Street Names

 In this paper, I will offer the three sociological perspectives on the problem of homelessness: Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionalism. I will examine these three perspectives for whatever valid points they may hold. (Note that I do not use the euphemism “unhoused.” This is because those of us living in shelters are, technically, housed, but still homeless. None of us in the shelter where I sleep refer to ourselves as “unhoused.” We are homeless, and no euphemism will change the reality of it.) I have been homeless since November of 2025, living in a shelter and surviving on food stamps and what little I get from financial aid. This gives me the opportunity to see the problem of homelessness more clearly than those who have never experienced it.

            First, Functionalism. Extreme poverty and the resulting homelessness disrupt the stability of society by taxing resources, money that could be used to fund other social programs like infrastructure, education, and emergency response departments. It means more people without jobs who would otherwise be contributing to the economy as consumers. Of course, it also means that people are living on the streets and becoming addicted to drugs to cope with their situation. (I delivered a speech on this topic for my Public Speaking course last semester. Of the 170 people I interviewed in the course of my research, not a single one became homeless due to substance use.) That isn’t the only problem that overlaps with the homelessness crisis; there are also people living on the street who are fleeing domestic violence, another social problem that is neither necessary nor inevitable.

            Next is Conflict Theory. Homelessness comes about because of a weak social safety net, built and maintained by people in power who have never lived in a tent on the sidewalk. There are not enough shelter beds to house all the homeless people in Portland. Funding for subsidized housing was inadequate to begin with and has been cut even further. People are being evicted from their homes faster than they are being housed, leading to a steady increase in the number of homeless people. Businesses are cutting costs by laying off their work force in favor of automated systems, which is what happened to me. Another problem that makes this crisis worse is the lack of comprehensive health care, including treatment for behavioral health. People who would be able to work if they were being properly medicated remain ignored and unemployed. Those whose condition is bad enough that they cannot work usually have no income at all; getting on disability can take years. Homeless people can be families, they can be elderly, they can be veterans, they can be disabled. They can be working full-time but not making enough to afford stable, long-term housing. Even finding a job is more challenging without an address or access to laundry and shower facilities. Many homeless people have lost or never obtained a photo ID or copy of their Social Security card and cannot get one because of the cost. This also means most of them cannot even vote, giving them no voice as far as the government is concerned. Another exacerbating factor is the generational nature of extreme poverty; children who grow up in poor families do not have the resources to improve their situation. According to Conflict Theory, homelessness is a result of a lack of social services, inequality in opportunities, and an unbalanced power dynamic.

            Lastly, Symbolic Interactionism. Many homeless people usually interact with other homeless people, using “street names” and learning about sources of income such as gathering bottles and cans for recycling. They share cigarettes and other resources with their peers, creating a kind of pool from which everyone draws. The homeless also tend to leave garbage and litter around. This makes them unpopular just about everywhere and adds to the stigma of being homeless. There is a mainstream social component that makes the situation worse, as well: those who are housed will walk right past tents and people panhandling on the street without so much as a glance, probably out of survivors’ guilt. The Symbolic Interactionism view states that, if the homeless took steps to solve their problems by working with the right people, they wouldn’t be in their situation. Another problem, of course, is substance use. There is a thriving market for both crystal meth and fentanyl on the street, which is viewed as the primary source of homelessness. The thinking goes that if they never did drugs, they would never have become homeless, although this has been proven to be false.

            In conclusion, the Conflict Theory as applied to the problem is the most realistic. It acknowledges that homelessness is a crisis to be addressed in a practical and effective way. Functionalism barely recognizes it as a problem and Symbolic Interactionalism puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of the victims. If we are to help the homeless, we need to see them for who they really are and focus on results-driven solutions.