As we are watching Pursuit of Happiness, we see that Will Smith’s character was struggling to get by when he was married, but still was in an apartment with food on the table. After he splits up with his wife everything temporarily goes downhill leading him to being homeless with his son. Amongst homeless adults, how much of a factor do you think failed marriages play in putting them on the streets?
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I do not believe that homelessness is necessarily a product of failed marriage. As we see in, The Pursuit of Happyness, things were already going very badly for Will Smith’s character and his family. His wife left him because he wasn’t earning any money and things were not looking up. Right after his wife leaves, Will Smith is told that he is being evicted. The two events don’t really affect each other.
I can see how usually the two go hand in hand though. Being on the verge of homelessness and dealing with money issues puts an incredible amount of stress on a relationship. It is bound to start arguments and cause unhappiness, which could lead to a failed marriage. It’s also possible that there are instances where someone became homeless because his or her spouse ended their relationship and maybe the person did not have anywhere else to go. In the example in The Pursuit of Happyness though I believe the family would have been evicted even if Will Smith’s wife did not leave him.
Among today's low wage working families it takes more than just one income source to supply the family with housing. Many minimum wage American workers could not afford housing if it was not for the fact that they share dwellings. I can easily see how a divorce or a separation of a minimum wage family could force the separated parties onto the streets, as they are no longer able to afford their previous arrangements on only one salary. It is not just failed marriages either, many low wage workers share housing with friends or co workers, but if these sort of arrangements are broken up the result would be the same.
I think it is very possible for failed marriages to be a contributing factor. Looking at Chris Gardner's case (in The Pursuit of Happyness), When his wife left him, the only stable source of income that the family had was negated. The only money Chris was able to make was the selling of his bone density scanners, which was very difficult to do. since his sales were unpredictable, he was not able to get money for the rent and was kicked out. i believe that this is a plausible situation that could easily play a part in homelessness.
I believe that failed marriages can definitely affect the stability of someone's income and can definitely be a contributing factor of homelessness. I do not think that a marriage is necessarily the largest factor among homeless adults because there are so many other factors to consider such as: job status, children, personal responsibility, family, etc. There are certainly situations in which failed marriages are the primary factor, especially if the situation is similar to that of Chris Gardner, where he did not have anything to fall back on and had no support system. Also, he was not the one to initiate the separation which can be very difficult on a person. Overall, I just see failed marriages as another possible contributing factor to one's homelessness. It could be the primary factor or it could be very secondary. I think that another piece of Chris Gardner’s situation that would be interesting to look at, is his decision to have his son stay with him, and how that affected his financial and home status.
Failed marriages play a major role in homelessness. Many families are structured with about 3-4 children on average. This could be a major burden on the shoulders of a single parent, especially if they were struggling to make ends meet during the marriage. Many parents lose their homes and are placed on government assistance in the absence of their spouse, and the presence of financial responsibilities. My aunt and her two children had to move in with her eldest daughter when she and her husband separated. She was not financially stable to maintain a house and two children on her own. As you can see, failed marriages can be a determining factor in homelessness.
Not only do failed marriages dismiss financial support, but it can also psychologically traumatize the individual. There have been a number of cases where a divorce has put women and men through depression. Suicides have emerged over divorce. These things can affect the parent and the children. The parent may not be able to work after this, which could cause homelessness. Also, if the parent commits suicide, then it leaves the children without a home. It is often hard for people to cope with divorces, and they certainly do affect the home. Whether it causes homelessness or just family disruptions, marriages are a devastating possibility that could result in homelessness if the parent is not both financially and mentally stable.
I think in the Pursuit of Happiness there is a correlation between the main character and his wife splitting up and his stint of homelessness, but I don't think that is just simply because they separated. It was the source of income that he was missing from his wife working double shifts that made ends not meet. In homelessness in life, this can be a result of almost anything. In some cases, maybe, the spouse brings in enough money to keep them off the streets and if someone happens to them (they're hurt and cannot work, they die, or they leave) this could end in homelessness, but I don't think it has to be because a couple splits up.
I think that divorce can sometimes be a common factor, but it may not always be the only factor. Sometimes when couples separate, it means a lack of a second income or child support. The emotional stress could also contribute to the situation. In the movie, however Will Smith's character is bogged down with obligations, and hiw wife leaving adds to everything else.
I would contend that depression and other psychological and behavioral issues are one of the largest factors causing homelessness in America. Divorce is so tumultuous and emotionally detrimental for some people that I think it could be a prevalent catalyst that would cause homeless people to more generally be divorced. However, I dont necessarily think that this is the only reason people become homeless. I think that when people are on the brink small things could start a downward trend, so divorce would be much more likely to initiate a downward spiral. I think that issues that cause people to be homeless often are the top reasons they get divorced as well.
I believe that failed marriages play a rather large part in homelessness when other factors are taken into consideration. I do not think that just a failed marriage can lead to homelessness except under certain circumstances. I think that this situation caused homelessness because of the fact of the struggling financial situation. Chris Gardner and his son ended up homeless because as a family they were leaning on his wife's salary. When she left, they lost this form of income which is a bigger reason for them becoming homeless. Overall, marital problems, financial problems, and living paycheck to paycheck are reasons why people become homeless. I believe that all three of these need to be in effect in order for a person to become homeless.
Clearly, this case is different from person to person. While it is safe to assume that some may end up homeless because of domestic issues such as a failed marriage, it is evident that the problems are often far more complicated than that. An example of this can bee seen in the movie as not only does Smith’s character’s marriage fail, but his business does as well. These and other factors, such as the time and place he lived, all contributed to his homelessness. So yes, I agree that family matters most likely play a role. But I do not think that they are the cause of homelessness. For some the timing simply does not work out and they are left without anything. One area that professionals might look assist with in the future is trying to mend broken relationships as a way of getting people off the streets.
In todays society, most families require a dual income in order to get by and live comfortably. I think that the failed marriage in this movie was kind of like the icing on the cake in terms of what it took for Will Smith to become homeless. In the past, I do not feel that homelessness would be affected very much from a failed marriage. But then again, there are some emotional problems that may arise from the divorce and make it much harder for that person to concentrate on work and other things. I think that homelessness and divorce are somehwat connected, but not every divorce is going to lead to homelessness.
In this movie particularly, I would say it had a lot to do with why he became homeless. She[the wife] was bringing in most of the money to pay for rent, food, car and gas.So if anyone else is in the same situation as Chris Gardner then it would be a reason why people could be homeless. He wasn't making the money, so when she left, she left with most of the money too.
I think that failed marriages have played a large role in putting people on the streets. Marriages cause many problems for people that have to deal with depression and money issues. People who are already struggling to get by in life, would have an even harder time having to go through a divorce. But I definitely believe that failed marriages are not the sole cause of people being put on the streets. In the case of the movie, Chris Gardner and his wife were already having problems before they split up. So it is safe to say that failed marriages are sometimes the cause and sometimes not the cause for people being put on the streets. A relationship between two people varies so much that it depends on the relationship to decide whether a failed marriage directly caused homelessness.
Thanks, Liz & Joe, for your question on this film. Like many of you, I would agree that does seem to be some sort of relationship between Linda leaving and Chris's descent in homelessness, but it does seem challenging to figure out what that is. What strikes me as important (and also related to the book we're currently reading) is that even when Linda works two shifts and Chris tries to sell his equipment, they don't appear to make a living wage. This lack of money seems to put serious strains on their relationship, which would make it hard for most of us, too.
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