Homelessness in America

Homelessness in America

Homelessness in America is a persistent, complex, and widely-occurring problem that incorporates many economic, social, and psychological dimensions. After years of war and economic decline, the ranks of the homelessness have grown to include families with children (35%), military veterans (23%), children (25%), persons fleeing domestic violence (30%), and the mentally ill (20-25%) (National Student Campaign, 2012). Additionally, the number of homeless young adults, aged 18 to 24, is growing, giving homelessness a new face (Saulny, 2012).

With regard to the problem of homelessness, some people perceive a call for greater human compassion, while others demand more effective social policy and more comprehensive public health services. Still others insist on greater individual responsibility and more respect for the needs of business, reinforced by aggressive criminal justice responses. 

Your paper will examine a broad range of private and public responses (e.g., laws, policies, programs, and individual behaviors) to the problem of homelessness in America.

  1. You will examine five to seven such responses in depth from the perspectives of virtue ethics and distributive, commutative, and retributive justice.
  2. You will summarize the responses and identify the consequences of each response for the problem of homelessness.
  3. You will evaluate competing and conflicting views about the appropriateness of private and public responses to the problem of homelessness and present a balanced conclusion about the justness of each response.
  4. Finally, you will draw an overall conclusion about whether, 30 years from now, the next generation of Americans will view today’s responses to homelessness as just.

Start your research by reviewing the PDF document, Recommended Resources for the Final Paper. Use these resources to gain familiarity with various aspects of the homelessness problem and a range of responses to it. Some of the websites list other research based resources that contain in-depth information that can also be utilized in your paper. Also, use the Ashford University Library to find scholarly articles that are relevant to the specific responses to homelessness that are the focus of your paper.

The paper must be ten to twelve pages in length (excluding the title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style. You must use at least five scholarly resources (at least two of which can be found in the Ashford University Library) other than the textbook to support your claims. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and on the reference page. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.

Writing the Final Paper
The Final Paper:

  1. Must be ten to twelve double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
  2. Must include a title page with the following:
    1. Title of paper
    2. Student’s name
    3. Course name and number
    4. Instructor’s name
    5. Date submitted
  3. Must start with a short introductory paragraph which includes a clear thesis statement (your answer to the question: Will the next generation of Americans view as just, today’s response to homelessness?). The thesis statement itself is just that – a statement of what your essay demonstrates. The thesis is not a question, and it is not a summary of the topics discussed. You should avoid using the first person voice, avoid sentences like “This paper will show that…” and avoid asking questions with your thesis. Rather, your thesis should make declarative statements.
  4. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
  5. Must end with a short paragraph which includes a conclusion. The conclusion and thesis must be consistent.
    1. Your paper must logically develop the thesis in a way that leads to the conclusion, and that development must be supported by facts, fully explained concepts or assertions, and persuasive reasoning.
  6. Must use at least five scholarly resources, including a minimum of two from the Ashford University Library.
  7. Must be in your own words. While brief quotes from sources may be used, altogether the total amount of quoted text must be less than five percent of the body of your paper.
    1. When you use someone else’s words, they must be enclosed in quotation marks followed by an APA in-text short citation (author, year, page number) to your source. The in-text citation must correspond to a full APA citation for the source on the reference page at the end of the paper.