In order to discuss homelessness, one must understand the current landscape of the issue. Described as a crisis of urban homelessness since the 1980’s due to economic instability and the deinstitutionalization of individuals struggling with mental illness, the United States has dealt with unhoused individuals since it was founded (National Academy of Sciences; Padgett, 2007). Utilizing Social Judgment Theory as a theoretical framework, I analyzed literature that helps explain homelessness in the United States today, public perceptions of homelessness, and how media and its biases influence that perception.