INTRODUCTION:

Homelessness is defined as a lack of adequate, stable, and safe housing. People can be classified as homeless if they meet the following criteria: main homelessness, living on the streets, travelling between temporary shelters, such as friend’s and family's homes, as well as emergency housing (secondary homelessness), and living in private boarding houses without a bathroom or a place to call home (tertiary homelessness).

In certain circumstances, homelessness is defined as a lack of access to both land and shelter (Speak & Tipple 2006). The pattern of time spent outside of normal housing is another part of defining homelessness.

The major characteristics of homelessness are poverty. Swaminathan (1995) claimed that the living conditions are marked by extreme poverty, degradation, and deprivation, which are not well reflected by income poverty measurements. The fact that homeless and slum households lack adequate housing, clean water, hygienic sanitation, and waste disposal systems, as well as living in polluted and degraded environments unfit for human habitation, is a type of poverty in and of itself. The second characteristic of homelessness is insecurity and vulnerability. The majority of homeless people are insecure about their situation. They are insecure about the most basic aspects of life, frequently unsure where their next meal will come from. The third characteristic is the homeless population suffering from substance abuse. Addictions to narcotics, alcohol, and inhalants are quite widespread among homeless persons, especially in high-income industrial countries. In the United States of America, around half of single homeless adults have substance abuse issues (Baumohl and Huebner, 1991).

Most of the time the homeless population live and sleeps on the streets, in parks, at railway stations, bus stations, places of worship, outside businesses and workplaces, at construction sites, under bridges, in Hume pipes, and in other areas that are unsuited for human habitation. Spend nights and days at shelters, transit homes, short-stay homes, beggars’ homes and children’s homes (Mander, Harsh, 2003). Live in temporary structures with or without walls under plastic sheets or thatch roofs on pavements, parks and other common spaces. Within this group, there are multiple degrees of vulnerability. Homelessness was caused by errors and inadequacies informal policy. This enormous societal issue necessitates policy intervention from the start. Recent policy solutions to avoid homelessness understand that it is the result of a variety of social and economic issues, demanding multi-pronged approaches that go beyond housing provision to address various, and often complex, human needs (Pawson et al., 2007).

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

Shivani Chaudhry, Amita Joseph, Indu Prakash Singh (2014) conducted a study on violence and violations: the reality of homeless women in India. This study highlighted the causes and characteristics of homelessness and the nature of violence faced by homeless women. The study found that the major problems faced by homeless women living on the streets are an abuse of several kinds, including foul language, verbal abuse by police and other seniors living on the streets. The women face violence from male police who slap and physically abuse women, even when they are sleeping at night. They are often called sex workers and insulted by other locals. Even homeless men exploit these women. Repeated police harassment is a common complaint of homeless women. Women are supposed to be dealt with by women constables, but more often than not it is men constables who handle their issues. Hardly any cases of abuse get reported.

Goel, G., Ghosh, P., Ojha, M. K., & Shukla, A. (2017) conducted a study on urban homeless shelters in India: Miseries untold and promises unmet. This research paper aims to appraise the condition of shelters, and common services mandated to be provided at each shelter by the order of the Supreme Court of India. A survey of shelters was conducted in four cities of Uttar Pradesh (viz., Allahabad, Varanasi, Lucknow and Agra) spanning a sample of 426 shelter inmates. Factor analysis has clubbed nineteen such services under five factors (named entitlement to schemes, hygiene & recreation, cooking support system, ambience, and drinking water & conservancy). Findings reveal large scale unavailability of services and bring to light the appalling condition of shelters in the cities surveyed.

Sanjoy Roy and Chandan Chaman (2017) conducted a study on homelessness in Delhi; roots, rhetoric and realities. The objectives of the study were to explore the major causes of homelessness, to understand the problems and challenges faced by homeless people, to understand the interventions for the homeless and to develop a suggestive framework for better policies and programmes for the homeless people. The study found that homelessness is a poverty problem rather than a housing problem. They noted that popular perception is that it is a housing problem. It is worth mentioning that the scale of poverty is such that people do not need only shelter but food, clothes, medicines and many other basic items.

Adib, N. A. M., Hussin, Z. H., & Ahmad, Y. (2016) conducted a study on homeless women in Malaysia: Their choice or victims of situations. This paper reviews relevant literature pertaining to women's homelessness in the Malaysian context. Based on a study conducted by Michael et al. (2010), the number of female-headed families in Malaysia is rising. According to statistics provided by the Syariah Judiciary Department in Malaysia, the number of divorce cases in Malaysia is increasing. This leads to the rising number of FHF in Malaysia (Lyn, 2014). Besides, most of the FHF struggle with extreme poverty in order to survive, especially if they have their children with them.

Padgett et al. (2012) studied life course adversity in the lives of formerly homeless persons with serious mental illness in New York City, USA. The study found that substantial exposure to adverse events related to serious mental illness, history of substance abuse, and homelessness are the major problems. These events included incarceration, suicidality, childhood abuse, and multiple losses of family and friends. Moreover, chronic stressors (poor health, poverty, social isolation, and stigma) were frequently reported. Additionally, studies indicated that homeless individuals have smaller social networks and low levels of social support (Calsyn and Winter, 2006).

Scope of the study / Need for the study

Homelessness is one of the biggest problems in India. Census 2011 estimated that there are around 1.8 million homeless people living in India. The Government of India is implementing many welfare schemes to remove the problem of homelessness. Still, there are many people who live on the streets. A few homeless people do their jobs or rag picking during daytime and sleep nights at construction sites, under bridges, in Hume pipes, and in other areas that are unsuited for human habitation. A few people spend nights and days at shelters, transit homes, short-stay homes, beggars’ homes and children’s homes etc. The people on the streets face many psychosocial, protection and health problems. A few studies have been conducted to understand the reasons for homelessness and the problems faced by the homeless population. But not many studies conducted on this topic in Andhra Pradesh and Visakhapatnam. In this connection, the present study is proposed to conduct this study in Visakhapatnam to understand the problems of homelessness.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To study the socio-economic and demographic profiles of the homeless population.

2. To understand the major reasons for homelessness in Visakhapatnam.

3. To study the major psycho-social, protection and health problems faced by the homeless population

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Research setting:

The present study was conducted in Visakhapatnam city. It is the largest city in Andhra Pradesh and the population is 1,728,128. It is known for its beauty and very attractive sides as it has many beaches and other tourist sides. The port of Visakhapatnam is renowned for being home to the oldest shipyard in all of India, and with a plethora of manmade wonders and natural spectacles, Visakhapatnam is a must-visit tourist destination in South India. There are about 4000 homeless persons living on the streets. There are eight-night shelter homes available with the capacity of 300 people in the greater Visakhapatnam municipal corporation. The study was conducted with the homeless people living on the streets in Visakhapatnam city.

Research Design:

A descriptive research design was used for the present study to describe, compare, and analyse the major health issues of the homeless population

Sample:

The present study adopted the purposive sampling method (non-probability sampling) to identify the respondents. The respondents of the present study are the homeless population living on the streets. They may not stay in one place and moves from one place to another. In this regard, the present study identified 30 homeless people through the purposive sampling method. The data have been collected from 20 males and 10 females and all of these respondents are from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Odisha.

Data Collection and Analysis:

The study collected the data from 30 homeless populations through a pretested, structured interview schedule. The data were analysed through MS-Excel and SPSS.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:

The results of the study are as follows:

The concept of age describes how old a person is at a particular point in time. It is defined as the measure of time elapsed from date of live birth to a specific point in time, usually the date of collection of the data. The following table presents the age of the respondents;

Table No: 1 Distribution of respondents by their age

S.no	Age	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	19-28	12	40
2	29-38	10	33.3
3	39-48	4	13.3
4	49-58	1	3.4
5	59-68	3	10
Total		30	100

The data in the above table revealed that the majority (40%) of the respondents are between 19-28 years of age followed by 33.3 per cent of the respondents belonging to 29-38 years age group. The below figure presented the sex of the respondents. This study is in contrast with the study of Visweswara, K. (2016) who stated that a large number of beggars are aged persons. Sex refers to “the different biological and physiological characteristics of males and females, such as reproductive organs, chromosomes, hormones, etc.” (Council of Europe, 2022). The sex is divided into two groups i.e. male and female in the present study.

Figure No: 1 Distribution of the respondents by their sex

The data in the above figure show that the majority (66.7%) of the respondents are male followed by 33.3% of the respondents are females. The following table presents the educational level of the respondents;

Table No: 2 Distribution of respondents by educational level

S. no	Educational level	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Illiterate	7	23.3
2	0-5	5	16.7
3	6-10	9	30
4	Inter and above	9	30
Total		30	100

The data in the above table revealed that the majority (30%) of the respondents have completed their intermediate and above education and also 30 per cent of the respondents completed their 6-10 level of education, 23.3% of the respondents are illiterates and 16.7 per cent of the respondents are have 0-5 years education. Occupation is a person’s usual or principal work or business, especially as a means of earning a living. The following table presents the previous occupation of the respondents;

Table No: 3 Distribution of respondents by previous Occupation

S. No	Occupation	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Daily wage worker	13	43.3
2	Private employee	5	16.7
3	Student	4	13.3
4	Idle at home	8	26.7
Total		30	100

The data in the above table show that the majority (43.3%) of the respondents were doing some daily wage work prior to their stay on the streets, 16.7 per cent of the respondents are private employees, while 13.3 per cent of the respondents were students. The following table presents the current occupation of the respondents;

Table No: 4 Distribution of respondents by current occupation

S. no	Occupation	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Daily wage worker	12	40
2	Private employee	3	10
3	Student	1	3.3
4	Idle at home	10	33.3
5	Others	4	13.3
Total		30	100

The data in the above table showed that the majority (40%) of the respondents do daily work wage while 33.3 per cent of the respondents idle at home. Now there is only one student going to the college from a shelter home. The following table presents the state in which the respondents come from;

Table No: 4 Distribution of respondents by state

S. no	State	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Andhra Pradesh	27	90
2	Karnataka	1	3.3
3	Telangana	1	3.3
4	Odisha	1	3.3
Total		30	100

The data in the above table showed that the majority (90%) of the respondents are from Andhra Pradesh followed by (3.3%) of respondents from other states like Karnataka, Telangana and Odisha. The following Table presents the caste of the respondents. According to Villet (1992) caste should be defined to mean groups of individuals sharing a common, discrete morphogenetic pathway only.

Table No: 6 Distribution of respondents by caste

S. No	caste	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	OC	11	36.7
2	BC	11	36.7
3	SC	7	23.3
4	ST	1	3.3
Total		30	100

The data in the above table revealed that the majority of the respondents (36.7%) are from OC and BC castes, 23.3 per cent of the respondents belongs to the scheduled case, while only (3%) of the respondents were from the scheduled tribe. The following table presents the religion of the respondents. Religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in man by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivation seem uniquely realistic (Geertz 1996).

Figure No: 2 Distribution of the respondents by their religion

The data in the above figure showed that the majority (76.7%) of the respondents are from Hindu religion followed by (20%) of the respondents are Christians. There is only (3.3%) Islamic respondents. Marital status is one’s situation with regard to whether one is single, married, separated, divorced, or widowed. The following table presents the marital status of the respondents.

The data in the above figure presents that the majority (63.3%) of the respondents were unmarried followed by (23.3%) of married respondents and (3.3%) of widowed respondents. the following table presents the disability of the respondents;

Table No: 7 Distribution of respondents by disability

S. no	Disability	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Yes	3	10
2	No	27	90
Total		30	100

The data in the above table showed that the majority (90%) of the respondents do not have any disabilities while (10%) of the respondents have disability specifically locomotors type of disability. Habit is a regular tendency or practise, especially one that is hard to give up. The following table presents the bad habits of the respondents;

Table No: 8 Distribution of respondents by habits they possess

HABITS	YES	NO	TOTAL
Alcohol	13(43.3%)	17(56.7%)	30
Smoking	12(40%)	18 (60%)	30
Ganja	2(6.6%)	28 (93.3%)	30
Drugs	6(20%)	24 (80%)	30

The data in the above table illustrated the habits of the respondents acquired while on the streets. It is found that 43.3 per cent of respondents have the habit of alcohol, followed by 40 per cent of the respondents have the habit of smoking, then drugs (20%) and Ganja (6.6%) respectively. Influencers are the people who have a great impact on others to perform or do certain activities. The following table presents the habit influencers of the respondents;

Table No: 9 Distribution of respondents by habit influencers

S. no	Habits influencers	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Friends	10	33.3
2	Relatives	7	23.3
3	Workplace	9	30
4	School/college	4	13.3
Total		30	100

The data in the above table showed that the majority (33.3) of the respondents have been taught the habits of smoking, drinking alcohol, ganja and many more by friends followed by workplace (30%) and relatives (23.3%). The below table presents the current place of stay of the respondents

Table No: 10 Distribution of respondents by their current place of stay

S. no	Current place of stay	frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Road side	10	33.3
2	Rented house	8	26.7
3	Night shelter	4	13.3
4	Railway station	5	16.7
5	others	3	10
Total		30	100

The data in the above table showed that the majority (33.3%) of the respondents stay on the roadside as their dwelling place while (13.3%) of the respondents stay in the night shelter and (10%) of the respondents stay in places like bus stands and other public places. The following table presents the reasons for being homeless as per the respondents

Table No: 11 Distribution of respondents by reasons of being homeless

Reasons for homeless	yes	No	total
Loss of job	10 (33.3%)	20	30
Bad relations with family	15 (50%)	15	30
Bad relations with outside people	15 (50%)	15	30
Debts	8 (26.7%)	22	30
Accidents/crime	6 (20%)	24	30
Others	5 (16.7%)	25	30

The data in the above table revealed that the majority (50%) of the respondents stated that the major reason for homelessness is a bad relationships with family and from outside family, while 33.3% per cent of the respondents stated that they lost their jobs and they become homelessness, 26.7% per cent of the respondents became homelessness due to their debts, and 20 per cent of the respondents became homeless due to accidents/crimes and lastly, 16.7 per cent of the respondents became homeless due to some other reasons. This study is inline with the study of Harsh mander (2009) who reported that 51.1% of the respondents in the study reported poverty, unemployment and the need to send money home, as the reason that they chose the streets. This is also in line with the study of Sanjoy Roy (2017) who discovered that many homeless children who are on streets are often runways from their families due to the physical abuse inflicted upon them.

According to Callahan, D. (1973) health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The following table presents the health status of the respondents.

Table No: 12 Distribution of respondents by the health status of people who do not have housing

S. no	Health status	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Extremely poor	20	69
2	Poor	6	20
3	Moderate	2	6.8
4	Very good	2	6.6
Total		30	100

The data in the above table show that the majority (69%) of the respondents as extremely poor health, followed by 20 per cent of the respondents have poor health and 6.8% of the respondents have moderate health. The present study supports the findings of Ensign (1998) who conducted a study about the health issues of homeless youth. Existing data suggest that homeless adolescents exhibit high rates of risk-taking behaviours, face additional barriers to access of health care, and suffer from a high burden of poor health. The following table presents the responses of the respondents on the question of whether homeless poses them any risk of attack;

Table No: 13 Distribution of respondents by any risk of attacks

S. no	Any risk of attack	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Yes	19	63.3
2	No	8	26.7
3	maybe	3	10
Total		30	100

The data in the above table revealed that the majority (63.3%) of the respondents agreed that homelessness poses them with a greater risk of attacks while 26.7% per cent of the respondents stated that there are no attacks subjected to them. The following table presents the kind of attacks on respondents;

Table No: 14 Distribution of respondents by kind of attacks

S. no	Kind of attacks	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Abuse	9	39.1
2	Human trafficking	4	17.3
3	Victimised	6	26
4	Brutal killings	4	17.3
Total		23	100

The data in the above table revealed that 39.1 per cent of the respondents stated that the abuse is a very great risk and attack on the homeless, and 39.1% of them said that they are subjected to abuse while 17.3% said that there is a greater risk of being human trafficked. The following table presents the responses of the respondents in relation to police officers patrolling their dwelling places;

Table No: 15 Distribution of respondents whether there are police patrolling around their place of stay

S. no	Police patrolling	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Yes	3	10
2	No	15	50
3	Maybe	4	13.3
4	Sometimes	8	26.7
Total		30	100

The data in the above table revealed that the majority (50%) of the respondents indicated that there were no police officers patrolling in their areas, while 26.7% per cent of the respondents said that sometimes the police officers do patrol.

According to Hilgard, E. R. (1980) psychology is the science of mental life, both its phenomena and their conditions. Therefore the following table presents the psychological effects of homelessness on the respondents.

Table No: 16 Distribution of respondents by psychological effects of homelessness

S. no	Psychological effects of homeless	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Yes	25	83.3
2	No	5	16.7
Total		30	100

The data in the above table revealed that the majority (83.3%) of the respondents were having psychological trauma, while 16.7 per cent of the respondents stated that they were not having any psychological effects. The study is in line with the study of Abraham and Narayana Swamy (2020) who stated that majority of the homeless people are suffering from psychological problems. They are not in a position to access the treatment services also. The following table presents the major reasons for psychological damage;

Table No: 17 Distribution of respondents by reasons for psychological damage on them

S. no	Reasons	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Bad treatment from people	19	70.3
2	Laziness perception	17	62.9
3	People perception on not wanting to work	17	62.9
4	Treated as mentally ill	15	55.5
5	Self esteem	17	62.9
6	hunger	16	59.2

The data in the above table clearly indicated that the major reasons for psychological damage are bad treatment they get from the public (70.3%), low self-esteem (62.9%), laziness perception (62.9%) and mental illness (55.5%) off course.

The following table presents the health problems the respondents while living on the streets. The health problem means a disease or medical ailment or environmental condition that poses the risk of disease or medical ailment.

Table No: 18 Distribution of respondents by the health problems they face on the streets

S. no	problems	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	HIV/AIDS/ STIs	10	33.3
2	Lung diseases	6	20
3	Malnutrition	19	63.3
4	Mental health problems	12	40
5	Wounds and skin infections	14	48.2
6	Tuberculosis	9	31
8	Blood pressure	8	27.5
9	cancer	2	6.8
10	none	4	13.7

The data in the above table shows that the majority (63.3%) of the respondents face malnutrition problem and 48.2 per cent of the respondents faced with wounds and skin infections, 33.3 per cent of the respondent have HIV/AIDS and STIs, 40 per cent of the respondents have mental health problems, and 13.7 per cent of the respondents claimed as not having any of the problems. It is validated in Ensign (1998) on a study about the health issues of homeless youth. Existing data suggest that homeless adolescents exhibit high rates of risk-taking behaviours, face additional barriers to access of health care, and suffer from a high burden of poor health. This study is also inline with the study of Abraham Mutluri (2015) who reported that the street children are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, early pregnancies, abortion, substance abuse, school dropout, child abuse and related rights etc.

SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. There’s a need to provide special interventions for people who are disabled and are homeless thorough assessments needs to be carried out to address their psycho-social problems.

2. Government and NGOs should create employment to the homeless people

3. Government and NGOs should create more awareness on social welfare schemes available for vulnerable people.

4. Government and civil societies should provide rehabilitation services to the homeless people.

5. Re-integration or re-unification of homeless people processes needs to be initiated by the social workers to ensure good relations and warm welcome.

6. Counselling services required to help homeless people who have been re- united with family to cope with the stigma and discrimination from the entire society.

7. Rent supplement /housing allowance should be provided to the homeless population

8. Social workers should intervene in addressing the issue of abuse more especially where children are involved and the people should report the cases of abuse to the right departments (sensitisation).

9. Social welfare assistance -social workers need to do assessments and re assessments to check the deserving population for social welfare schemes.

10. Housing, Specialized and supportive services for mentally ill, alcohol and drug abusers needed to keep them in the communities.

11. The homeless population should change their attitudes and should involve in any livelihood to earn money and have a dignified life.

Social Work Implications:

Social work is a practice based profession that serves individuals, groups and communities who are in the troubles. It helps them to help themselves. Social work research is one another methods which studies in in-depth the problem of homelessness to better understand the issue and come up with best possible intervention strategies to address the issue of homelessness. Social workers work with many clients whose rights are compromised and whose circumstances are made much more difficult by lack of affordable housing and off course food. Social work assistance will vary according to the practice setting and presenting issues. Assistance may involve addressing the individual’s immediate care needs, accessing crisis accommodation or linking clients to agencies that can provide long term support. Social workers are active, engaged and reflective professionals who skilfully use interpersonal communication, assessment, ethical and political processes and change strategies to build trusting relationships in order to assist clients. In this context social workers apply evidence based approaches, skills in counselling, case coordination/case management, advocacy, policy analysis, community development, networking, lobbying and critical thinking.

CONCLUSION:

Homelessness is one of the major problems in India because the population is very high in the country. The homeless people living on the streets are facing many psycho-social, protection and health problems. Due to poverty the homeless people do not give that much of importance to their health and stay. They have bad habits like consuming alcohol and drugs. They are not in a position to access the government schemes due to lack of identity cards. It is high time issues of the homeless are addressed as serious as any other vulnerable groups.

REFERENCES:

1. Abraham Mutluri and S. Narayana Swamy (2020) Night Shelters for Homeless Population in Visakhapatnam, India: Understanding the Functions and Facilities, Refugee Watch: South Asian Journal on Forced Migration, Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group, Volume: 56 No: 1, December 2020, Kolkata. ISSN: 2347-405X –pp.: 88-102

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3. Baumohl, J., & Huebner, R. B. (1991). Alcohol and other drug problems among the homeless: Research, practice, and future directions. Housing Policy Debate, 2(3), 837-866.

4. Chaudhry, S., Joseph, A., & Singh, I. P. (2014). Violence and violations: The reality of homeless women in India. New Delhi.

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Received on 11.05.2022 Modified on 31.05.2022

Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2022;13(2):105-112.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5828.2022.00018

Understanding the Psycho-Social and Health Problems Faced by Homeless Population in Visakhapatnam City: An Empirical Study