“Homelessness is a symptom of systemic poverty” (http://www.kansascity.com/ ). As one of our nation's major social problems, homelessness often makes headlines (http://www.ebooks.com/). Many are seeking shelter for the first time. The Homeless Coalition of Greater Kansas City reports that on any given night, up to 3,000 adults are homeless and more than 7,500 children are homeless on the streets of Kansas City. Since 2011, more than 7 percent of Kansas City State residents have experienced homelessness. We're not sure why this rate has increased over the past two years. Maybe because of a bad economy and job losses. The people most often considered homeless are: Victims of domestic violence, after deciding to leave an abusive relationship, they often have nowhere to go for those with few resources. Lack of money for housing and long waiting lists for supported housing mean that women and/or women and their families are forced to choose between violence at home and life on the streets. In 2010, 344 victims of domestic violence were recorded as sheltered and 12 were not, for a total of 437 (see Table A1). In 2009, 108 people were housed and 13 were not. (See table A2). The chronically homeless (see Table B1), the mentally ill (see Table B2), and substance abuse victims (see Table B3) are groups of people who are generally homeless. Additionally, people living with HIV/AIDS (see Table C1) often become depressed and suicidal, which decreases their likelihood of continuing to take the medications needed to treat HIV/AIDS. The cost of health care and medications for people living with HIV/AIDS is often too high for people to afford. They also risk losing their jobs due to discrimination or absences for health reasons. Ano...... middle of paper ......endent giving them back a feeling of freedom. Meanwhile, nonprofits continued to attempt to address the problem, as did government agencies. Efforts to provide emergency shelter are intensifying and becoming institutionalized; transitional housing programs have emerged; some “prevention” programs will be attempted. One problem that could arise is that people who are not at or below the poverty line to receive this type of assistance will soon attempt to do so. Many will try to lose their job and/or quit in order to earn less income than before, so they can apply for welfare, Section 8 vouchers, food stamps, etc. What could cause our homeless rate to increase again? We're not sure yet, we Kansas City residents will just have to wait and see what the future holds and plan to end homelessness in the metro area..