Social Exclusion and Homelessness: Causes and Impacts

Social exclusion is the result of separation from the margins or leaving, either voluntarily or involuntarily, social groups or individuals in a society. The causes can be varied, for example:

• Economic exclusion: Not being able to pay for goods or services that the majority of society can afford.
• Cultural or religious exclusion: A group that does not have the same religious beliefs or customs as most of society is set aside or excluded. Many times, this intolerance towards what is different is the result of a lack of comprehension.
• Opt-out or alternative lifestyles: While we referred earlier to being pushed away from society, there are people or groups who choose to depart voluntarily, creating alternative or different lifestyles.

The Homeless in Our Cities

Most poor people live in a home or permanent shelter. It is hard to believe that 19.9% of the Spanish population is poor, living below the poverty line, though not all are without a roof. Only for reasons of control and social order would that not be viable. Those called "homeless" are those without a fixed place to sleep each night.

Some sociologists agree that destitution is an extreme form of social exclusion. Since those who lack a permanent home are set aside by the system, they are excluded from common everyday activities such as:

• Having a steady job, as keeping up daily hygiene is almost impossible.
• Opening a bank account or asking for services, as they often lack a fixed address.
• Something as simple as having a legal identity.

Factors Leading to Destitution

Although some have made poverty a way of life voluntarily, the vast majority of homeless people are in that situation for reasons beyond their control. Some causes for which a person inadvertently occupies the space of the destitute include:

1. Individuals from mental or psychiatric hospitals: Mentally ill patients who, for various reasons, have left these centers.
2. Chronic alcoholics and drug dependents.
3. Miscellaneous causes: People who, because of a misfortune of any type, enter a spiral of decline that leads them to live on the street. This includes young people with problems at home who decide to leave without financial resources or work, and social groups with few resources who have lost everything due to the current crisis.

Vulnerability and the Welfare State

The poor are heavily prone to crime or street violence, often finding themselves in a state of total lack of protection. While politicians, governments, and specialists seek long-term solutions to end poverty, NGOs and charitable or religious organizations try to solve this little by little, attempting to cover the gaps in the Welfare State. Many sociologists say that helping these people, even with a minimum of support, may be the best we can do to improve their lives.