One of the most {#blank#}1{#/blank#} ['beɪsɪk] human needs is a home. A home is a safe place. While most people around the world {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (valuable) their homes, there are many people in every country who are homeless.

Some people are homeless for a short {#blank#}3{#/blank#} ['pɪəriəd] of time because they are moving from one place to another, and other people are not able to find a home. They must live on the streets or in a shelter.

There are many causes of {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (homeless). Sometimes people cannot keep a home because they do not earn enough money, or because they do not have a job. Sometimes people are homeless because they have a problem {#blank#}5{#/blank#} drugs or because they have a mental illness. No one is ever homeless {#blank#}6{#/blank#}purpose.

{#blank#}7{#/blank#} [wɒt'evə(r)] the cause of homelessness is, the effects are the same. Homeless people must work very hard to live. They cannot raise their children. Sometimes they must steal food just {#blank#}8{#/blank#} eat. The government in every country has worked for many years to {#blank#}9{#/blank#} [help] the homeless but more needs to be done. We must think of the homeless as people, not just as problems.