The United States economy has dipped into economic recession  . This caused discomfort and hardship in every level of society; but for many of the nation's poor, discomfort and hardship turned into misery  . An increase in homelessness is probably the worst result of a nation's financial disaster. About 3 million Americans were homeless because of a lack of affordable housing. Experts suggest that a family should spend no more than 30 percent of its income on housing. In fact, in some families housing costs make up 50 percent or more. An unexpected event, such as losing work or illness, can quickly push a family into homelessness. An article in Time magazine tells a story of one such family. A young couple and their three children rented a two-bedroom apartment for about $350 a month. They could hardly go on with the husband's $920-a-month take-home pay; so when their rent was raised to $500 a month, they could no longer make ends meet. Another woman was found dead on a street in Washington D.C., the capital, and she died at a bus-stop across the street from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. People become homeless for different reasons. Some may not be able to pay for housing, because they have lost their job and cannot find another place they can afford. Others have mental diseases, or are addicted to drugs or alcohol, many of whom do not live with their family. And what's more, there are not enough centers for shelter as the government doesn't pay enough attention to this social problem. People are making efforts to solve the problem. However, it will not be easy, because it is a personal and economical problem as well as a social problem. How many reasons why people become homeless are listed in the passage?
2. 3. 4. 5.