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Family conflicts are frequently at the center of why teens become homeless. They get kicked out of the house or choose to run away over issues such as drug or alcohol addiction physical abuse sexual orientation or teen pregnancy. And teens in foster care frequently end up on the street after they age out of the system at age 18. LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND UNLIVABLE WAGES I ts probably just common sense but not being able to afford rent or a mortgage often leads to homelessness. According to NCH many people are underemployed at wages that cant sustain them. Layoffs and job cuts leave individ- uals and families in desperate circumstances. Unemployment benefits and savings run out leaving people homeless who never thought it could happen to them. According to the Homeless Resource Net- work For families and individuals struggling to pay the rent a serious illness or disability can start a downward spiral into homelessness beginning with a lost job depletion of savings to pay for care and eventual eviction. For those living in poverty or close to the poverty line everyday life issues that are manageable for people with higher incomes can be the final factor in placing them on the street. Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing food childcare health care and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some of these necessities. Often it is housing which absorbs a high proportion of income that must be dropped. If you are poor you are essentially an illness an accident or a paycheck away from living on the streets according to NCH. Data from just a few years ago showed that more than 6.5 million households were spending WWW.AGRM.ORGMARCHAPRIL 2016 15 Factors Contributing to Homelessness Even small events can become huge weights when someone is on the verge of homelessness When a person or family is already living in a precar- ious situation one seemingly small event can tip the scales from stability to homelessness. Some identified by the Homeless Re- source Network are Car problemsBroken down car no insurance or too many unpaid tickets leave a person without transportation. DivorceDivorce often leaves one of the spouses homeless. Most often its the father but sometimes its the mother and children or the entire family. Lack of child supportIf child support is not paid the decreased income can cause an inability to pay rent utilities or both. Natural disasterA fire tornado flood or hurricane often causes housing to become unliv- able and costly repairs are simply not possible. RoommatesWhen one or more room- mates fall through with their end of the bargain others splitting the rent could lose their housing. Tragedy and griefSome people just quit functioning after someone in their family died or was killed.