high among the homeless population. Illness for example is another contributing factor to this state of increasing number of homeless people. For families and individuals struggling to pay the rent, a serious illness or disability can initiate a downward spiral into homelessness, beginning with a lost of job, depletion of savings, and eventual eviction. Job loss contributes to no income to pay one’s rent. 

Besides, lack of affordable housing also leads to lack of accessibility to a good housing. It has led to high rent burdens (rents which absorb a high proportion of income), overcrowding, and substandard housing. Lack of child support, for example, in families where child support is ordered, but not paid. 

The decrease in income as well can lead to an inability to pay rent, utilities, or both. “Declining wages have put housing out of reach for many workers: in every state, more than the minimum wage is required to afford a one or two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent” she said – Mrs. H. Cynthia, the Federal Housing Minister. 

Mental illness also causes increase in homelessness. Mrs. H. Cynthia said approximately 20-25% of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness. Disabled individuals may be unable to work or find appropriate employment. For those receiving SSI, they often struggle to obtain and maintain stable housing. Poverty is one of the major factors influencing in homelessness. Being poor are a resultant effect from illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets. 

“Government has taken severe steps to reduce and prevent the alarming increase of homeless people in our society. They have provided shelter and food for this group of individuals to have a worthwhile living. Meanwhile, counseling programs has been created to educate and prevent them not to return to streets. In some cases, government has involved the families and relatives to create better life for them” she said. 

A Homeless Man - picture taken nearby Masjed Jamek LRT station.