Are homeless people considered deviants? Why/Why not?

This is a discussion based question and there is no right or wrong answer!

1 Answer
Jul 22, 2016

Yes and no.

Explanation:

Do I consider homeless people deviants? No. Are many of them mentally challenged or suffering from drug abuse? Yes. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2013 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, an estimated 257,300 homeless people suffer from drug abuse or severe mental illness. Approximately 1 in 5 people suffering from homelessness are affected with a mental disorder (and the same goes for those abusing drugs), which, if I do my math correctly, racks up about 40% of all homeless people in the United States with either mental or drug issues.

So that man mumbling to himself while crawling out of a cardboard box may seem deviant, but he's just one among thousands of the mentally challenged (or drug abusing) people without homes. They need help and they need care.