According to Streetwise from Street News Services (2010), the first reported cases of homelessness date back to 1640, in some of the largest cities of the original 13 colonies. At this time, wars were raging between settlers and Native Americans, and people were becoming homeless on both sides (Street News Service, 2010). Later, the Industrial Revolution caused more homelessness, industrial accidents left many former hard-working families with deceased breadwinners or severe disabilities, and then the economy went into recession during the same period (Street News Service, 2010). Wars have always left large numbers of veterans homeless. Later, in 1927, there was an astronomical flood along the Mississippi River in several states, leaving approximately 1.3 million people homeless (Street News Service, 2010). Natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the earthquake earlier this year in Japan remain a major cause of homelessness. Homelessness occurred during the Great Depression, and the Federal Transition Service, which funded job training programs, shelters, health centers, housing, and camps, did just that. work from 1933 to 1936 (Street News Service, 2010). This program was eliminated in 1936 when the Roosevelt administration decided to defund Social Security (Street News Service, 2010). Later, as the National Coalition for the Homeless reported, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is one of the only major federal laws in response to homelessness, and it was amended four times since its initial introduction (National Coalition...... middle of document...... McKinney-Vento Act (nd). National Coalition for the Homeless. Retrieved April 15, 2011 from www.nationalhomeless.org /publications/facts/McKinney.pdfOlivet, J. (2010, July 7, The History of Homelessness in America, 1640-Present - Street News Service Home - Street News Service Retrieved April 10, 2011 from http://). www.streetnewsservice.org/news/2010/july/feed-.240/the-history-of-homelessness-in-america,-1640-present-.aspxThe McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (nd). 2011 at center.serve.org/nche/downloads/mv_full_text.pdfThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights (nd) Retrieved April 18, 2011 from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/. index.shtmlWhy are people homeless?. (nd). National Coalition for the Homeless. Retrieved April 23, 2011 from http://www.nationalhomeless.org