social questions related to homelessmess

There is an increasing awareness of instances of irresponsible lending by banks and other institutions that have enticed people into debt they cannot manage’. Families have to borrow more to afford one, and many have over-extended themselves in this market so that a small increase in interest rates can make it impossible to service a mortgage. Fewer people have the capacity to buy a house. ‘Housing affordability is a problem that has always been felt by those in the lowest income groups, and is now affecting many middle-income families. Their homelessness adds to the terrible trauma already experienced when violence occurs in a family’.Īustralian Catholic Bishops Conference, Social Justice Statement, A Rich Young Nation, 2008. ‘Homelessness has a terrible effect on anyone, but it is particularly devastating for families’ It is distressing that 22 per cent of people seeking the support of homeless services have done so as a result of domestic or family violence. Since the mid-1980s, the average size of houses has increased from162 to 215 square metres, while the average number of occupants has fallen from 3.5 to 2.6 people’. ‘There is another less attractive side of the housing market: the desire to acquire more than is required. ‘The home – a place of security, care for family and hospitality – is regarded now less as an essential need and therefore a right, and more as a financial asset’. ACBC Social Justice Statement 1992 What do Church leaders say and do about housing and homelessnessĪustralian Catholic Bishops Conference, Social Justice Statement, The Gift of the Family in Difficult Times, 2012-2013 We need to recognise that owning property involves social obligations. A housing system that is structured in this way does not exemplify Catholic Social Teaching principles, and the gospel values that underlie them, because it denies people the dignity of home, it does not serve the common good, does not preference the poor in its priorities, and is not an act of solidarity. This means it is an injustice for some to have more than enough while others lack bare necessities. While the Church has a positive view of private property, it has affirmed in numerous Papal and other official documents that private property is not an absolute right and that property is to be used for the common good with a consistent recognition that all goods come from God and are intended for the benefit of all and not just the few. This means that social, economic and political structures must be ordered towards making home ownership or rental equitable for all, rather than being structured in restrictive unjust ways. Ensuring everyone is able to access a safe, stable and adequate home is one part of working for the common good. Having adequate shelter is a basic human right a right that the Church affirms as a key part of respecting and recognising our personhood. The Church’s teachings remind us that housing is not a valueless system but a core part of what it means to live a dignified human life. When we think of the issue of homelessness, what kinds of questions or concepts would pertain to each of the social sciences of anthropology, psychology, and sociology? For each question, identify the appropriate social science: anthropology, psychology, or sociology.Catholic Social Teaching principles show the way to a more just and truly human housing system. They use their own specific theories, perspectives, and methodologies to examine how diverse factors influence and shape social behaviour of groups and individuals. Sociologists study human social behaviour by examining the interactions of social institutions, groups, and individuals, and how they influence each other. They also use these perspectives to analyze patterns of socialization. They use psychological theories, perspectives, and methodologies to explain how diverse factors influence and shape human mental processes and behaviour. Psychologists study the human mind and mental states as a way of explaining the behaviour of an individual or a group. Both use specific theories, perspectives and methodologies to explain human behaviour and culture, and to distinguish patterns of human socialization. Physical anthropologists focus on the origin, evolution and diversity of people, whereas cultural anthropologists study the interplay between culture and human beings. Anthropologists study how humans live and interact with their social and physical environments – both in the past and in the present.

Social questions related to homelessmess