Contemporary medicine has made people live longer, and the mortality rate has significantly dropped. However, this well-being has come with a side effect. Globally, there is an increasing number of homeless people around megacities. In my opinion, homelessness has become very prevalent due to rising housing costs in urban areas and an increasing number of immigrants and refugees. The most effective ways to eradicate this issue are to provide affordable housing, continuous social support, and government preventative policies.
To begin with, the growth of homelessness has become a primary issue around the world since buying or renting a house has become ridiculously costly in large cities; seldom can people afford it, even with a secure and stable job and moderate income. Especially in megacities like capital cities or popular urban areas, the cost of real estate exceeds that of rural areas by 3 or 4 times because of high demand. Furthermore, people from conflicted or poor countries come to large cities seeking a better life; sadly, migrants often face difficulties finding legal work or secure housing, consequently involving them in homelessness.
Addressing this systematic issue requires a multi-faceted approach. Firstly, the government must invest in low-cost housing with basic requirements and use policies to control rent increases. The most popular approach is to give mortgages with very low interest to low-income or financially struggling families and support them with a social security net to find stable employment. Secondly, to tackle immigration issues and the exceeding number of refugees, state authorities should use preventative policies to avoid them becoming homeless by providing temporary accommodations until they become financially stable and support them to legalize documentation and facilitate employment.
In conclusion, the increasing number of individuals without stable housing is becoming a problem due to the rapid acceleration of real estate pricing and the rising rate of migrant population with challenges. However, through prophylactic policies and governmental support to get affordable housing and prioritize help to refugees, this global problem can be tackled.