Steven Pereda

English 11000

Professor Wiggins

November 21, 2022

Cover Letter:

Although this piece was made for the general public to read, it primarily targets activists and people who care for the homeless/ men. I tailored my choice of language in an attempt to connect and address the issue about male homelessness. It seems that many people overlook the fact that men are treated unfairly in certain subject matters, and are generally forgotten by the public. That isn’t to say that we must forget the other to fix a different problem, but to instead apply the same passion and desire to understand an issue to fix a problem that is becoming more and more apparent. I did this to invoke emotion in my writing, as more people who read these texts are likely to act on emotion and feelings regarding the topic. One meaningful insight I received was locating and understanding the use of sources to evaluate, citing information and develop methods of writing to drive an argument as to convey information to elicit a response from my readers. One thing that has most impacted me was the purpose of a paper. People write for many reasons, but purpose is what defines how a paper is delivered and understood by people. People write to convey information, feelings and ideas to elicit a response from the public or people the author aims to communicate with. From writing to have people understand a topic, or to see where one stands on a given subject, people use writing for many complex reasons as well as simple. 

Rhetorical Essay: Male Homelessness

In the United States alone, men make up the majority of the homeless population, and it is something that not many people talk about. According to a statistic by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, approximately  260,000 men are homeless compared to approximately 106,000 women being homeless. Despite the fact that women are more likely to be sheltered, and men being more likely to be homeless. There is an alarming number of men being homeless in the United States, and yet there aren’t many who talk about these issues, and have yet to find solutions to this problem that have been sweeping the states. The statistics build its credibility by listing its sources and note several significant statistical values from multiple areas within the United States; but lack the emotional appeal that can invoke feelings of urgency and initiative that this research paper should give, ultimately weakening the argument’s ability to rally people for its cause. 

One notable fact from the statistics is that more men are homeless in multiple states throughout the United States. According to the statistic, Demographic Data Project Part II, by the National Alliance to End Homelessness (2019), written by Joy Moses and Jackie Janosko, Joy, M. & Jackie, J., asserts that the consensus of the homeless population consists of 70% men, and 29% women, where 1% are transgender and non-binary individuals. This is supported by the data entries regarding the individual male homeless population within 27 states in the U.S., and Puerto Rico. There are also entries regarding the individual homeless population that are women. Some examples include the following:

Figure 1:

Figure 2:

National Alliance to End Homelessness by Joy, M. & Jackie, J.(2019)(Pg. 2)

 Joy and Jackie use these statistics to show a disproportionate amount of the homeless population being men in figure 1. Figure 2, although they have higher percentages of women being homeless than the national average of 29% (2), it can be inferred that the majority of the homeless population within the listed states are men. Joy and Jackie. deliver a formal and concise analytical tone, aimed to an audience of advocates for men’s wellbeing, scholars and the general public.  

Another notable aspect from an older study finds that men are more likely to be turned away by shelters than women. In a survey, Single Males: The Homeless Majority (2001), published by Healing Hands, suggests that out of the surveyed, men are more likely to be rejected from homeless shelters than women, even if they are the majority of the homeless population. The study supports this assertion by describing the reason why most men are turned away from shelters, and how it is inherently a vicious cycle to most men. The study states “Because homeless men are more likely to have uncontrolled alcohol or drug problems than their female counterparts, they are more frequently excluded from emergency shelters, which often require abstinence as a condition for admission. This partially explains the fact that far more men than women sleep on the streets .” (1). The study also reports rates of alcohol abuse between men and women, men being 46% and women 22%; and drug abuse rates higher than women by as much as 50% more(30% men versus 20% women). Healing Hands intends to use this bit of disturbing information in order to convey a sense of urgency to the problem of male homelessness being the majority of the homeless population, and get people involved to solve this long standing issue. The audience who are intended to read this are organizations made to help solve the issue and activists who make the public aware of these societal issues.

The last most notable fact from another study is that homeless men and women who are homeless are treated differently when with family/children. In a more recent statistic called The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress(2020), by The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, asserts that although men make up the majority of the homeless population, when in families with children, women tend to be taken in more often by shelters. The statistic describes a proportional rate of men and women being taken in by homeless shelters alone, roughly a 3:2 ratio given the demographic of the homeless population (19). However, when in families with children, men are less likely to receive help, while women are more likely to be taken in, where men make up 38.7% and women make up 61.1% of the homeless population with children (31). This statistic that The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines the cause as to why this phenomenon occurs, which convey the feeling of commiseration of others whose misfortune leads them to this path. That is also not mentioning that women and girls are less likely to be found unsheltered (32), which partially explains why most men are found unsheltered, even if they have children.

To conclude, despite the services available to both men and women, the majority of homeless people are men, and benefits are slanted in favor of women. There are not many talks considering the solution to this disparity and phenomenon, which is often overlooked by most who don’t acknowledge the state of the homeless crisis. That said, the solution isn’t to redirect the services from other people to mitigate male homelessness, but to create more support for men who become homeless.

Works Cited:

Joy, M. & Jackie, J. Demographic Data Project, by National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2019, DDP-Gender-brief-09272019-byline-single-pages.pdf (endhomelessness.org). Accessed November 14,  2022

Single Males: The Homeless Majority, Healing Hands, June 2001, June2001HealingHands.pdf (nhchc.org). Accessed November 14 2022

Meghan H., Tanya D. Sousa, Caroline R., Swati G., and Thomas J. Bednar, The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, January 2021, 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress (huduser.gov). Accessed November 14, 2022