When my father left my mother, he stopped supporting us and we had to go on welfare. After that, the landlady wouldn't take our rent check anymore. . . . She started harassing us. . . . We came home late one day from the park, and we saw the big yellow sign "Evicted" and the marshal was there. I got upset and I started crying.

POVERTY, FAMILY DISPUTES , unemployment, eviction, violence, and a lack of affordable housing all contribute to homelessness. Maria's family became homeless through eviction, one of the most common causes of homelessness. Usually people are evicted because they cannot pay the rent, but there can be other reasons. Sometimes their building is condemned. When a landlord doesn't make repairs, the building may become so run-down that the city orders it demolished. Fire may destroy it, leaving families with no place...