Search results

This article aims to describe methodological issues in relation to the definition of homelessness and the drawing of samples of young homeless people in four European countries. The purposes of the research project were, first, to make a comparison of different homeless situations facing young people in these four countries, and second, to introduce early intervention and action planning methodologies developed in the UK and The Netherlands to other countries in the study – Portugal (a family welfare society) and the Czech Republic (an ex‐communist regime redeveloping its welfare policies).

After extensive discussions and key worker interviews with local agencies, 54 homeless young people were interviewed in each country. Each sample was intended to be purposive in that it should recruit homeless young men and women from those born in that country from the dominant (white) ethnic group, born in that country from minority ethnic groups, and young people not born in that country. A major issue was how to define homelessness in order to be able to recruit across the spectrum of homeless youth.

The purposive samples recruited in the four countries reflected the availability of services in those countries and levels of family support. Whilst young homeless people in The Netherlands and the UK were mostly living in supported housing, in Portugal they were living as “hidden homeless” and in the Czech Republic on the streets or in squats.

The methodological difficulties encountered during the project are themselves a useful lesson learnt, for the creation of trans‐national understanding and politicy.

Nevertheless, despite the very different circumstances of limited services in Portugal and the Czech Republic, it appeared that both early intervention methods and key working approaches could be applied broadly across the EU.

Transnational studies of youth homelessness are rare and therefore produce particularly useful insights for research, policy and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the European transnational migration of poverty in a regional context, specifically focusing on homelessness among the migrant poor in Norway and Sweden. Gathering insight from individuals who routinely assist with social care, this research seeks to find out if the liberal provision of welfare and supportive services attracts poor migrants to this region from other parts of Europe.

Qualitative in-depth interviews with individuals who provide social care assistance to homeless migrants in Oslo and Stockholm.

The influx of people experiencing homelessness in these areas is comprised mainly of two distinct sub-populations. One group migrated in search of employment opportunities but struggled with tenuous working and living arrangements. A second more transient group appeared to be motivated by perceptions of Scandinavian benevolence and charity. Both groups lacked familiarity with the social welfare system but were generally uninhibited by cultural differences between their destination and country of origin.

The intent of this study is not to generalize to a broader population but to develop an in-depth exploration of homelessness and migration from the perspective of social care workers. Purposive sampling is used to gather insights from key informants that work closely with homeless migrants; however the findings can be limited by the unique experiences of each individual.

In the public discourse on homelessness it is a mistake to group all homeless migrants together. Additionally it is important to distinguish between the needs of migrants and non-migrants, as these two homeless populations generally do not struggle with the same issues.

With a better understanding of this issue, governments will be able to provide more adequate assistance and develop more effective initiatives to combat and prevent homelessness.

In the context of what may be understood as an ‘emotional retreat’ in homelessness research and service provision (Chamberlayne, 2004, p. 347), this chapter canvasses the valuable role of qualitative research in continuing to diversify understandings and evidences of homelessness made available across the field. I work to make sense of the ways, in which the emotional and physical messiness of ‘in situ’ research (Malins, Fitzgerald, & Threadgold, 2006, p. 514) can give rise to new understandings of homelessness that both intervene in and compliment existing research and policy knowledges. While my key focus here will be on the difficult task of actually articulating how it is that particular forms of qualitative research knowledge may provide epistemological leverage to the field of homelessness, it should also be clear that the impetus for this chapter, and indeed for my broader research engagement in homelessness (see for example, Robinson 2002b, 2003, 2005) stems from my concern with the ways in which felt-experience is particularly backgrounded in this field. As I have discussed elsewhere, the ramifications of making relatively silent corporeal and emotional dimensions of homelessness have troublingly included the entrenchment of conceptualisations of, and responses to, homelessness that cannot account for the multidimensional ways in which trajectories of homelessness can unfold and become reinforced. In particular, my focus has been on the ways in which the lack of attention paid within social research to the bodily impacts of cumulative trauma and grief in the lives of homeless people, has in turn been mirrored in the limited framing of social policy and welfare service delivery.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the denial of social support to homeless persons and related societal effects of new local governance arrangements.

Analysis of new data and secondary evaluative and comparative data on the policies, administrative structures and management styles of Copenhagen, Glasgow and Amsterdam have brought better understanding of the elements of local governance arrangements that influence the number of homeless persons who are denied access to services and the number of persons sleeping rough who are not eligible for social support. Theoretical explanations for the impact of governance arrangements on these processes and societal effects are considered.

It appears that while the body of research, reports and policy documents on non-eligibility for homelessness services is growing, legal responses at best remain vague, and policies are still in the process of being developed. Modest progress on policy goals, and even more so on policy instruments, leading to less detrimental outcomes, can be explained by centralising and decentralising trends and the relationships between state and society. The latter may also be indicative of how the increased focus on the legal problems of some EU migrants can be explained.

The two points in time documented for the case studies are relevant in understanding processes underlying the current circumstances of homeless persons and homeless migrants and offer an interdisciplinary insight into governance and politics, law, and public and health service perspectives.

Good policy practice, as this paper shows, can lead to a difference in individual lives.

Much is unknown about considerations inside government. This paper contributes by combining theoretical and insider perspectives.

Homelessness and psychoactive substance (PS) use are both determinants of physical and mental ill health, with the homeless population using, and dying of PSs more frequently than the general population. However, there is a gap in research on the real-world implications psychoactive substance use (PSU) has on the homeless population. This study aims to explore the experiences of PSU from the perspective of homeless users.

Purposive sampling was adopted to recruit participants and semi-structured interviews collected data from participants, with interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) generating common themes from the data gathered.

Four participants were interviewed. The themes generated were family and close relationships; cyclical patterns; mistrust in people and services; and low self-worth.

This study is limited by potential bias from researchers who built relationships with participants through the data collection process. Despite efforts to remove this bias, through reflexivity throughout data collection and analysis, some bias may be still present. The researchers saw the participants as vulnerable people who were striving to overcome adversity. Such conception of the participants is reflective of how the participants portrayed themselves. The small sample is suitable for IPA purposes. Of course, it could have been possible that if different participants had been recruited or more participants had been recruited, then there could have been different themes and findings. IPA prides itself on its idiographic focus.

More research is needed on a wider scale to assess the extent and cause of these issues. Increased education and dissemination of research such as this is required to break down stigma within the public and guide policy change in professional services.

This paper interpretatively presents themes generated by semi-structured interviews with four homeless PSUs. As such, these individuals are vulnerable and have faced adversity throughout life from both society and the services they use. Their vulnerability leads to a cycle of substance use and a feeling of low self-worth, which is perpetuated by the perceived views of those around them.

Homelessness has many causes and also is stigmatized in the United States, leading to much misunderstanding of its causes and what policy solutions may ameliorate the problem. The problem is of course getting worse and impacting many communities far removed from the West Coast cities the authors examine in this study. This analysis examines the socioeconomic variables influencing homelessness on the West Coast in recent years. The authors utilize a panel fixed effects model that explicitly includes measures of healthcare access and availability to account for the additional health risks faced by individuals who lack shelter. The authors estimate a spatial error model (SEM) in order to better understand the impacts that systemic shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have on a variety of factors that directly influence productivity and other measures of welfare such as income inequality, housing supply, healthcare investment, and homelessness.

This paper aims to consider the potential for public library policies that specifically target “the homeless” to undermine their own objectives, and seeks to suggest alternative approaches to extend inclusion and ensure that all demographics are served equally.

The paper was written for a satellite meeting of the 78th IFLA Congress entitled “The Homeless and the Libraries – the Right to Information and Knowledge For All”. Drawing on previous research detailed in Muggleton, and Muggleton and Ruthven, the author presents a discursive perspective on the impact that assumptions about homelessness might have for policymaking.

Extant prejudices and the tendency to create a homeless “other” mean that policies specifically addressing the homeless have the potential to accentuate difference and patronise and alienate the intended beneficiaries of these policies. Moreover, political opposition to more inclusive, accommodating policymaking makes it important to reject assumptions and prejudices that weaken one's own position. Grounding policymaking in the empirical experience of homeless library users is argued to be the most effective way to extend inclusion, and also avoid false dichotomies and the perpetuation of prejudice.

Insights into unconscious assumptions gathered from previous research have been applied to the conceptualisation and implementation of public library policy. The arguments presented in the paper will hopefully be of use both for developing effective policies and for defending policies relating to homeless library users.

Libraries must acknowledge their role as gatekeepers for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender expansive queer and questioning (LGBTGEQ+) young people on their journey to home. By exploring the intersections of community, identity, accessible information, equitable practices, and leadership commitment, this chapter calls on the profession to lean in and no longer look away (K. Strowder, personal communication, 2022).

Social enterprise has the potential to serve as a mechanism of social and economic opportunity for persons experiencing homelessness. This paper aims to identify potential outcomes of work integration social enterprises (WISEs) for people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or transitioning out of homelessness.

Searches of 14 databases were completed using keywords and subject headings pertaining to homelessness, social enterprise and employment, respectively. These searches were then combined to identify literature concerning WISEs with homeless populations. The initial search yielded 784 unique articles. Through screening, 29 articles were selected and independently coded to establish themes.

The analysis identified the potential for WISEs to contribute positively to the lives of the target population in the areas of connection to the community, employment skill building, mental health, personal agency and empowerment, relationship-building, structure and time use, financial stability and housing. There were less positive and mixed findings regarding substance use, crime/delinquency, physical health and transition to mainstream employment. Future research should further explore causal relationships between WISE approaches and strategies and their potential implications for persons emerging from homelessness.

Prior to this research, there have not been any recent publications that synthesize the existing body of literature to evaluate the potential outcomes of WISE participation for homeless populations. This paper lays the groundwork for future empirical studies.

The purpose of this paper is to add to the understanding of homelessness by exploring and analysing the homeless pathway of a young expectant mother as she negotiates her way through temporary accommodation and comes to terms with her circumstances and new identity as a person without a home.

A phenomenological interviewing approach was used in order to gain insights into the subject's lived daily world from her perspective. Themes were then identified that encapsulated the essential qualities of the interview.

The stress and negative emotions of being homeless appear to be accentuated significantly due to pregnancy, taking the potential for the positive feelings associated with pregnancy away from the participant. Structural factors such as the homelessness legislation and affordable housing supply had a strong influence over her homeless pathway, resulting in feelings of a loss of control over her destiny and choices and subsequent feelings of low self-worth, which she had to try to come to terms with. However, the pregnancy was also used as a positive coping strategy, as was family support.

Minimal research has been undertaken on the experiences of homeless women who are pregnant. The results point to the need to understand the deeply negative impacts that homelessness can have on individuals, particularly expectant mothers. The value of examining homelessness as a pathway is also shown.