competitive society. According to the Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics .
homelessness in America has several causes. One such cause is the .
competitiveness of the business market. Companies are no longer as loyal to .
their employees as they used to be. Many corporations now use overseas .
laborers. Also, a diminishing amount of low-skill jobs, due to industrialization .
has increased the chances of low-skilled workers finding employment. The .
Chicago coalition for the homeless states that a person must be employed .
full time and earn more than $8.29 per hour in order to exceed the federal .
poverty level for a family of four. According to the 1997 census report 2.3 .
million people worked full time but were still below the poverty line. Another .
reason for the increased number of homeless is the lack of affordable .
housing, especially in urban areas. The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless .
reports that, nationally, 10.5 million low income renters compete for 6.1 .
million rental units that are within their price range, leaving 4.4 million without .
affordable housing. Many low-income areas are being bought out by wealthy .
entrepreneurs who remodel and restore them and sell them for a large profit. .
The main streaming of institutionalized mental patients is another reason for .
homelessness. According to Microsoft Encarta nationally 20-25% of the .
homeless population suffers from some sort of major mental illness. These .
people are less likely to be able to obtain support such as treatment, case .
management and the help that is necessary to find and maintain permanent .
housing. .
The most recent cause of homelessness in the United States is the .
feminization of poverty. Because of the high expense of child care and the .
increasing numbers of single mothers, the number of homeless women and .
children is on the rise. According to Stacey Chambers the rise in the number .
of homeless women is partially due to domestic violence. In an interview of .