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Essays on Homelessness

Homelessness essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: homelessness in america: root causes, consequences, and strategies for solutions.

Thesis Statement: This essay examines the multifaceted issue of homelessness in America, identifying its underlying causes, analyzing its social and economic consequences, and proposing comprehensive strategies for addressing and preventing homelessness.

• Introduction
• Defining Homelessness: A Complex and Diverse Challenge
• Root Causes of Homelessness: Poverty, Housing Affordability, and Mental Health
• The Human Toll: Health, Safety, and Vulnerability of Homeless Individuals
• Governmental and NGO Initiatives: Shelters, Services, and Support Systems
• Housing First Approach: Providing Stable Housing as a Foundation for Recovery
• Prevention and Advocacy: Collaborative Efforts to Combat Homelessness

Essay Title 2: Hidden in Plain Sight: Exploring the Lives of Homeless Youth and Their Struggles for Stability

Thesis Statement: This essay focuses on the often-overlooked issue of youth homelessness, delving into the unique challenges faced by homeless young people, the factors contributing to their predicament, and the importance of specialized support and intervention programs.

• The Invisible Crisis: Understanding the Scope of Youth Homelessness
• Causes of Youth Homelessness: Family Dynamics, LGBTQ+ Youth, and Foster Care
• Survival on the Streets: Vulnerabilities and Exploitation
• Education and Future Prospects: Overcoming Barriers to Stability
• Innovative Solutions: Transitional Housing, Mentorship, and Education Programs
• Advocacy and Awareness: Mobilizing Support for Homeless Youth

Essay Title 3: Homelessness and Mental Health: The Interplay of Vulnerabilities, Stigmatization, and Access to Care

Thesis Statement: This essay explores the intricate relationship between homelessness and mental health issues, examining the challenges faced by homeless individuals with mental illness, the stigmatization they endure, and the importance of accessible mental health services.

• Homelessness as a Consequence and Contributor to Mental Illness
• Stigmatization and Discrimination: The Dual Burden of Homelessness and Mental Health Challenges
• Barriers to Accessing Mental Health Services: A Critical Gap in Care
• Models of Integrated Care: Collaborative Approaches to Addressing Mental Health Needs
• Community Support and Rehabilitation: Empowering Homeless Individuals on the Path to Recovery
• Policy and Advocacy: Promoting Systemic Change and Mental Health Equity

Combating Homelessness: Structural Inequalities and Policy Solutions

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The Conclusion and Effect of Homelessness

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Homelessness and Its Effects on Children

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The Problems Caused by Homelessness and Ways to Solve Them

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Homelessness refers to a complex societal issue characterized by individuals or families lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. It encompasses a state of not having a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, which often leads to individuals residing in temporary shelters, transitional housing, or public spaces not intended for human habitation.

Homelessness remains a significant issue in the United States, with a complex set of factors contributing to its prevalence today. Despite efforts to address the problem, homelessness continues to affect individuals and communities across the country. In the US, homelessness is influenced by a combination of economic, social, and systemic factors. Economic inequality, lack of affordable housing, unemployment, mental health issues, and substance abuse are among the primary contributors to homelessness. Additionally, systemic issues such as systemic racism and discrimination can disproportionately affect marginalized communities, leading to higher rates of homelessness among minority populations. Efforts to combat homelessness involve a range of strategies, including emergency shelters, transitional housing, and supportive services. Nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and community initiatives play crucial roles in providing assistance, outreach, and advocacy for the homeless population. However, challenges persist in addressing homelessness effectively. The scarcity of affordable housing, limited access to mental health services, and gaps in social support systems continue to hinder progress. Additionally, the recent economic downturns and the COVID-19 pandemic have further exacerbated the issue, leading to an increase in homelessness in certain areas.

In the early stages of civilization, homelessness was often a consequence of natural disasters, wars, or displacement due to economic or political upheavals. However, with the rise of urbanization and industrialization, homelessness took on a new dimension. The growth of cities and the widening wealth gap led to overcrowded slums and impoverished conditions, pushing many individuals and families into homelessness. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, mass unemployment and economic collapse resulted in a significant increase in homelessness. The government response to the crisis led to the establishment of social welfare programs and the construction of public housing. In subsequent decades, the deinstitutionalization of mental health facilities, the decline in affordable housing, and the impact of structural inequality further contributed to the persistence of homelessness.

Street/Homeless Shelter: This is the most visible form of homelessness, where individuals lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. They often live in public spaces, such as streets, parks, or makeshift shelters, or rely on emergency shelters for temporary accommodation. Hidden/Homeless Families: This form of homelessness includes families or individuals who do not have a permanent home but seek temporary accommodation with friends, family, or in motels. They may double up with other households or live in overcrowded conditions. Chronic Homelessness: This category refers to individuals who experience long-term or repeated episodes of homelessness. They may struggle with multiple complex issues, such as mental health disorders, substance abuse, and lack of stable employment. Youth Homelessness: Young people who do not have a safe and stable place to live fall into this category. Veteran Homelessness: This refers to veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Factors such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), lack of social support, and difficulties transitioning to civilian life contribute to their housing instability.

1. Poverty and Lack of Affordable Housing 2. Unemployment and Low Income 3. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues 4. Domestic Violence 5. Family and Relationship Breakdowns 6. Systemic Factors

1. Health Challenges 2. Education and Employment Barriers 3. Social Isolation and Stigma 4. Increased Risk of Victimization 5. Economic Burden

Film: "The Pursuit of Happyness" (2006) is based on the true story of Chris Gardner, who faces homelessness while trying to provide for his young son. The film portrays the challenges faced by a single father and sheds light on the experiences of homelessness. Documentaries: "Dark Days" (2000) directed by Marc Singer captures the lives of people living in an underground tunnel in New York City. The documentary provides an intimate and raw portrayal of the daily struggles and resilience of those experiencing homelessness. News Coverage: News outlets often cover stories related to homelessness, showcasing the experiences of individuals and the impact on communities. They shed light on policy issues, challenges faced by homeless individuals, and initiatives aimed at addressing the issue. Photography: Numerous photographers have documented the lives of people living on the streets, capturing their humanity and the harsh realities they face. Notable photographers like Diane Arbus, Mary Ellen Mark, and Lee Jeffries have produced impactful images that challenge stereotypes and elicit empathy.

1. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), on any given night, over half a million people experience homelessness in the United States. 2. Youth homelessness is a significant issue, with an estimated 4.2 million young people experiencing homelessness each year in the United States. 3. Approximately 35% of the homeless population in the U.S. consists of families with children, highlighting the impact of homelessness on families and the need for support systems. 4. Chronic homelessness, defined as long-term or repeated homelessness, affects around 25% of the overall homeless population. 5. Veterans are disproportionately affected by homelessness. On a single night in January 2020, an estimated 37,252 veterans experienced homelessness in the United States. 6. The cost of homelessness is significant. Studies have shown that providing housing and support services to individuals experiencing chronic homelessness can be more cost-effective than leaving them on the streets, as it reduces costs associated with emergency healthcare, incarceration, and other public services.

The topic of homelessness is of utmost importance to explore and address in an essay due to its profound impact on individuals, communities, and society as a whole. Understanding the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to homelessness is crucial in fostering empathy, raising awareness, and driving meaningful change. Writing an essay about homelessness allows us to shed light on the underlying factors that contribute to homelessness, such as poverty, lack of affordable housing, mental health issues, and systemic inequalities. By examining these root causes, we can challenge societal norms and advocate for social policies that address homelessness effectively. Additionally, exploring the effects of homelessness on individuals and communities helps us recognize the immense hardships faced by those experiencing homelessness, including physical and mental health challenges, social isolation, and limited access to education and employment opportunities. This understanding can cultivate compassion and inspire action to provide support, resources, and pathways to stability for those in need. Moreover, discussing the topic of homelessness encourages us to consider innovative solutions, such as affordable housing initiatives, supportive services, and community-based programs. By analyzing successful interventions and best practices, we can contribute to the ongoing efforts aimed at preventing and alleviating homelessness.

1. Lee, B. A., Tyler, K. A., & Wright, J. D. (2010). The new homelessness revisited. Annual review of sociology, 36, 501-521. (https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-115940) 2. Hwang, S. W. (2001). Homelessness and health. Cmaj, 164(2), 229-233. (https://www.cmaj.ca/content/164/2/229.short) 3. Waldron, J. (1991). Homelessness and the Issue of Freedom. UCLA L. Rev., 39, 295. (https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/uclalr39&div=16&id=&page=) 4. McCarthy, B., & Hagan, J. (1991). Homelessness: A criminogenic situation?. The British Journal of Criminology, 31(4), 393-410. (https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article-abstract/31/4/393/498747) 5. Hopper, K. (2015). Reckoning with homelessness. In Reckoning with Homelessness. Cornell University Press. (https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7591/9780801471612/html?lang=en) 6. Gaetz, S., O'Grady, B., Kidd, S., & Schwan, K. (2016). Without a home: The national youth homelessness survey. (https://policycommons.net/artifacts/2237953/without-a-home/2996006/) 7. Gelberg, L., Linn, L. S., Usatine, R. P., & Smith, M. H. (1990). Health, homelessness, and poverty: a study of clinic users. Archives of Internal Medicine, 150(11), 2325-2330. (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/614142) 8. Bassuk, E. L. (2010). Ending child homelessness in America. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(4), 496. (https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-25070-006) 9. Quigley, J. M., Raphael, S., & Smolensky, E. (2001). Homeless in America, homeless in California. Review of Economics and Statistics, 83(1), 37-51. (https://direct.mit.edu/rest/article-abstract/83/1/37/57244/Homeless-in-America-Homeless-in-California) 10. Bowdler, J. E. (1989). Health problems of the homeless in America. The Nurse Practitioner, 14(7), 44-47. (https://europepmc.org/article/med/2748030)

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Social conditions of becoming homelessness: qualitative analysis of life stories of homeless peoples

• Mzwandile A. Mabhala   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1350-7065 1 , 3 ,
• Asmait Yohannes 2 &
• Mariska Griffith 1  

International Journal for Equity in Health volume  16 , Article number:  150 ( 2017 ) Cite this article

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It is increasingly acknowledged that homelessness is a more complex social and public health phenomenon than the absence of a place to live. This view signifies a paradigm shift, from the definition of homelessness in terms of the absence of permanent accommodation, with its focus on pathways out of homelessness through the acquisition and maintenance of permanent housing, to understanding the social context of homelessness and social interventions to prevent it.

However, despite evidence of the association between homelessness and social factors, there is very little research that examines the wider social context within which homelessness occurs from the perspective of homeless people themselves. This study aims to examine the stories of homeless people to gain understanding of the social conditions under which homelessness occurs, in order to propose a theoretical explanation for it.

Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with homeless people in three centres for homeless people in Cheshire North West of England.

The analysis revealed that becoming homeless is a process characterised by a progressive waning of resilience capacity to cope with life challenges created by series of adverse incidents in one’s life. The data show that final stage in the process of becoming homeless is complete collapse of relationships with those close to them. Most prominent pattern of behaviours participants often describe as main causes of breakdown of their relationships are:

engaging in maladaptive behavioural lifestyle including taking drugs and/or excessive alcohol drinking

Being in trouble with people in authorities.

Homeless people describe the immediate behavioural causes of homelessness, however, the analysis revealed the social and economic conditions within which homelessness occurred. The participants’ descriptions of the social conditions in which were raised and their references to maladaptive behaviours which led to them becoming homeless, led us to conclude that they believe that their social condition affected their life chances: that these conditions were responsible for their low quality of social connections, poor educational attainment, insecure employment and other reduced life opportunities available to them.

It is increasingly acknowledged that homelessness is a more complex social and public health phenomenon than the absence of a place to live. This view signifies a paradigm shift, from the definition of homelessness in terms of the absence of permanent accommodation [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ], with its focus on pathways out of homelessness through the acquisition and maintenance of permanent housing [ 6 ], to understanding the social context of homelessness and social interventions to prevent it [ 6 ].

Several studies explain the link between social factors and homelessness [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. The most common social explanations centre on seven distinct domains of deprivation: income; employment; health and disability; education, skills and training; crime; barriers to housing and social support services; and living environment [ 11 ]. Of all forms, income deprivation has been reported as having the highest risk factors associated with homelessness [ 7 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]: studies indicate that people from the most deprived backgrounds are disproportionately represented amongst the homeless [ 7 , 13 ]. This population group experiences clusters of multiple adverse health, economic and social conditions such as alcohol and drug misuse, lack of affordable housing and crime [ 10 , 12 , 15 ]. Studies consistently show an association between risk of homelessness and clusters of poverty, low levels of education, unemployment or poor employment, and lack of social and community support [ 7 , 10 , 13 , 16 ].

Studies in different countries throughout the world have found that while the visible form of homelessness becomes evident when people reach adulthood, a large proportion of homeless people have had extreme social disadvantage and traumatic experiences in childhood including poverty, shortage of social housing stocks, disrupted schooling, lack of social and psychological support, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, neglect, dysfunctional family environments, and unstable family structures, all of which increase the likelihood of homelessness [ 10 , 13 , 14 ].

Furthermore, a large body of evidence suggests that people exposed to diverse social disadvantages at an early age are less likely to adapt successfully compared to people without such exposure [ 9 , 10 , 13 , 17 ], being more susceptible to adopting maladaptive coping behaviours such as theft, trading sex for money, and selling or using drugs and alcohol [ 7 , 9 , 18 , 19 ]. Studies show that these adverse childhood experiences tend to cluster together, and that the number of adverse experiences may be more predictive of negative adult outcomes than particular categories of events [ 17 , 20 ]. The evidence suggests that some clusters are more predictive of homelessness than others [ 7 , 12 ]: a cluster of childhood problems including mental health and behavioural disorders, poor school performance, a history of foster care, and disrupted family structure was most associated with adult criminal activities, adult substance use, unemployment and subsequent homelessness [ 12 , 17 , 21 ]. However, despite evidence of the association between homelessness and social factors, there is very little research that examines the wider social context within which homelessness occurs from the perspective of homeless people themselves.

This paper adopted Anderson and Christian’s [ 18 ] definition, which sees homelessness as a ‘function of gaining access to adequate, affordable housing, and any necessary social support needed to ensure the success of the tenancy’. Based on our synthesis of the evidence, this paper proposes that homelessness is a progressive process that begins at childhood and manifests itself at adulthood, one characterised by loss of the personal resources essential for successful adaptation. We adopted the definition of personal resources used by DeForge et al. ([ 7 ], p. 223), which is ‘those entities that either are centrally valued in their own right (e.g. self-esteem, close attachment, health and inner peace) or act as a means to obtain centrally valued ends (e.g. money, social support and credit)’. We propose that the new paradigm focusing on social explanations of homelessness has the potential to inform social interventions to reduce it.

In this study, we examine the stories of homeless people to gain understanding of the conditions under which homelessness occurs, in order to propose a theoretical explanation for it.

The design of this study was philosophically influenced by constructivist grounded theory (CGT). The aspect of CGT that made it appropriate for this study is its fundamental ontological belief in multiple realities constructed through the experience and understanding of different participants’ perspectives, and generated from their different demographic, social, cultural and political backgrounds [ 22 ]. The researchers’ resulting theoretical explanation constitutes their interpretation of the meanings that participants ascribe to their own situations and actions in their contexts [ 22 ].

The stages of data collection and analysis drew heavily on other variants of grounded theory, including those of Glaser [ 23 ] and Corbin and Strauss [ 24 ].

Setting and sampling strategy

The settings for this study were three centres for homeless people in two cities (Chester and Crewe) in Cheshire, UK. Two sampling strategies were used in this study: purposive and theoretical. The study started with purposive sampling and in-depth one-to-one semi-structured interviews with eight homeless people to generate themes for further exploration.

One of the main considerations for the recruitment strategy was to ensure that the process complies with the ethical principles of voluntary participation and equal opportunity to participate. To achieve this, an email was sent to all the known homeless centres in the Cheshire and Merseyside region, inviting them to participate. Three centres agreed to participate, all of them in Cheshire – two in Chester and one in Crewe.

Chester is the most affluent city in Cheshire and Merseyside, and therefore might not be expected to be considered for a homelessness project. The reasons for including it were: first, it was a natural choice, since the organisations that funded the project and the one that led the research project were based in Chester; second, despite its affluence, there is visible evidence of homelessness in the streets of Chester; and third, it has several local authority and charity-funded facilities for homeless people.

The principal investigator spent 1 day a week for 2 months in three participating centres, during that time oral presentation of study was given to all users of the centre and invited all the participants to participate and written participants information sheet was provided to those who wished to participate. During that time the principal investigator learned that the majority of homeless people that we were working with in Chester were not local. They told us that they came to Chester because there was no provision for homeless people in their former towns.

To help potential participants make a self-assessment of their suitability to participate without unfairly depriving others of the opportunity, participants information sheet outline criteria that potential participants had to meet: consistent with Economic and Social Research Council’s Research Ethics Guidebook [ 25 ], at the time of consenting to and commencing the interview, the participant must appear to be under no influence of alcohol or drugs, have a capacity to consent as stipulated in England and Wales Mental Capacity Act 2005 [ 26 ], be able to speak English, and be free from physical pain or discomfort.

As categories emerged from the data analysis, theoretical sampling was used to refine undeveloped categories in accordance with Strauss and Corbin’s [ 27 ] recommendations. In total 26 semi-structured interviews were carried out. Theoretical sampling involved review of memos or raw data, looking for data that might have been overlooked [ 27 , 28 ], and returning to key participants asking them to give more information on categories that seemed central to the emerging theory [ 27 , 28 ].

The sample comprised of 22 male and 4 female, the youndgest participant was 18 the eldest was 74 years, the mean age was 38.6 years. Table 1 illustrates participant’s education history, childhood living arrangements, brief participants family and social history, emotional and physical health, the onset of and trigger for homelessness.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Chester. The centre managers granted access once ethical approval had been obtained, and after their review of the study design and other research material, and of the participant information sheet which included a letter of invitation highlighting that participation was voluntary.

Data analysis

In this study data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously. Analysis drew on Glaser’s [ 23 ] grounded theory processes of open coding, use of the constant comparative method, and the iterative process of data collection and data analysis to develop theoretical explanation of homelessness.

The process began by reading the text line-by-line identifying and open coding the significant incidents in the data that required further investigation. The findings from the initial stage of analysis are published in Mabhala [ 29 ]. The the second stage the data were organised into three themes that were considered significant in becoming homeless (see Fig. 1 ):

Engaging in maladaptive behaviour

Being in trouble with the authorities.

Being in abusive environments.

Social explanation of becoming homeless. Legend: Fig. 1 illustrates the process of becoming homeless

The key questions that we asked as we continued to interrogate the data were: What category does this incident indicate? What is actually happening in the data? What is the main concern being faced by the participants? Interrogation of the data revealed that participants were describing the process of becoming homeless.

The comparative analysis involved three processes described by Glaser ([ 23 ], p. 58–60): each incident in the data was compared with incidents from both the same participant and other participants, looking for similarities and differences. Significant incidents were coded or given labels that represented what they stood for, and similarly coded or labeled when they were judged to be about the same topic, theme or concept.

After a period of interrogation of the data, it was decided that the two categories - destabilising behaviour, and waning ofcapacity for resilience were sufficiently conceptual to be used as theoretical categories around which subcategories could be grouped (Fig. 1 ).

Once the major categories had been developed, the next step consisted of a combination of theoretical comparison and theoretical sampling. The emerging categories were theoretically compared with the existing literature. Once this was achieved, the next step was filling in and refining the poorly defined categories. The process continued until theoretical sufficiency was achieved.

Figure 1 illustrates the process of becoming homeless. The analysis revealed that becoming homeless is a process characterised by a progressive waning of resilience created by a series of adverse incidents in one’s life. Amongst the frequently cited incidents were being in an abusive environment and losing a significant person in one’s life. However, being in an abusive environment emerged from this and previously published studies as a major theme; therefore, we decided to analyse it in more detail.

The data further show that the final stage in the process of becoming homeless is a complete collapse of relationships with those with whom they live. The most prominent behaviours described by the participants as being a main cause of breakdown are:

Engaging in maladaptive behaviour: substance misuse, alcoholism, self-harm and disruptive behaviours

Being in trouble with the authorities: theft, burglary, arson, criminal offenses and convictions

The interrogation of data in relation to the conditions within which these behaviours occurred revealed that participants believed that their social contexts influenced their life chance, their engagement with social institution such as education and social services and in turn their ability to acquire and maintain home. Our experiences have also shown that homeless people readily express the view that behavioural lifestyle factors such as substance misuse and engaging in criminal activities are the causes of becoming homeless. However, when we spent time talking about their lives within the context of their status as homeless people, we began to uncover incidents in their lives that appeared to have weakened their capacity to constructively engage in relationships, engage with social institutions to make use of social goods [ 29 , 30 , 31 ] and maturely deal with societal demands.

Being in abusive environments

Several participants explicitly stated that their childhood experiences and damage that occurred to them as children had major influences on their ability to negotiate their way through the education system, gain and sustain employment, make appropriate choices of social networks, and form and maintain healthy relationships as adults.

It appears that childhood experiences remain resonant in the minds of homeless participants, who perceive that these have had bearing on their homelessness. Their influence is best articulated in the extracts below. When participants were asked to tell their stories of what led to them becoming homeless, some of their opening lines were:

What basically happened, is that I had a childhood of so much persistent, consistent abuse from my mother and what was my stepfather. Literally consistent, we went around with my mother one Sunday where a friend had asked us to stay for dinner and mother took the invitation up because it saved her from getting off her ass basically and do anything. I came away from that dinner genuinely believing that the children in that house weren’t loved and cared for, because they were not being hit, there was no shouting, no door slamming. [Marco]

It appears that Marco internalised the incidents of abuse, characterised by shouting, door slamming and beating as normal behaviour. He goes on to intimate how the internalised abusive behaviour affected his interaction with his employers.

‘…but consistently being put down, consistently being told I was thick, I started taking jobs and having employers effing and blinding at me. One employer actually used a “c” word ending in “t” at me quite frequently and I thought it was acceptable, which obviously now I know it’s not. So I am taking on one job after another that, how can I put it? That no one else would do basically. I was so desperate to work and earn my own money. [Marco]

Similarly, David makes a connection between his childhood experience and his homelessness. When he was asked to tell his life story leading to becoming homeless, his opening line was:

I think it [homelessness] started off when I was a child. I was neglected by my mum. I was physically and mentally abused by my mum. I got put into foster care, when I left foster care I was put in the hostel, from there I turn into alcoholic. Then I was homeless all the time because I got kicked out of the hostels, because you are not allowed to drink in the hostel. [David]

David and Marco’s experiences are similar to those of many participants. The youngest participant in this study, Clarke, had fresh memories of his abusive environment under his stepdad:

I wouldn't want to go back home if I had a choice to, because before I got kicked out me stepdad was like hitting me. I wouldn't want to go back to put up with that again. [I didn't tell anyone] because I was scared of telling someone and that someone telling me stepdad that I've told other people. ‘[Be] cause he might have just started doing again because I told people. It might have gotten him into trouble. [Clarke]

In some cases, participants expressed the beliefs that their abusive experience not only deprived them life opportunities but also opportunities to have families of their own. As Tom and Marie explain:

We were getting done for child neglect because one of our child has a disorder that means she bruise very easily. They all our four kids into care, social workers said because we had a bad childhood ourselves because I was abused by my father as well, they felt that we will fail our children because we were failed by our parents. We weren’t given any chance [Tom and Marie]

Norma, described the removal of her child to care and her maladaptive behaviour of excessive alcohol use in the same context as her experience of sexual abuse by her father.

I had two little boys with me and got took off from me and put into care. I got sexually abused by my father when I was six. So we were put into care. He abused me when I was five and raped me when I was six. Then we went into care all of us I have four brothers and four sisters. My dad did eighteen months for sexually abusing me and my sister. I thought it was normal as well I thought that is what dads do [Norma]

The analysis of participants in this study appears to suggest that social condition one is raised influence the choice of social connections and life partner. Some participants who have had experience of abuse as children had partner who had similar experience as children Tom and Marie, Lee, David and his partners all had partners who experienced child abuse as children.

Tom and Marie is a couple we interviewed together. They met in hostel for homeless people they have got four children. All four children have been removed from them and placed into care. They sleep rough along the canal. They explained:

We have been together for seven years we had a house and children social services removed children from us, we fell within bedroom tax. …we received an eviction order …on the 26th and the eviction date was the 27th while we were in family court fighting for our children. …because of my mental health …they were refusing to help us.

Our children have been adopted now. The adoption was done without our permission we didn’t agree to it because we wanted our children home because we felt we were unfairly treated and I [Marie] was left out in all this and they pin it all on you [Tom] didn’t they yeah, my [Tom] history that I was in care didn’t help.

Tom went on to talk about the condition under which he was raised:

I was abandoned by my mother when I was 12 I was then put into care; I was placed with my dad when I was 13 who physically abused me then sent back to care. [Tom].

David’s story provides another example of how social condition one is raised influence the choice of social connections and life partner. David has two children from two different women, both women grew up in care. Lisa one of David’s child mother is a second generation of children in care, her mother was raised in care too.

I drink to deal with problems. As I say I’ve got two kids with my girlfriend Kyleigh, but I got another lad with Lisa, he was taken off me by social services and put on for adoption ten years ago and that really what started it; to deal with that. Basically, because I was young, and I had been in care and the way I had been treated by my mum. Basically laid on me in the same score as my mum and because his mum [Lisa] was in care as well. So they treated us like that, which was just wrong. [David]

In this study, most participants identified alcohol or drugs and crime as the cause of relationships breakdown. However, the language they used indicates that these were secondary reasons rather than primary reasons for their homelessness. The typical question that MA and MG asked the interview participants was “tell us how did you become homeless”? Typically, participants cited different maladaptive behaviours to explain how they became homeless.

Alvin’s story is typical of:

Basically I started off as a bricklayer, … when the recession hit, there was an abundance of bricklayers so the prices went down in the bricklaying so basically with me having two young children and the only breadwinner in the family... so I had to kinda look for factory work and so I managed to get a job… somewhere else…. It was shift work like four 12 hour days, four 12 hour nights and six [days] off and stuff like that, you know, real hard shifts. My shift was starting Friday night and I’ll do Friday night, Saturday night to Monday night and then I was off Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but I’d treat that like me weekend you know because I’ve worked all weekend. Then… so I’d have a drink then and stuff like that, you know. 7 o’ clock on a Monday morning not really the time to be drinking, but I used to treat it like me weekend. So we argued, me and my ex-missus [wife], a little bit and in the end we split up so moved back to me mum's, but kept on with me job, I was at me mum’s for possibly about five years and but gradually the drinking got worse and worse, really bad. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. … I used to drink to get rid of the anxiety and also to numb the pain of the breakup of me marriage really, you know it wasn’t good, you know. One thing led to another and I just couldn’t stop me alcohol. I mean I’ve done drugs you know, I was into the rave scene and I’ve never done hard drugs like heroin or... I smoke cannabis and I use cocaine, and I used to go for a pint with me mates and that. It all came to a head about November/December time, you know it was like I either stop drinking or I had to move out of me mum's. I lost me job in the January through being over the limit in work from the night before uum so one thing led to another and I just had to leave. [Alvin]

Similarly, Gary identified alcohol as the main cause of his relationship breakdown. However, when one listens to the full story alcohol appears to be a manifestation of other issues, including financial insecurities and insecure attachment etc.

It [the process of becoming homeless] mainly started with the breakdown of the relationship with me partner. I was with her for 15 years and we always had somewhere to live but we didn't have kids till about 13 years into the relationship. The last two years when the kids come along, I had an injury to me ankle which stopped me from working. I was at home all day everyday. …I was drinking because I was bored. I started drinking a lot ‘cause I couldn't move bout the house. It was a really bad injury I had to me ankle. Um, and one day me and me partner were having this argument and I turned round and saw my little boy just stood there stiff as a board just staring, looking at us. And from that day on I just said to me partner that I'll move out, ‘cause I didn't want me little boy to be seeing this all the time. [Gary]

In both cases Gary and Alvin indicate that changes in their employment status created conditions that promoted alcohol dependency, though both explained that they drank alcohol before the changes in their employment status occurred and the breakdown of relationships. Both intimated that that their job commitment limited the amount of time available to drink alcohol. As Gary explained, it is the frequency and amount of alcohol drinking that changed as a result of change in their employment status:

I used to have a bit of a drink, but it wasn’t a problem because I used to get up in the morning and go out to work and enjoy a couple of beers every evening after a day’s work. Um, but then when I wasn't working I was drinking, and it just snowballed out, you know snowball effect, having four cans every evening and then it went from there. I was drinking more ‘cause I was depressed. I was very active before and then I became like non-active, not being able to do anything and in a lot of pain as well. [Gary]

Furthermore, although the participants claim that drinking alcohol was not a problem until their employment circumstances changed, one gets a sense that alcohol was partly responsible for creating conditions that resulted in the loss of their jobs. In Gary’s case, for example, alcohol increased his vulnerability to the assault and injuries that cost him his job:

I got assaulted, kicked down a flight of stairs. I landed on me back on the bottom of the stairs, but me heel hit the stairs as it was still going up if you know what I mean. Smashed me heel, fractured me heel… So, by the time I got to the hospital and they x-rayed it they wasn't even able to operate ‘cause it was in that many pieces, they weren't even able to pin it if you know what I mean. [Gary]

Alvin, of the other hand, explained that:

I lost my job in the January through being over the limit in work from the night before, uum so one thing led to another and I just had to leave. [Alvin]

In all cases participants appear to construct marriage breakdown as an exacerbating factor for their alcohol dependence. Danny, for example, constructed marriage breakdown as a condition that created his alcohol dependence and alcohol dependence as a cause of breakdown of his relationship with his parents. He explains:

I left school when I was 16. Straight away I got married, had children. I have three children and marriage was fine. Umm, I was married for 17 years. As the marriage broke up I turned to alcohol and it really, really got out of control. I moved in with my parents... It was unfair for them to put up with me; you know um in which I became... I ended up on the streets, this was about when I was 30, 31, something like that and ever since it's just been a real struggle to get some permanent accommodation. [Danny]

Danny goes on to explain:

Yes [I drank alcohol before marriage broke down but] not very heavily, just like a sociable drink after work. I'd call into like the local pub and have a few pints and it was controlled. My drinking habit was controlled then. I did go back to my parents after my marriage break up, yes. I was drinking quite heavily then. I suppose it was a form of release, you know, in terms of the alcohol which I wish I'd never had now. When I did start drinking heavy at me parents’ house, I was getting in trouble with the police being drunk and disorderly. That was unfair on them. [Danny]

The data in this study indicate that homelessness occurs when the relationships collapse, irrespective of the nature of the relationship. There were several cases where lifestyle behaviour led to a relationship collapse between child and parents or legal guardians.

In the next excerpt, Emily outlines the incidents: smoking weed, doing crack and heroin, and drinking alcohol. She also uses the words ‘because’, ‘when’ and ‘obviously’, which provide clues about the precipitating condition for her behaviours “spending long time with people who take drugs”.

I've got ADHD like, so obviously my mum kicked me out when I was 17 and then like I went to **Beswick** and stuff like that. My mum in the end just let me do what I wanted to do, ‘cause she couldn't cope anymore. …I mean I tried to run away from home before that, but she'd always like come after me in like her nightie and pyjamas and all that. But in the end she just washed her hands of me . [Emily]

Emily presented a complex factors that made it difficult for her mother to live with her. These included her mother struggle with raising four kids as a single parent, Emily’s mental health (ADHD], alcohol and drug use. She goes on to explain that:

Ummm, well the reason I got kicked out of my hostel was ‘cause of me drinking, so I'd get notice to quit every month, then I’d have a meeting with the main boss and then they'd overturn it and this went on every month for about six months. Also, it was me behaviour as well, but obviously drink makes you do stuff you don't normally do and all that shit. I lived here for six months, got kicked out because I jumped out the window and broke me foot. I was on the streets for six months and then they gave me a second chance and I've been here a year now. So that's it basically. [Emily]

There were several stories of being evicted from accommodation due to excessive use of alcohol. One of those is David:

I got put into foster care. When I left foster care I was put in the hostel, from there I turn into alcoholic. Then I was homeless all the time because I got kicked out of the hostels, because you are not allowed to drink in the hostel. It’s been going on now for about… I was thirty-one on Wednesday, so it’s been going on for about thirteen years, homeless on and off. Otherwise if not having shoplifted for food and then go to jail, and when I don’t drink I have lot of seizures and I end up in the hospital. Every time I end up on the street. I trained as a chef, I have not qualified yet, because of alcohol addiction, it didn’t go very well. I did couple of jobs in restaurants and diners, I got caught taking a drink. [David]

Contrary to the other incidents where alcohol was a factor that led to homelessness, Barry’s description of his story appears to suggest that the reason he had to leave his parents’ home was his parents’ perception that his sexuality brought shame to the family:

When I came out they I’m gay, my mum and dad said you can’t live here anymore. I lived in a wonderful place called Nordic... but fortunately, mum and dad ran a pub called […] [and] one of the next door neighbours lived in a mansion. His name was [….] [and] when I came out, he came out as in he said “I'm a gay guy”, but he took me into Liverpool and housed me because I had nowhere to live. My mum and dad said you can't live here anymore. And unfortunately, we get to the present day. I got attacked. I got mugged... only walked away with a £5 note, it’s all they could get off me. They nearly kicked me to death so I was in hospital for three weeks. By the time I came out, I got evicted from my flat. I was made homeless. [Barry]

We used the phrase “engaging in maladaptive behaviour” to conceptualise the behaviours that led to the loss of accommodation because our analysis appear to suggest that these behaviours were strategies to cope with the conditions they found themselves in. For example, all participants in this category explained that they drank alcohol to cope with multiple health (mental health) and social challenges.

In the UK adulthood homelessness is more visible than childhood homelessness. However, most participants in this research reveal that the process of becoming homeless begins at their childhood, but becomes visible after the legal age of consent (16). Participants described long history of trouble with people in authority including parents, legal guardians and teachers. However, at the age of 16 they gain legal powers to leave children homes, foster homes, parental homes and schools, and move outside some of the childhood legal protections. Their act of defiance becomes subject to interdiction by the criminal justice system. This is reflected in number of convictions for criminal offenses some of the participants in this study had.

Participants Ruddle, David, Lee, Emily, Pat, Marco, Henry and many other participants in this study (see Table 1 ) clearly traced the beginning of their troubles with authority back at school. They all expressed the belief that had their schooling experience been more supportive, their lives would have been different. Lee explains that being in trouble with the authorities began while he was at school:

‘The school I came from a rough school, it was a main school, it consisted of A, B, C, D and The school I came from [was] a rough school, it was a main school, it consisted of A, B, C, D and E. I was in the lowest set, I was in E because of my English and maths. I was not interested, I was more interested in going outside with big lads smoking weed, bunking school. I used to bunk school inside school. I used to bunk where all cameras can catch me. They caught me and reported me back to my parents. My mum had a phone call from school asking where your son is. My mum grounded me. While my mum grounded me I had a drain pipe outside my house, I climbed down the drain pipe outside my bedroom window. I used to climb back inside. [Lee]

Lee’s stories constructed his poor education experiences as a prime mover towards the process of becoming homeless. It could be noted in Table 1 that most participants who described poor education experiences came from institutions such as foster care, children home and special school for maladjusted children. These participants made a clear connection between their experiences of poor education characterised by defiance of authorities and poor life outcomes as manifested through homelessness.

Patrick made a distinct link between his school experience and his homelessness, for example, when asked to tell his story leading up to becoming homeless, Patrick’s response was:

I did not go to school because I kept on bunking. When I was fifteen I left school because I was caught robbing. The police took me home and my mum told me you’re not going back to school again, you are now off for good. Because if you go back to school you keep on thieving, she said I keep away from them lads. I said fair enough. When I was seventeen I got run over by a car. [Patrick]

Henry traces the beginning of his troubles with authorities back at school:

[My schooling experience]… was good, I got good, well average grades, until I got myself into [a] few fights mainly for self-defence. In primary schools, I had a pretty... I had a good report card. In the start of high school, it was good and then when the fights started that gave me sort of like a... bad reputation. I remember my principal one time made me cry. Actually made me cry, but eh... I don't know how, but I remember sitting there in the office and I was crying. My sister also stuck up for me when she found out what had happened, she was on my side; but I can’t remember exactly what happened at that time. [Henry]

Emily’s story provides some clues about the series of incidents - including, delay in diagnosing her health condition, being labelled as a naughty child at school, being regularly suspended from school and consequently poor educational attainment.

Obviously, I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD till I was like 13, so like in school they used to say that's just a naughty child. … So it was like always getting suspended, excluded and all that sort of stuff. And in the end [I] went to college and the same happened there. [Emily]

The excerpt above provides intimations of what she considers to be the underlying cause of her behaviour towards the authorities. Emily suggests that had the authorities taken appropriate intervention to address her condition, her life outcomes would have been different.

Although the next participant did not construct school as being a prime mover of their trouble with authorities, their serious encounters with the criminal justice system occurred shortly after leaving school:

Well I did a bit of time at a very early age, I was only 16… I did some remand there, but then when I went to court ‘cause I'd done enough remand, I got let out and went to YMCA in Runcorn. Well, that was when I was a kid. When I was a bit older, ‘cause it was the years 2000 that I was in jail, I was just trying to get by really. I wasn’t with Karen at the time. I was living in Crewe and at the time I was taking a lot of amphetamines and was selling amphetamines as well, and I got caught and got a custodial sentence for it. But I've never been back to jail since. I came out in the year 2000 so it's like 16 years I've kept meself away from jail and I don't have any intentions of going back. [Gary]

The move from school and children social care system to criminal justice was a common pathways for many participants in this study. Some including Lee, Crewe, David, Patrick spent multiple prison sentences (see Table 1 ). Although Crewe did not make connection between his schooling experiences and his trouble with law, it could be noted that his serious encounter with criminal justice system started shortly after leaving foster care and schooling systems. As he explains:

I was put into prison at age of 17 for arson that was a cry for help to get away from the family, I came out after nine months. I have been in prison four times in my life, its not very nice, when I came out I made a promise to myself that I’m never going to go back to prison again. [Crewe]

Lee recalls his education experience. He explained:

I left school when I was fifteen… then I went off the rails. I got kidnapped for three and half months. When I came back I was just more interested in crime. When I left school I was supposed to go to college, but I went with travellers. I was just more interested in getting arrested every weekend, until my mum say right I have enough of you. I was only seventeen. I went through the hostels when I was seventeen. [Lee]

None describe the educational experience with a similar profundity to Marco:

On few occasions I came out on the corridors I would be getting battered on to my hands and knees and teachers walk pass me. There was quite often blood on the floor from my nose, would be punched on my face and be thrown on the floor. …. It was hard school, pernicious. I would go as far as saying I never felt welcome in that school, I felt like a fish out of the water, being persistently bullied did my head in. Eventually I started striking back, when I started striking back suddenly I was a bad one. My mother decided to put me in … school for maladjusted boys, everyone who been there including myself have spent time in prison. [Marco]

The trouble with authorities that was observes in participants stories in this category appear to be part of the wider adverse social challenges that the participants in this study were facing. Crewe’s description of arson as a cry for help appears to be an appropriate summation of all participants in this category.

The participants’ description of the social conditions in which were raised and their references to maladaptive behaviours which led to them becoming homeless, led us to conclude that they believe that their social condition affected their life chances: that these conditions were responsible for their low quality of social connections, poor educational attainment, insecure employment and other reduced life opportunities available to them.

The key feature that distinguish this study from comparable previous studies is that it openly acknowledges that data collection and analysis were influenced by the principles of social justice [ 28 , 30 , 31 ]. The resulting theoretical explanation therefore constitutes our interpretation of the meanings that participants ascribe to their own situations and actions in their contexts. In this study, defining homelessness within the wider socioeconomic context seemed to fit the data, and offered one interpretation of the process of becoming homeless.

While the participants’ experiences leading to becoming homeless may sound trite. What is pertinent in this study is understanding the conditions within which their behaviours occurred. The data were examined through the lens of social justice and socio-economic inequalities: we analysed the social context within which these behaviours occurred. We listened to accounts of their schooling experiences, how they were raised and their social network. The intention was not to propose a cause-and-effect association, but to suggest that interventions to mitigate homelessness should consider the social conditions within which it occurred.

Participants in this study identified substance misuse and alcohol dependency as a main cause of their homelessness. These findings are consistent with several epidemiological studies that reported a prevalence of substance misuse amongst the homeless people [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. However, most these studies are epidemiological; and by nature epidemiological studies are the ‘gold standard’ in determining causes and effects, but do not always examine the context within which the cause and effect occur. One qualitative study that explored homelessness was a Canadian study by Watson, Crawley and Cane [ 37 ]. Participants in the Watson, et al. described ‘lack of quality social interactions and pain of addition. However, Watson et al. focus on the experiences of being homeless, rather than the life experiences leading to becoming homeless. To our knowledge the current study is one of very few that specifically examine the conditions within which homelessness occurs, looking beyond the behavioural factors. Based on the synthesis of data from previous studies, it makes sense that many interventions to mitigate homelessness focus more on tackling behavioural causes of homelessness rather than fundamental determinants of it [ 38 ]. From the public health intervention’ point of view, however, understanding the conditions within which homelessness occurs is essential, as it will encourage policymakers and providers of the services for homelessness people to devote equal attention to tackling the fundamental determinants of homelessness as is granted in dealing behavioural causes.

Participants in this study reported that they have been defiant toward people in positions of authority. For most of them this trouble began when they were at school, and came to the attention of the criminal justice system as soon as they left school at the age of 16. These findings are similar to these in the survey conducted by Williams, Poyser, and Hopkins [ 39 ] which was commissioned by the UK Ministry of Justice. This survey found that 15 % of prisoners in the sample reported being homeless before custody [ 39 ]; while three and a half percent of the general population reported having ever been homeless [ 39 ]. As the current study reveals there are three possible explanations for the increased population of homeless young people in the criminal justice system: first, at the age of 16 they gain legal powers to leave their foster homes, parents homes, and schools and move beyond some of the childhood legal protections; second, prior to the age of 16 their defiant behaviours were controlled and contained by schools and parents/legal guardians; and third, after the age of 16 their acts of defiant behaviour become subject to interdiction by the criminal justice system.

The conditions in which they were born and raised were described by some participants in this study as ‘chaotic’, abusive’, ‘neglect’, ‘pernicious’ ‘familial instability’, ‘foster care’, ‘care home’, etc. Taking these conditions, and the fact that all but one participants in this left school at or before the age of 16 signifies the importance of living conditions in educational achievement. It has been reported in previous studies that children growing up in such conditions struggle to adjust in school and present with behavioural problems, and thus, poor academic performance [ 40 ]. It has also been reported that despite these families often being known to social services, criminal justice systems and education providers, the interventions in place do little to prevent homelessness [ 40 ].

Analysis of the conditions within which participants’ homelessness occurred reveals the adverse social conditions within which they were born and raised. The conditions they described included being in an abusive environment, poor education, poor employment or unemployment, poor social connections and low social cohesion. These conditions are consistent with high index of poverty [ 37 , 41 , 42 ]. And several other studies found similar associations between poverty and homelessness [ 42 ]. For example, the study by Watson, Crowley et al. [ 37 ] found that there were extreme levels of poverty and social exclusion amongst homeless people. Contrary to previous studies that appear to construct homelessness as a major form of social exclusion, the analysis of participants’ stories in this current study revealed that the conditions they were raised under limited their capacity to engage in meaningful social interactions, thus creating social exclusion.

Homeless people describe the immediate behavioural causes of homelessness; however, this analysis revealed the social and economic conditions within which homelessness occurred. The participants’ descriptions of the social conditions in which were raised and their references to maladaptive behaviours which led to them becoming homeless, led us to conclude that they believe that their social condition affected their life chances: that these conditions were responsible for their low quality of social connections, poor educational attainment, insecure employment and other reduced life opportunities available to them.

Limitations

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank all participants in this study; without their contribution it would not have been possible to undertake the research. The authors acknowledge the contribution of Professor Paul Kingston and Professor Basma Ellahi at the proposal stage of this project. A very special thanks to Robert Whitehall, John and all the staff at the centres for homeless people for their help in creating a conducive environment for this study to take place; and to Roger Whiteley for editorial support. A very special gratitude goes to the reviewers of this paper, who will have expended considerable effort on our behalf. 

This research was funded by quality-related research (QR) funding allocation for the University of Chester.

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The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to ethical restriction and privacy of participant data but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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MM wrote the entire manuscript, designed the study, collected data, analysed and interpreted data, and presented the findings. AY contributed to transcribing data and manuscript editing. MG contributed to data collection, and transcribed the majority of data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mzwandile A. Mabhala .

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Mabhala, M.A., Yohannes, A. & Griffith, M. Social conditions of becoming homelessness: qualitative analysis of life stories of homeless peoples. Int J Equity Health 16 , 150 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-017-0646-3

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-017-0646-3

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Homelessness and the Persistence of Deprivation: Income, Employment, and Safety Net Participation

Homelessness is arguably the most extreme hardship associated with poverty in the United States, yet people experiencing homelessness are excluded from official poverty statistics and much of the extreme poverty literature. This paper provides the most detailed and accurate portrait to date of the level and persistence of material disadvantage faced by this population, including the first national estimates of income, employment, and safety net participation based on administrative data. Starting from the first large and nationally representative sample of adults recorded as sheltered and unsheltered homeless taken from the 2010 Census, we link restricted-use longitudinal tax records and administrative data on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicare, Medicaid, Disability Insurance (DI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), veterans’ benefits, housing assistance, and mortality. Nearly half of these adults had formal employment in the year they were observed as homeless, and nearly all either worked or were reached by at least one safety net program. Nevertheless, their incomes remained low for the decade surrounding an observed period of homelessness, suggesting that homelessness tends to arise in the context of long-term, severe deprivation rather than large and sudden losses of income. People appear to experience homelessness because they are very poor despite being connected to the labor market and safety net, with low permanent incomes leaving them vulnerable to the loss of housing when met with even modest disruptions to life circumstances.

The Census Bureau has reviewed this data product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and has approved the disclosure avoidance practices applies to this release, authorization number CBDRB-FY2022-CES005-015. We thank the U.S. Census Bureau for their support, as well as John Abowd, Mark Asiala, George Carter, James Christy, Dennis Culhane, Kevin Deardorff, Conor Dougherty, Ingrid Gould Ellen, Anne Fletcher, Katie Genadek, Tatiana Homonoff, Kristin Kerns, William Koerber, Margot Kushel, Larry Locklear, Tim Marshall, Brian McKenzie, Brendan O’Flaherty, James Pugh, Trudi Renwick, Annette Riorday, Nan Roman, William Snow, Eddie Thomas, Matthew Turner, and John Voorheis for providing feedback and answering questions. We also thank participants in seminars at Yale University (Labor/Public Economics Workshop), the University of Chicago (Demography Workshop), APPAM, NTA, NBER Labor Studies, IRS/Census (Income Measurement Workshop), and the Institute for Research on Poverty. Ilina Logani and Mandana Vakil provided excellent research assistance. We appreciate the financial support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Charles Koch Foundation, the Menard Family Foundation, and the American Enterprise Institute. Wyse thanks the National Institute on Aging for their support. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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The Causes and Impacts of Homelessness Research Paper

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Introduction

Causes of homelessness in toronto, canada, solutions to homelessness, impact of homelessness on cities and society, difference between homelessness in developed and developing world, conclusions.

Homeless families and individuals live without adequate shelters and basic needs. The homeless is a category of people who face severe forms of economic and social conditions. There are hardly any homeless conditions that do not compromise human health or complicate their ability to access basic needs including, food, health, education and financial services.

The homeless individuals with mental illnesses particularly face a higher risk or becoming casualties of some unlawful acts. The risk factors related to homelessness commonly happen concurrently with other societal factors such as intolerance, poverty and unemployment. For example, the homeless people are denied access to formal education, health care, banking facilities and are exposed to crime and abuse among others.

Liberalists argue that homelessness results from the general nature and the poor economic structures and the manner in which finances and resources are distributed in the society (Hurley, 2002). The liberalists claim that the poor economies cause unemployment making it difficult for the affected individuals to pay for housing and other essential services.

Conversely, the conservatives view the homeless as deserving and lazy individuals given to drug addiction and as people who should not be offered any help. Conservatives believe that the society should not intervene in the conditions of the homeless population. Some extremists go to an extent of preventing people from offering help to the homeless population. They claim that many cases of homelessness occur due to personal faults and that the individuals ought to blame themselves for their condition (Hurley, 2002).

Homelessness predominantly occurs in the developing countries and cities such as Cairo and Tunis where material resources are often insufficient and underdeveloped. The increase in homelessness in the developed countries usually indicates the uneven distribution of national resources.

This is particularly evident in countries such as Canada and the United States. The condition is basically a consequence of the increasing poverty levels and lack of affordable housing which arise due to many other factors including the rise in the cost of rental housing.

This paper seeks to address homelessness as a major problem experienced in both the developed and underdeveloped nations. It then highlights the severe impacts of homelessness to individuals and the society at large. The paper then gives significant comparison between the different ideologies regarding homelessness including the liberal, conservative and extremist viewpoints. The paper also emphasizes on the major similarities and differences between homelessness in the developed and developing countries.

Several definitions are used to give the meaning of homelessness. According to Tipple & Speak (2010), homelessness can be described as a housing situation that does not satisfy the minimum housing standard for an individual or a group of individuals for a period of time, exposing the affected individuals to risks and unfavorable circumstances including poor shelter, lack of food and other basic needs (p. 50).

The term home is an important concept that represents the ideas of identity, belonging, security, comfort and so on. A home provides an environment where an individual is able to set up important social relations with other people through accommodating them in his or her own premise or where the individual is able to choose not to relate to others if he or she decides to do so.

It could also refer to a place or an area where an individual is able to identify the space as his or her own property and where he is able to manage its shape and form. In the past, homelessness was described as lack of the right or freedom to gain access to secure and simply adequate housing.

Demographics

According to Thompson (2007) there are between 100 million and 1 billion homeless people in the world. In 1987, the number of homeless people in Canada was between 100,000 and 250,000 out of a total population of 28 million people (Hargrave, 2005). There are, however, no accurate statistics of the homeless people in Canada.

Canada’s National Secretariat on homelessness recently estimated the number of Canadians who are homeless as 150,000. Other reports give higher figures of up to 300,000 people. This lack of accurate data limits Canada’s ability to address the problem (Guest, 1997).

Ideological Approaches to Homelessness

Liberals perceive homelessness as a consequence of poor organization and weak economic standing of a country. Thus, the people faced with the challenge do not receive adequate services and facilities such as housing and good health care. In contrast, the conservatives claim that homelessness is a result of laziness and involvement in other evils in the society (Hurley, 2002). Hence, they desist from supporting the homeless.

The CBC news census report has recently approximated that there are about 5060 homeless individuals on the streets and across the city of Toronto Canada. The homeless population in Toronto includes both the people living in the streets and those who risk becoming homeless. In 1996 approximately 26000 persons used the shelter system in the city of Toronto over the last ten years.

Over 200,000 individuals remain homeless in Canada. The increase in homelessness is strongly linked to the rising poverty levels and lack of affordable housing. The number of individuals living in extreme poverty has increased and over forty percent of individuals are children.

The main significant reasons behind the prevailing poverty include the eroding jobs and employment opportunities as well as the decreasing wages of large segments of the workforce and the reduced public assistance. Canadian cities were considered to offer good health services, quality education and sufficient and reliable employment programs. However these have gradually faded away leading to the rise in the homeless population (Leo, 2005).

Lack of affordable housing

Homelessness is fundamentally caused by lack of housing that can be afforded by the poor individuals in Toronto. The accommodation that the poor persons can afford has not profited many in the large cities such as Vancouver and Toronto. The low rental buildings have not been created for a long time.

Many developers in Toronto together with other cities claim that construction of the low income rental apartments creates low profit and has compelled many residents of the Canadian city to choose older, inadequate and deteriorating housing. The cost of refurbishing this type of housing is unaffordable and often surpasses the market cost of the home (Leo, 2005). This has led to a severe shortage of the affordable housing.

Even though the population has drastically improved since the year 1996, in 2001, there were approximately over one million Canadians and city residents staying in homes they could not afford. In Toronto, today, nearly one in every five households experience affordability difficulties and the number is much greater in the inner cities that have worsened housing stocks with disproportionate and impoverished populations combined (Leo, 2005).

Deinstitutionalization

Several mentally ill individuals have been abandoned on the streets of Toronto and other major cities. This was particularly one of the main causes of homeless in the early 1980s. The failure by the government to maintain social support programs during the late 1970s led to the creation of health care programs to support the mentally ill patients.

Lack of sufficient funding and financial support to the health care programs however led to their ineffectiveness in taking care of the vulnerable individuals. The individuals with mental health problems have therefore been abandoned and left with no alternative other than spend their livelihood on the streets (Leo, 2005).

Tenants are regularly evicted from rental apartments for minimal rent arrears. About eighty percent of eviction applications for arrears are much below one thousand dollars or an average monthly rent. Approximately seven hundred eviction applicants annually in Toronto are against tenants who do not owe anything but are supposed to have been indefatigably late in the past.

In several instances, in Toronto, the tenants are evicted when the Landlord owes the tenant some funds when the arrears are less than the deposit paid by the tenant at the start of the tenancy to cover the rent for the last month. The landlords have obtained greater incentives to eject tenants by means of rent decontrol which enables the landlords to raise the rent to any value once the tenants have been ejected and when a new tenancy is established. All these have resulted in homelessness each year.

Thousands of persons including children and adults are evicted regularly. Children are forced to terminate their schooling and their emotional and physical health is put at a great risk. There have also been forced evictions of the communities of the homeless individuals from squatter communities in the Canadian cities.

Many households have been dislocated from low income communities in Toronto. Most recently, for example communities of homeless persons have started to organize squatter households and communities and have faced fierce evictions from the police. Instead of getting some assistance from the government it has appeared to tolerate the eviction efforts.

A single mother in Toronto city, depending on some social support and not able to pay rent with an allowance of the average rent is compulsorily ejected by a uniformed individual and abandoned on the street with all her properties and the children. No one gets concerned to ask the evictees whether they have an alternative place to move to. Regardless of the weather conditions or environmental hazards, hundreds of individuals in the Canadian cities continue to be evicted as part of implementing the rule of law in the country.

Political decisions

Definition and approaches to homelessness in Canada reshaped by several political ideologies. The local governmental policy design, develop and execute public policies at all levels of the Canadian government. Knowledge generators, decision makers and knowledge brokers interact to enhance the rationality of the policy making process by means of policy analysis techniques (Levinson, 2004).

Local city mayors and city councils are seen as decision makers, research institutes and academics. The analytical frameworks are however often mismatched with the local policy analysis process because of the underdeveloped nature or absence of the knowledge generators and brokers in many of the municipalities.

Canada’s few urban academics could not probably act as knowledge generators for thousands of the municipalities. Where local interests are often dominant, they are hardly ever long-lived, organized or based on more than emotive responses to local policy problems. These factors have led to increased level of homelessness in the largest Canadian cities (Bistrich, 1999).

Unemployment and inadequate funds

Joblessness has landed many people into financial difficulties, causing them to be evicted and harassed by landlords from their places of residence. Mortgage arrears are said to significantly contribute to the homeless conditions. According to Bistrich (1999), some of the homeless are evicted by their landlords for rent overdue or conflict. Unemployment is the main cause of homelessness. In Toronto, job losses and layoffs have highly contributed to increased homelessness (Hargrave, 2005).

Family Breakdown

The several cases of racism, stigma and social segregation have seriously contributed to family breakdown in Canada, rendering many people homeless. Many women and children have been left homeless due to divorce or when they desert their families due to matters relating to sexual harassment (Guest, 1997)

Substance abuse

Drug abuse has been regarded as a major pathway to homelessness in the developing and developed countries. In Canada, the affected individuals remain without financial support. An assessment of some samples of families in Canada has recently revealed that families with substance abuse disorders are more likely to remain homeless than those without.

In his article, Bistrich (1999) showed that about 30% of the homeless people were raised in children’s homes or by parents who are psychologically unstable. Some of the homeless children were raised by alcoholic parents. Another 20 to 30 % have a criminal background or have been jailed in the past. These contribute to the rise in homelessness.

Shelters and drop-Ins

A community based health care organization referred to as Street health in Toronto was founded in 1980s when a number of homeless individuals identified obstacles to accessing good health care and some nurses responded by providing local drop-in health services. The street health program has greatly expanded and today it provides a variety of programs and services for the homeless persons including marginalized and mentally ill individuals in Toronto city.

Other programs organized and managed by the street health institutions include HIV/AIDS prevention, identification and replacement, nursing care as well as street outreach and harm reduction programs.

The street health institutions have acknowledged the need to obtain data and to carry out research in order to build up frontline services and to construct sound evidence grounds upon which to form its advocacy efforts. Street health engages in research partnerships and carries out community based research on the significant subjects relating to the homeless community (Kirst, Schaefer-McDaniel & Hwang, 2010).

Supportive Housing

Various models of supportive housing have been used to emphasize the provision and protection of secure and non-profit housing that matches with the community development besides providing medical and psychological support programs.

The supportive housing has been used in Toronto and other large Canadian cities to provide housing coupled with the services for the individuals regarded as susceptible to homelessness or marginalized and to help them live independently.

The different forms of supportive housing differ greatly ranging from institutional arrangements for independent self-contained or shared accommodation programs.

The services may be provided on-site by independent organizations or community agencies in partnership with the housing institutions. Residents who need medical attention and services, employment and life skills training including the youth, women, and people with disabilities benefit from the supportive housing programs (Kirst, Schaefer-McDaniel & Hwang, 2010).

Government intervention

The Canadian federal administration and department of human resources develops homelessness initiatives that employ special strategies to help communities to plan long-term solutions to the matters relating to homelessness. In September the year 2010 for example the Canadian chamber of commerce backed up a policy declaration of the annual conference demanding for reallocation of the federal grant

The homeless diversion programs

The rooming house monitoring project was formed in Toronto in the year 1992 as an initiative to enhance the conditions and care in privately owned houses and to people shift to independent living in a rooming house. The project aims at upgrading substandard buildings and targets the vulnerable individuals living in the private rooming houses especially the mentally ill (Fierman, et al, 1991).

The project monitoring demands that the landlords should enter into an operating agreement with the project detailing the food, physical and personal care standards that have to be maintained. The landlords meet frequently with the monitors and tenants and plan menus as they develop relations and trust between the landlords and the tenants.

The range of support services assists the tenants to become more independent and take responsibility for their assistance rather than convey them to the landlords. Project caseworkers meet with households at the income maintenance office in the neighborhood. The team explores all potential housing options including staying with friends or relatives ensuring that the families obtain or apply all the benefits for which they are eligible (Bibars, 1998).

Community employment and enterprise development

One of the common attribute of the homeless individuals is that many of them face chronic poverty. Many initiatives have been used to create employment opportunities to help the homeless individuals to regain confidence and self esteem in their personal abilities. Many of the organizations manage to create their own enterprises to the point of self-reliance. Rideau Street Youth Initiative in Ottawa is an example which involves the improvement of downtown region.

Challenges in controlling children

Single parents experience the psychological challenge of being homeless and a greater challenge of raising their children without the essential basic needs. In some cities, homeless parents have reported difficulty in controlling their children. There is increased conflict between children in temporary shelters than experienced by those in regular homes.

Children do not understand the dramatic events and are therefore psychologically affected by the distress (Zima, et al, 1994). Children born to homeless parents find it difficult to survive. Most of them die within the first twelve months (Fierman, et al, 1991). Academic development of homeless children is also disadvantaged. They perform poorly in schools because of the mobility challenges. Most of them change schools at least twice a year (Guest, 1997).

Sexual abuse

The young and adult females are driven into marital and domestic servitude, making them susceptible to sexual exploitation and abuse. According to YWCA Canada press release (13 March 2012), in Canadian cities, 25-30 % of the people living in the streets and in shelters are women, and teenage girls make up one-third of the homeless youth in urban centers. When women and girls are homeless, they are more vulnerable to sexual abuse. Some young homeless women end up in prostitution (Guest, 1997)

Poor health

Homelessness complicates an individual’s access to proper health care services, exposing them to poor health conditions. It perpetuates the unfavorable health conditions by obstructing an individual’s effort to treat and prevent diseases. The physical health of homeless people weakens because of exposure to the harsh environmental conditions. They suffer from respiratory diseases because of cold at night. Sometimes exposure to harsh weather condition leads to death (Zima, et al, 1994).

Increases rate of crime

Young people run away from home due to various forms of abuse such as sexual harassment. While on the streets, the homeless become exposed to the danger of participating in criminal activities such as robbery. This affects the society because it creates a great sense of insecurity and becomes a threat to the lives of the people who reside in the regions (Zima, et al, 1994).

Public Health challenge

At the extreme end of poverty, many individuals and families crowd the streets due to lack of housing. The social impact is that the overcrowding in refugee camps and on the streets exposes the affected individuals and the society to the dangers of getting new infections and diseases.

Children suffer serious health issues and experience more complications. This later creates an unemployable class of individuals with weakened coping capabilities and who cannot offer the slightest social and physical support to the community (Zima, et al, 1994).

Creates economic complexities

Funding homeless shelters, refugee camps and medical facilities are often very expensive. The taxpayers’ funds are used to fund the programs. This, in a way causes the federal government to direct a significant amount of funds toward the services aimed at taking care of the homeless.

Affects tourism

Many tourists make efforts to avoid a few small areas for example when booking rooms. They will for instance choose to avoid regions for panhandling teenagers and high poverty areas.

Correct data/census information

Many developing countries do not have the correct figures of their homeless and therefore cannot carry out proper planning to support them. Though the contrary is not always true in developed countries, most of them experience different types of homelessness and have the right statistics for the homeless (Guest, 1997).

Social and health conditions

Unlike in developed countries, homeless people in the developing world face all kinds of social abuses. They are evicted, arrested, harassed and abused (Bibars, 1998). They are often victims of crimes. In the developing world, homeless people are not given temporary accommodation. They spend time on the streets begging and asking for food and clothing (Zima, B. T. et al, 1994).

In developing countries, homeless people do not access health facilities like those in developed countries. Most developed countries have mobile clinics specifically for the homeless people. They are often provided with shelter by local authorities in industrialized countries. This is not the often case in developing countries. Homelessness in developing countries is caused by failure of housing supply systems to address the needs of the rapidly growing urban population (Springer, 2000).

The impact of homelessness is severe especially for women and children. The situation can be reduced if authorities develop relevant policies which cater for the poor and the homeless in the society. Some cities have developed plans to ensure that in the next few years there will be no homeless individuals (Watson and Austenberry, 1986). For example, Calgary has significantly reduced homelessness through strategies such as providing affordable housing and providing better support services for the people who move into the homes.

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Fierman, A. H. et al. (1991). Growth delay in homeless children. Pediatrics, 88, pp. 918-925.

Guest, D. (1997). The Emergence of Social Security in Canada, (3rd ed.). Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

Hargrave, C. (2005). Homelessness in Canada: from housing to shelters to blankets . Web.

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Leo, C. (2005). The federal government and homelessness: community initiative or dictation from above? Toronto: Canadian Centre Policy Alternatives. pp.5-20.

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Springer, S. (2000). Homelessness: a proposal for a global definition and classification . Atlanta, GA: Habitat International. pp. 475 – 484.

Thompson, D. (2007). What do the published figures tell us about homelessness in Australia, Sydney : Australian journal of social issues 32(3). pp. 102-315.

Tipple, G., & Speak. (2010). The hidden millions: homelessness in developing countries. London: Routledge.pp.50-100.

Watson, S., & Austenberry, H. (1986). Housing and homelessness: a feminist perspective. London: Routledge.pp.25-150.

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• Poverty Indicators in Developing Countries
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• We Can Stop Poverty in Ghana Today
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Homelessness cannot be Solved Overnight

Homelessness is a very difficult subject to talk about for many people. A lot of people know someone who is either currently homeless or has been homeless before and is no longer homeless, so this topic may really hit home for them. Other people may not have direct experiences with homeless people unless they see them in public. It can be very difficult to know how to act when you see a homeless person in public that you have never […]

The Issue of Homelessness

James Harris always begins with “God bless you” before asking for money. He hates asking people for anything, so this three-word phrase serves as his own offering. Harris, a veteran, has had AIDS for thirty years. When the medication stopped working, the world began to crumble around him. He became depressed and was ultimately evicted from his place in Hollywood. “I’ve been beaten, robbed, and chased, he said. “People steal your tents and your tarps and your clothes. I’ve lost […]

Homelessness in San Gabriel Valley

Los Angeles County has seen a slight decline in homelessness since the 2017 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. The data is comprised every year by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Volunteers would go out and count individuals who are unsheltered. The rest of the individuals counted come from shelters or those living out of cars, vans or tents. The 2018 data shows that there is a total of 52,765 in Los Angeles County compared to the 55,048 that were […]

What Can we do to Fix Homelessness?

Agrawal, Nina. L.A. County Declares a Shelter Crisis, Providing Flexibility in How It Provides Beds and Assistance. Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2018, www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-board-homeless-shelter-declaration-20181030-story.html. A shelter crisis was declared on October 30, 2018. This called for the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority to have be allowed to spend $81 million in a more flexible way. Declaring a shelter crisis allows the homeless ability to bypass some regulations and get access to emergency housing. This also gives the flexibility to spend […]

Suicidality in Transgender Teens

Gender identity is defined as one’s sense of being a male, female, or other gender. It is the individual’s own connection to their gender which defines who they are. Many people feel as if the sex they were born with does not match with the gender they identify with. In many cases, people may identify as transgender. Transgender individuals believe, “the sex assigned at birth is discordant with their gender identity” (Sitkin & Murota, 2017, p. 725). An example of […]

The Trauma of Homelessness

It's the age-old question, the chicken or the egg, and how do you serve it best? In this case what came first, being homeless or Post-Traumatic Stress disorder, and how do you end it? Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and homelessness can create a cycle that feeds on itself. The act of becoming homeless in itself can act as a catalyst for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, while also being caused by it. Permanent sustainable housing has proven to be effective in addressing both […]

Extra Credit Solutions to Homelessness: Sociological Vs Individualistic Views

The contemporary social problem I have choose to discuss is homelessness throughout our country. As of 2017, 554,000 people were reported to be homeless. People who are homeless are unable to maintain housing, and usually have income. Homelessness can be hereditary, or self-imposed, the reasons people are homeless differ between their personal life stories of how they got there. This number has increased since previous years making homelessness a major issue in our country, especially in large cities such as […]

The Consequences of Homelessness – a Childhood on the Streets

“A therapeutic intervention with homeless children (2) often confronts us with wounds our words cannot dress nor reach. These young subjects seem prey to reenactments of a horror they cannot testify to” (Schweidson & Janeiro 113). According to Marcal, a stable environment and involved parenting are essential regarding ability to provide a healthy growing environment for a child (350). It is unfortunate then, that Bassuk et al. state that 2.5 million, or one in every 30 children in America are […]

Homelessness in America

Life brings along a lot of good and bad affairs. However, we try to focus on the good that brings us happiness. Experience sometimes tends to ruin the good times. One of the bad affairs that society today faces is homelessness. Homelessness can be defined as not having a fixed roof over one's head or living in temporary accommodation under the threat of eviction[1]. This paper focuses on societal views to try to explain the issue of homelessness in the […]

Mental Disorders Among Homeless Veterans

There have been many studies performed over the past several years to test the theory of why veterans who suffer from mental and/or substance use disorders have a higher possibility of becoming homeless. Those studies also included the impact of war and combat as well as several risk factors while our veterans served in the military. The road that leads to homelessness if often left untreated and further complicates treatment and therapy to fix the underlying issues. There are several […]

Poverty and Homelessness in America

Poverty and Homelessness in America is a daunting subject which everyone recognizes but do not pay attention to. A homeless person is stereotypically thought to be a person who sleeps at the roadside, begging for money and influenced by drug with dirty ragged clothes and a person who is deprived of basic facilities in his or her life such as; education, electricity, proper clothes, shelter, water with a scarcity of balanced diet is termed as person living under the line […]

Addressing Homelessness Lie

According to recent studies, about 150 million people worldwide are homeless. It is estimated that another 1.6 billion people live in inadequate housing conditions. This means that about 20% of the world's population suffers from poor housing conditions, homelessness or from the danger of becoming homeless. Poverty is a big reason when it comes to homelessness. If people have debts and don't have a suitable job to pay them off, they may lose their homes as they won't be able […]

Mental Illness is One Type of Homelessness

'Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings', an unforgettable quote by the man himself Nelson Mandela. For his fight against racial prejudice and apartheid, Nelson leaves a towering legacy that will be recalled for generations to come. But, today's world is pervaded with the good and the evil. There are those that assist to keep a relatively-stable society; and then there are those who just […]

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How To Write an Essay About Homelessness

Understanding the complexity of homelessness.

Before beginning an essay on homelessness, it's essential to understand its complexity. Homelessness is not just the absence of physical housing but is often intertwined with issues like poverty, mental health, substance abuse, and social exclusion. Start your essay by defining homelessness, which may vary from sleeping rough on the streets to living in temporary shelters or inadequate housing. It's also important to acknowledge the different demographics affected by homelessness, such as veterans, families, the youth, and the chronically homeless. This foundational understanding sets the stage for a nuanced discussion in your essay.

Researching and Gathering Data

An essay on homelessness should be grounded in factual, up-to-date data. Research statistics from reliable sources such as government reports, reputable NGOs, and academic studies. This research might include figures on the number of homeless individuals in a specific region, the primary causes of homelessness, and the effectiveness of various intervention programs. By presenting well-researched information, your essay will not only be more credible but will also provide a factual basis for your arguments.

Selecting a Specific Angle

Homelessness is a broad topic, so it's crucial to select a specific angle for your essay. You might choose to focus on the causes of homelessness, the challenges faced by homeless individuals, or the societal impact of homelessness. Alternatively, you could discuss policy solutions and interventions that have been successful or have failed. This focus will provide your essay with a clear direction and allow you to explore a particular aspect of homelessness in depth.

Analyzing Causes and Effects

A key part of your essay should be dedicated to analyzing the causes and effects of homelessness. Discuss various factors that lead to homelessness, such as economic downturns, lack of affordable housing, family breakdown, and mental health issues. Similarly, explore the impact of homelessness on individuals and society, like health problems, social isolation, and economic costs. This analysis will help readers understand the multifaceted nature of the problem.

Discussing Solutions and Conclusions

Towards the end of your essay, discuss potential solutions to homelessness. This could include government policies, community-based initiatives, or innovative approaches like housing-first models. Highlight the importance of a multi-faceted approach, addressing not just the lack of housing but also underlying issues like health care, education, and employment support. Conclude your essay by summarizing the key points discussed, restating the importance of addressing homelessness, and suggesting areas for future research or action.

Finalizing Your Essay

After writing your essay, take the time to review and refine it. Ensure that your arguments are coherent and supported by evidence. Check for grammatical errors and ensure that your writing is clear and concise. It might also be beneficial to get feedback from peers or instructors. A well-written essay on homelessness will not only inform but also potentially inspire action or further discussion on this critical social issue.

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150 Research Questions Homelessness Essay Topics & More

Welcome to our list of research questions about homelessness! On this page, you will find qualitative and quantitative homelessness essay topics, thesis ideas, and title options. Check them out below!

🔝 Top 7 Research Questions about Homelessness

🏆 best homelessness essay topics, 👍 good homelessness research topics & essay examples, 🎓 most interesting homelessness titles for research, 💡 simple homelessness essay ideas, ❓ homelessness research questions.

• Homelessness: Causes and Solutions
• The Problem of Homelessness: Sociological Perspectives
• The Homelessness Issue in the World
• Homelessness and Poverty in Developed and Developing Countries
• Homelessness Crisis in Canada
• Homelessness in the New York City
• Strategies for Ending Homelessness in America
• The Problem of Homelessness in Canada Homelessness is a common societal issue in Canada and many other developing nations. Every year, about 235,000 people in Canada experience homelessness.
• Arguments on Homelessness in California This paper analyzes the argument about the homelessness issue and states that the lack of access to permanent places of residence is specifically problematic in California.
• Solving Problems Caused by Homelessness The reasons causing homelessness vary a lot. They can be both of personal or global character from a home violence to a financial crisis.
• Policy Solutions to Address Homelessness in California There is a need for California to change some of the housing policies by simplifying the registration process and providing more resources for developing affordable housing programs.
• The Veteran Homelessness Issue Analysis While the official statistics on homeless veterans are relatively low, the statistics do not include veterans who experience financial struggles.
• Homelessness in California: Homelessness in California California should rethink some of its property rules, provide more money to affordable homes initiatives, and streamline the application form.
• Discussion of Homelessness in Modern Society Martha Stone discusses homelessness the matter sharing information on the causes of it, consequences, and what society can do about it.
• Socio-Economic Plan: Homelessness The purpose of the paper is to critically evaluate the changes in socioeconomic factors that affect the homeless and the influence of various stakeholders on the issue.
• Poverty and Homelessness in Canada Poverty and homelessness figure prominently in government policies and the aims of many social service organizations even in a country like Canada.
• Homelessness in Rochester, NY Analysis Homelessness is a prevalent issue in some areas in the United States, particularly in the state of New York. People lose their places of residence and are forced to live on the streets.
• Homelessness in Western Australia Homelessness is a concern that has received widespread attention in Australia’s social justice framework. It remains an important issue that needs to be addressed by authorities.
• Poverty and Homelessness in Jackson, Mississippi This paper will review the statistics and information about poverty and homelessness in Jackson, MS. The community of Black Americans is suffering from poverty and homelessness.
• Homelessness and Racial Disparities of African Americans African Americans possess the highest rate of homelessness and racial disparities in America, with the resultant causes and effects being the legacy of slavery and poverty.
• Vulnerabilities Associated With Homelessness The paper discusses the nature of vulnerabilities of the health of homeless people in the United States and its influence on society.
• Homelessness and Depression Among Illiterate People There are various myths people have about homelessness and depression. For example, many people believe that only illiterate people can be homeless.
• Hunger and Homelessness Consequences on Development The article discusses the consequences of hunger and homelessness during the early developmental years on children’s growth and development.
• Homelessness Among College Students This paper explains why there is homelessness at a high rate, stating that fewer well-paying jobs for those without a college degree is one of the reasons.
• Homelessness Among Children in the United States Homelessness among children in the United States is a growing problem. Children are particularly vulnerable because many run away from their homes.
• Encampment Project: Homelessness Eradication Encampment projects are usually helpful for few people or families. Homelessness eradication is almost impossible without efforts to combat unemployment.
• The City of Atlanta, Georgia: Poverty and Homelessness This project goal is to address several issues in the community of the City of Atlanta. Georgia. The primary concern is the high rate of poverty and homelessness in the city.
• Poverty and Homelessness Among African Americans Even though the U.S. is wealthy and prosperous by global measures, poverty has persisted in the area, with Blacks accounting for a larger share.
• The Homelessness Problem in California Several causes can contribute to the high incidence of homelessness in California, including challenges in treating individuals with mental disorders and substance abuse.
• Addressing the Homelessness Crisis in California Homelessness and rising housing expenses are two of California’s most pressing issues. California has the nation’s second-highest homelessness rate.
• Homelessness in San Bernardino Homelessness is a crucial problem not only in San Bernardino but in the whole of Southern California and the situation is generally worsening.
• The Issue of Homelessness The paper states that homelessness is still an urgent issue nowadays, and many people still try to survive on the streets, and they often do not succeed.
• The Effects of Homelessness on Single-Parent Families in Black Community The paper states that single-parent families can be adversely impacted by homelessness, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
• Homelessness in United States of America The increased rate of homelessness in the United States of America, particularly in parts of California, confirms to go up daily.
• Homelessness During COVID-19 in the US and Europe The paper reviews “Homelessness during COVID-19” by Rodriguez et al. and “Lifetime, 5-year and past-year prevalence of homelessness in Europe” by Taylor et al.
• Homelessness as a Social Issue in California The issue of homelessness has brought several issues in California, owing to the large population of financially unstable citizens.
• Reconsidering Housing Policies in California The problem of unaffordable housing in California is complex and needs to be addressed by various techniques with a primary focus on fighting inequality and discrimination.
• Researching the Homelessness Issues This paper presents the annotated bibliography dedicated the poverty issues and understanding the homelessness.
• Administrative Policy on Homelessness The issue of homelessness needs to be addressed with the use of national and state policies. The current measures are composed of a combination of harmful and beneficial policies.
• Analysis of Homelessness in California Homelessness in California is a leading social problem due to high housing prices and increasing psychological and medical issues.
• Treating Substance Use Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness in California Homelessness puts the youths in unstable housing situations and at a higher risk of substance use. Homelessness in California has been one of the top challenges.
• Mental Disorders and Homelessness About 15 percent of people with extreme mental illness were homeless over one year in California. Homelessness is familiar to persons with some mental disorders, like paranoia.
• Public Health and Health Policy: Newham’s Cases of Homelessness Newham’s cases of homelessness may be on the rise as the report indicated. The problem affects people of all ages in the borough who experience several and unique health problems.
• Christopher Gardner’s Rise from Homelessness The essay demonstrates the rise of Gardner from homelessness to richness using various psychological theories.
• Homelessness Due to Unemployment During COVID-19 This paper is a research on how unemployment resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic has left many homeless in the United States.
• The Problem of Homelessness in America This paper reviews existing literature on homelessness to shed more light on how it impacts the homeless in New York City.
• Homelessness in Imperial Valley The two practical solutions for homelessness in Imperial Valley include providing affordable housing and mobilizing community-based initiatives and programs.
• Homelessness Policy in California There are several cities in which the number of homeless people is so big that the situation with the growth of homelessness in them is called an epidemic.
• Addressing Homelessness Issue: Current Policies This discussion identifies the latest policies intended to address the social issue of homeless Americans.
• Homelessness and Housing-Levels of Policy Impact on Services User The correlated causes of housing insecurity include discrimination, physical, financial, behavioral, and mental challenges, and the lack of appropriate and affordable housing.
• Alleviation of Homelessness in California This paper discusses five ways that could be used to alleviate homelessness in California. For every strategy, this paper offers an opposing view and why such views fall short.
• Homelessness in Los Angeles: Causes and Solutions In this paper, a crisis of homelessness in Los Angeles will be discussed with consideration of traditional, feminist, and Pragmatic concepts.
• Homelessness and Poor Health Relationship Homeless people can be described as that group of people who lack adequate, fixed, or regular night-time shelter. Homeless people include single men and women, young families.
• Homelessness and Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy In homeless populations, the application of traditional measures for enhancing adherence to antiretroviral therapy also proves to lead to less impressive results.
• Patients Experiencing Homelessness: Mental Health Issues It is acknowledged that the association between homelessness and mental health has been explored while this link is still under-researched when it comes to specific populations.
• Homelessness and Its Primary Reasons Every country in the world, no matter how abundant or easy to live in, will have some proportion of homeless people.
• Homelessness and Solutions in the United States In this paper, the researcher seeks to explain the cause of homelessness, its implications, and the effort that different stakeholders are taking to address the problem.
• Poverty and Homelessness: Dimensions and Constructions With the growth of the economy and the failure of employment, the number of people living in poverty and without shelter increases.
• Homelessness and Mass Incarceration Relationship Homelessness is an issue that affects not only those individuals who do not have their own residence but also the rest of society.
• Homelessness in Californian Public Places Public places in California house inhabitants who lack permanent residencies. It is reported that this decision is propelled by several factors.
• American Veteran Homelessness & Advocacy Practice A study by Lusk, Staudt, and Moya (2012), shows that subjecting these veterans to constant gun violence causes emotional stress to them
• Swanscombe Community’s Homelessness and Urban Health The urban health profile at hand has enabled one to examine the selected community, Swanscombe, from the perspective of a healthy environment.
• Regional-Level Challenges: California’s Homelessness The major problem connected with homelessness is that social service organizations tend to adopt narrow practice approaches reducing the human need to basic ones.
• Homelessness to Mass Incarceration The objective of this paper is to analyze the correlations between the homelessness and crime rates, as well as its connections to the mental disorders and substance abuse.
• Homelessness for Female-Headed Homes
• The Issues and Future Solutions to Homelessness in America
• Major Depression Disorder and Homelessness
• Homelessness Among NYC Youth
• Family, Resilience, Homelessness, and Mental Health
• US Citizenship Rights and Homelessness
• Domestic Violence and Homelessness Among Women
• Homelessness and Mental Health and Substance Abuse
• Social Problems and Homelessness in Savannah, Georgia
• Preventing and Reducing Homelessness
• Homelessness and Children’s Health Issues
• Veterans and Their Struggle With Homelessness
• Racial Differences Regarding Homelessness in the US
• Analyzing Homelessness and the Effect It Has on Social Health
• The Factors Associated With Youth Homelessness and Arrest
• Homelessness, Mental Illness, and Social Intervention
• The Structural and Individual Causes of Homelessness
• Homelessness and Sociological Perspectives
• Alleviating Homelessness Within New York City
• Homelessness Among Those With Mental Illness
• Homelessness Among the Veteran Community America S Forgotten Heroes
• Early Illicit Drug Use and the Age of Onset of Homelessness
• Homelessness Among the Community of Drug Addicts
• United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
• Sociology and Race, Homelessness, and Urban Life
• Homelessness and the Effects It Has on Humans
• Societal Inequalities Foster Homelessness in the United States
• The Need for Sustainability as It Relates to Homelessness in Australia
• The Relationship Between Homelessness in Australia and Rising Cases of Health Issues
• Deviance: Mental Illness and Homelessness
• The Link Between Homelessness and Mental Health
• City Life, Homelessness, Race, and Sociology
• Homelessness Amongst Marginalized LGBTQ Youth
• Family Homelessness and Its Effects on Children
• Homelessness, Mental Illness, and the Advocate Role
• Youth Homelessness Structural Factors
• Homelessness and Food Insecurity
• The Main Causes and Prevention Strategies of Homelessness
• Homelessness and Its Effects on America
• Post-1900 American Homelessness
• Homelessness and Its Effects on Licking County
• Homelessness Among American Veterans Research
• Reasons for Preventing Homelessness Among Youth
• Homelessness and Housing Problems in the United States
• Family Homelessness and the Impact on Health and Healthcare Provision
• Homelessness Affects Adults and Children
• Analyzing the Statistics and Problem of Homelessness in the U.S
• Ethnography and Homelessness Research
• Problems and Resolutions for Homelessness in the Northeast
• Child Abuse and Neglect, Homelessness, and Marital Problems
• The Growing Concern Over the Homelessness Around the Globe
• Reducing Homelessness In the United States
• Mental Illness, Homelessness, and Public Administration
• Homelessness and Permanent Supportive Housing
• Policy for Addressing Homelessness Canada
• Developing Social Theories and Perspectives on Homelessness
• The Homelessness and Its Effects on Women
• Federal Funding for Housing and Homelessness
• Homelessness Affecting the United States
• The Unemployment, Poverty, Homelessness, and Safety and Security Problem
• What Is the Impact of Homelessness on Children?
• Does Rent Control Cause Homelessness?
• Does Public Housing Reduce Homelessness?
• What Is a Longitudinal Analysis of Homelessness?
• Why Woman Headed Households Are Suffering From Homelessness?
• What Are the Structural Determinants of Homelessness in the United States?
• What Are the Definitions of Homelessness in Developing Countries?
• What Are Public Beliefs About the Causes of Homelessness?
• What Are the Prevalence of Homelessness Among Adolescents in the United States?
• What Is the Social History of Homelessness in Contemporary America?
• What Are the Risk Factors for Homelessness Among Indigent Urban Adults?
• What Is the Connection Between Severity of Homelessness and Adverse Birth Outcomes?
• What Are Some Reflections on the Policy History of Youth Homelessness in Australia?
• What Are the Risk Factors for Homelessness Among Women With Schizophrenia?
• Why Maternal Depression Is a Risk Factor for Family Homelessness?
• What Are the Pathways to Homelessness Among the Mentally Ill?
• What Are the Reasons for Youth Homelessness?
• What Are the Links Between Domestic Violence and Homelessness?
• What Is the Data Dilemma in Family Homelessness?
• What Are the Faith-based Programs and What’s Their Influence on Homelessness?
• What Is the Intersection of Homelessness, Racism, and Mental Illness?
• What Are the Complexities of Elder Homelessness?
• What Is the Impact of Homelessness on the Health of Families?
• What Are the International Perspectives on Rural Homelessness?
• What Are the Factors Associated With Youth Homelessness and Crime Rates?

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StudyCorgi . "150 Research Questions Homelessness Essay Topics & More." March 1, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/homelessness-essay-topics/.

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Analyzing the impact of social factors on homelessness: a Fuzzy Cognitive Map approach

Vijay k mago.

1 The Modelling of Complex Social Systems (MoCSSy) Program, The IRMACS Centre, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

Hilary K Morden

2 Department of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

Charles Fritz

3 Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

Tiankuang Wu

4 Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

Sara Namazi

5 School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

Parastoo Geranmayeh

Rakhi chattopadhyay, vahid dabbaghian.

The forces which affect homelessness are complex and often interactive in nature. Social forces such as addictions, family breakdown, and mental illness are compounded by structural forces such as lack of available low-cost housing, poor economic conditions, and insufficient mental health services. Together these factors impact levels of homelessness through their dynamic relations. Historic models, which are static in nature, have only been marginally successful in capturing these relationships.

Fuzzy Logic (FL) and fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs) are particularly suited to the modeling of complex social problems, such as homelessness, due to their inherent ability to model intricate, interactive systems often described in vague conceptual terms and then organize them into a specific, concrete form (i.e., the FCM) which can be readily understood by social scientists and others. Using FL we converted information, taken from recently published, peer reviewed articles, for a select group of factors related to homelessness and then calculated the strength of influence (weights) for pairs of factors. We then used these weighted relationships in a FCM to test the effects of increasing or decreasing individual or groups of factors. Results of these trials were explainable according to current empirical knowledge related to homelessness.

Prior graphic maps of homelessness have been of limited use due to the dynamic nature of the concepts related to homelessness. The FCM technique captures greater degrees of dynamism and complexity than static models, allowing relevant concepts to be manipulated and interacted. This, in turn, allows for a much more realistic picture of homelessness. Through network analysis of the FCM we determined that Education exerts the greatest force in the model and hence impacts the dynamism and complexity of a social problem such as homelessness.

Conclusions

The FCM built to model the complex social system of homelessness reasonably represented reality for the sample scenarios created. This confirmed that the model worked and that a search of peer reviewed, academic literature is a reasonable foundation upon which to build the model. Further, it was determined that the direction and strengths of relationships between concepts included in this map are a reasonable approximation of their action in reality. However, dynamic models are not without their limitations and must be acknowledged as inherently exploratory.

Homelessness

Homelessness is a complex social problem with a variety of underlying economic and social factors such as poverty, lack of affordable housing, uncertain physical and mental health, addictions, and community and family breakdown. These factors, in varying combinations, contribute to duration, frequency, and type of homelessness. To be fully homeless is to live without shelter; however, many experience partial homelessness that can include uncertain, temporary, or sub-standard shelter. Homelessness is difficult to define, thus governments struggle with uncertainty when creating and implementing policies they hope will effectively manage or eradicate this problem.

Levels of government, in countries like Canada, add to the complexity of dealing with homelessness. Being governed at three different levels, federal, provincial, and municipal, requires high levels of agreement to effectively create and administer policies. In Canada, each level of government is responsible for different facets of homelessness. The federal government, responsible for the whole of Canada, creates and administers policies and funding for aboriginal peoples (a segment of Canada’s population over-represented in homeless counts), seniors, and social housing, as well as transfers funds to the provinces to help pay for their social programs. The provincial government, responsible for needs of the provinces and territories, creates and administers policies regarding mental illness, addictions, welfare, minimum wage laws, landlord and tenant acts, and child protection services and shares responsibility with the federal government for seniors and social housing. The municipal governments, are seen as the hands or arms of the provincial government, and are technically not responsible for homelessness; however are often involved in choosing sites for social housing, supporting emergency shelters and hospital emergency wards, as well as providing support, in a variety of ways, to facilitate these initiatives. The fact that there is no comprehensive national housing strategy to co-ordinate these levels of government often leads to inadequate policies and funding that fall far short of meeting the country’s housing needs [ 1 ]. This lack of coordination towards policy and funding for homelessness has recently come to the attention of courts in Canada who have begun to make decisions which support shelter as an essential right for Canadians [ 2 ]. The UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing in Canada has also strongly urged the federal government to commit sufficient funding to create a national housing strategy by working with the provinces and territories [ 3 ].

Metro Vancouver is one city in Canada which conducts a comprehensive homeless count every three years [ 4 ]. Counters make every effort to include in the count those considered sheltered homeless (individuals who spend nights in shelters, safe houses, transition houses, hospitals, jails, remand centres, and detox/recovery facilities) and those who are unsheltered homeless (individuals who spend their nights unsheltered on streets, in parks, or at drop-in programs). Counts are shown in Figure ​ Figure1 1 .

Homeless count in Metro Vancouver.

It becomes apparent that if the complex and oft-times chaotic experiences such as job loss that lead to family breakdown, mental illness, and drug/alcohol addiction, which may lead to homelessness, were better understood then social policies and procedures which constitute “best practices” would be more effective in reducing and preventing homelessness [ 5 ]. Fuzzy logic and fuzzy cognitive maps are especially useful for modelling complex social problems due to their inherent ability to capture and model vague concepts and values [ 6 ]. In relationship to homelessness, syllogisms such as, “if there is a lack of affordable housing, then there will be a significant increase in homelessness” can be accurately modelled by assigning a value to the parameter based on the retrieved linguistic terms taken from existing empirical literature. In this way greater meaning, which captures and aggregates the nuances of the stressors and protective factors, is given to the existing empirical literature related to homelessness. This also allows the complex social issue to be graphically described in a manner which may be more readily understood. This, in turn, may then help social policy-makers to refine their decision-making, leading to effective changes in social policies with the goal of reducing homelessness.

Fuzzy logic (FL) is a mutli-valued logic technique that is approximate. Rather than using traditional logic theory where binary sets have a two-valued logic (i.e., true, 1, and false, 0), fuzzy variables have a truth-value between 0 and 1, allowing them to be valued between absolutely true and absolutely false. Using linguistic variables, taken from empirical literature that describes the effect each factor in a knowledge system has on the others, FL can be used to convert the effects into values between 0 and 1. Once determined, these values can then be input into a graphical representation of the system containing all factors with directed lines (edges) showing the calculated strength of the causal relationship between them. This graphical representation is known as a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM). A brief description of the techniques, with an example is presented in the subsequent subsection.

Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM)

The FCM is a framework used for modelling interdependence between concepts in the real-world [ 7 ]. This is achieved by graphically representing the causal reasoning relationships between vague or un-crisp concepts [ 6 , 8 ]. FCMs allow scientists to construct virtual worlds in which some of the complex and interdependent concepts of a scenario can be captured and their interactions or causal relationships modelled. Knowledge representation in these maps has an acquisition-processing trade-off. FCMs, by providing a fuzzy graph structure for systematic causal propagation and ease in processing fuzzy knowledge, are applicable in soft-knowledge domains such as the social sciences. At the core of the FCM structure are the concepts to be studied and modelled. Concepts can be understood to represent actors or the parts of the environment which have impact on some phenomenon of interest (and each other), such as those included in the simple FCM of heart disease illustrated in Figure ​ Figure2 2 .

Example of a simple FCM to assess heart disease.

The concepts, determined empirically, which relate to heart disease in this model include: exercise (E), food habits (FH), cholesterol (C), blood pressure (BP), and body weight (BW). The links, directionally joining the concepts, represent the fuzzy causal relationships.

Concepts which have no impact on other concepts are not represented via links on the map, however are represented in the subsequent constructed adjacency matrix W and denoted, 0.

As can be seen in Figure ​ Figure2, 2 , there is no direct effect of BW on C and therefore no link is drawn between these two concepts. The weight values {−1,0,1} are used at this stage for simplicity and testing the FCM and are later refined through the application of empirical linguistic terms and modifiers processed through FL.

The use of an FCM is particularly advantageous for graphically representing the interacting relationships of concepts which appear in phenomena related to social science, political science, organizational theory, military science, and international relations [ 8 ]. The connection matrix, W , may also be defined algebraically, demonstrating the influence concepts have on one another [ 7 ].

Let us denote the i t h concepts of a system as C i . Then the value A i , of a concept C i , expresses the quantity of its corresponding physical value. The FCM converges to a steady state when:

At each step, the value A i of a concept is influenced by the values of concepts-nodes connected to it and is updated according to the following formula:

where A i ( k ) is the value of concept C i at step k, A j ( k ) is the value of concept C j at step k, W ji is the weight of the interconnection from concept C j to concept C i and f is the threshold function used to bound the transformation to a limit cycle. In this example, f ( x ) is a sign function defined in MATLAB [ 9 ] with the following functionality:

Following our heart disease example, consider: the concept, E, is active for some individual. Therefore, E =1. No information is available for all other concepts in the map. Therefore, F H =0, C =0, B W =0, and B P =0. This is expressed by a vector C 1 = (1,0,0,0,0,0). According to equations 2 and 3, the processing is listed in Table ​ Table1 1 .

FCM processing when excercise = 1

The right arrow indicates the threshold function operation in Equation 3. The above results demonstrate that it takes four steps for the system to converge to a stable state (limit cycle). The vector C 4 demonstrates that the increase in E eventually leads to decreases in C, BW, BP, and HD.

The FCM created for our study provides a graphical description of homelessness and facilitates increased understanding of this complex social problem. Through simulation, the usefulness of such a model is demonstrated and implications for its use in policy decision-making are explored. As shown, FCMs related to complex social problems, allow for refinement of knowledge through graphical understanding and simulations that may be useful in improving social policies with the goal of reducing homelessness.

Virtual common-sense map of homelessness

First a virtual common-sense map was built based on the researchers’ personal and historical knowledge of the factors which they perceived to affect homelessness. Using homelessness as the central hub of the map, concepts which directly or indirectly, positively or negatively affected homelessness, and each other, were linked through directed edges. Each edge was assigned a weight depending on whether the antecedent concept exerted a positive effect (+1) or a negative effect (−1) on the consequent concept (Figure ​ (Figure3). 3 ). Three prototypical cases were then developed and the model was run to ensure it would function in accordance with the determined relationships prior to the actual weights on the edges being refined through a literature search for the linguistic terms.

Virtual common-sense map of homelessness.

Experimentation: Virtual common-sense map

Experimentation with the virtual common-sense model was conducted to ensure that it would perform as expected and reach a stable state after iterating prior to the input of the actual weight values. Sample cases were constructed with the goal of describing an extreme case, most likely to result in homelessness; an extreme case, least likely to result in homelessness; and a middle case, more closely representing the possibilities of the real world, in which the likelihood of homelessness would be uncertain, see Table ​ Table2. 2 .

Summary of expected outcome, concepts activated and iteration process for three sample cases

• Case 1 : In this scenario, the protective factor of rental subsidy was incapable of preventing the negative social factors, criminal justice system involvement, addictions, and mental illness from overwhelming the model - resulting in certain homelessness.

• Case 2 : In this scenario, the protective factors of education and increased income resulted in the elimination of the need for non-government assistance and a decrease in the likelihood of criminal justice system interaction. This is a highly likely outcome given that those with higher incomes and education are better able to identify and seek help for their mental illnesses which increases the likelihood that they will avoid incarceration. However, the strength of income and education as protective factors against increasing mental illness is shown to be ineffective and the level of mental illness continues to rise. Despite the increase in mental illness, education and income will ensure an ongoing ability to provide shelter, resulting in homelessness being an extremely unlikely outcome.

• Case 3 : In this scenario, at the end of iteration 1, the effects of addiction, prior criminal justice system involvement, and family breakdown are held at bay by the protective factors of income, education and counselling. However, due to the known cumulative negative effects of addiction, social isolation increases, signalling the likelihood that, over time, there will be an increased possibility of family breakdown and greater challenges controlling the addiction resulting in the increased likelihood of crime. Iteration 2 demonstrates the actions of all the concepts present in iteration 1 continuing to exert force on the model with the addition of an increase in mental illness caused by the ongoing addiction resulting in an increasing likelihood of homelessness. As the model continues to iterate, the addictions contribute to increasing social isolation and criminal behavior resulting in a greater likelihood of family breakdown. At this point the protective factors of education, income and counselling are overwhelmed by the ongoing addictions and resulting mental illness and crime and the likelihood of homelessness rises. However, given that education and income continue to exert force, homelessness is not a certainty.

Given the fully explainable results of the model and the fact that it was able to achieve stability after iterating, it was determined that the model functioned properly, and the process of refining the concepts through the search of timely empirical literature was conducted.

Fuzzy Cognitive Map of homelessness supported by empirical studies

To refine the edge weights on the FCM, timely, empirical literature was searched. The original causal map was referred to for the paired concepts such as, education and homelessness. These linked terms were then searched using the academic search engine, Google Scholar. Numerous articles were retrieved and scanned for each pair of linked concepts using only recently published (since the year 2000), peer reviewed, empirical articles. This culminated in the capture of three linguistic statements per concept pair for use in refining the map (see Table ​ Table3). 3 ). Linguistic statements were required to be in the antecedent - consequent form as earlier described. In the process of searching, paired concepts were refined (edges and concepts added and removed from the virtual common-sense map Figure ​ Figure3 3 after though deliberation with research team) resulting in a final map of 14 concepts and 31 edges (Figure ​ (Figure4). 4 ). To maintain the semantic consistency amongst various concepts, Oxford Canadian Dictionary [ 10 ] was followed.

Linguistic terms and the references

Fuzzy Cognitive Map with qualitative weighted edges.

To calculate the quantitative weight values for each edge, first the qualitative weight values for each of the retrieved linguistic terms was assessed. A Likert-type scale was devised to determine the qualitative weight of each linguistic term. The values, Very Low (VL), Low (L), Medium (M), High (H), and Very High (VH) were used to categorize each term. We only consider five qualitative values for the sake of simplicity. However, the scale could be less or more than five, depending on the intricacies of the system under consideration. Consensus on meaning was achieved through discussion and vote. This process resulted in a scale of ordered and ranked values for each concept pair. For example, it might be stated in one peer-reviewed study that the effect of concept A on concept B was, “profound”; whereas another article may state that the effect was, “significant”. These statements, “profound” and “significant”, would be then ranked on the Likert- type scale in reference to their absolute meaning as well as their relative meaning. Thus, “profound”, would be valued as VH and “significant” would be valued as H. In the case of disagreement or uncertainty regarding the precise meaning of the words, Oxford Dictionary Online was referenced for definitions and synonyms. A word bank was constructed during this process listing all the retrieved terms for both comparative reference and to ensure consistency in the rankings, see Table ​ Table4. 4 . Once the different qualitative weight values were determined for each linguistic term, they were then collected into their groups of three and applied to the revised FCM.

Categorization of linguistic terms extracted from literature

Subsequent to the information from the literature review having been transferred to the FCM, the resulting map contained the concepts, the antecedent - consequent relationships indicated via edges, the weight value of each edge (five qualitative, linguistic terms - VL, L, M, H, VH), and the sign value showing the type of the influence (+ or −). Following the application of the qualitative values to the FCM the values were then converted to quantitative weight values using FL theory. Each link was first expressed as a fuzzy rule then used in the Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) to generate a crisp numeric value. For example, if the linguistic term retrieved from the literature was: “The impact of concept A is profound on concept B”. It would then be converted to: “The impact of concept A is VH on concept B”. This graded statement would then be transformed using the rule statement:

The linguistic term ON is a binary variable. VH is defined using the triangular fuzzy membership function, as shown in Figure ​ Figure5. 5 . ON denotes the presence of the concept and VH denotes the weight value (qualitatively). For simplicity sake, triangular membership functions have been used as suggested in [ 85 ]. Interested readers can find more detailed explanation on membership functions in [ 86 ].

Triangular membership function.

• Example 1: As explained in the previous section, all qualitative values assigned to the edges came from the literature review. As shown in Figure ​ Figure6, 6 , “addiction” has a positive impact on homelessness. This means that an increase in addiction in a society will lead to an increase in levels of homelessness. The three linguistic terms related to “addiction”, extracted from the literature, were converted to the fuzzy notion of rules as follows:

Impact of addiction on homelessness.

•The degree of impact was then converted from its qualitative value (M, H, VH) to its quantitative value of 0.648 using FL concepts as described in [ 87 ]. All three studies indicated that as levels of addiction increase they exert a positive effect resulting in increases in levels of homelessness. Therefore, it can be stated that addictions affect homelessness by a factor of +0.648.

• Example 2 : As shown in Figure ​ Figure7, 7 , education has a negative effect on homelessness. This means that with higher levels of education in a society there will be lower levels of homelessness. Therefore, the impact of education on homelessness is modeled as negative - increases in education lead to decreases in homelessness. All literature scanned indicates that as education rises, homelessness falls. The first study stated that the impact of education on homelessness was low , the second, medium , and the third, high . This information is captured to construct a rule base for a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS). For each edge, we constructed an individual FIS and the defuzzified value, in this case 0.5, is assigned to the edge. More information about the procedure can be found in [ 87 - 90 ].

Impact of education on homelessness.

•Similarly, each edge was given a quantitative weight by converting the qualitative values gleaned from the literature search. Once all links on the map had been fully articulated with the rankings of each of the 93 linguistic terms (three for each link), we refined the virtual FCM (shown in Figure ​ Figure4) 4 ) by substituting quantitative values for the previous qualitative values (see Figure ​ Figure8 8 ).

Fuzzy cognitive map with calculated quantitative weights assigned to edges.

Experimentation with the weighted Fuzzy Cognitive Map

Experimentation with the weighted FCM was conducted, (see Algorithm 1), to ensure that it would perform as expected and that the map had captured the dynamics of the factors which affect levels of homelessness. We applied tanh = e 2 x − 1 e 2 x + 1 as the transformation function f of Equation 2. This choice is made as we are interested in understanding the impact of increase or decrease of initial concept values on the overall stability of the map [ 91 ].

Prototypical scenarios, similar to those used for the simplified FCM (Figure ​ (Figure3), 3 ), were constructed with the goal of finding the extreme case most likely to result in homelessness, the extreme case least likely to result in homelessness and several middle cases, more closely representing the possibilities present in the real world, where levels of homelessness are less certain.

The output of each prototypical case was interpreted through knowledge gleaned during the literature search/scan and the opinion of the criminologist-researcher on the team. Each example case had a variety of concepts activated at varying levels. The models were then permitted to iterate as necessary to reach a stable state (no further movement, positive or negative, for all concepts in the model). Final iterations are reported for each model.

• Case 1: Most likely to result in homelessness. The concepts of addiction, family breakdown, government assistance, and mental illness were activated at levels considered sufficiently high to dominate the system leading to certain homelessness as shown in Table ​ Table5. 5 . It has been empirically determined that these concepts are often found together and often precede homelessness [ 52 , 70 , 83 ]. Addiction and mental illness are often co-morbid and both commonly precede family breakdown [ 51 ]. During times of increased addiction and mental illness in society it is the usual reaction of the government to put into place policies and funding which will address these problems [ 93 ].

Simulating the result for case 1

•Tracking the effect of these concepts at strengths set to approximately 0.50, the graph initially shows that government assistance is at a lower rate and then sharply rises to address the increasing levels of addiction, mental illness, and family breakdown in the modeled society. However, it takes little time before the triple threat of addiction, mental illness and family breakdown overwhelm the system and levels of homelessness rise dramatically where they remain at a steady, high rate (indicated by the flat line at the top of the graph, Figure ​ Figure9 9 ).

Activated concepts at levels most likely to result in homelessness with graphical representation of impact of concepts on levels of homelessness over time.

• Case 2: Least likely to result in homelessness. The concepts of addiction, education, income, family breakdown, and social network support were activated at levels considered sufficiently high to dominate the system leading to a certain outcome of no homelessness as shown in Table ​ Table6. 6 . In this case, the protective factors of education, income, and social network support protect society from the negative effects of addiction and prevent homelessness. The link between higher levels of education and higher levels of income have been well documented [ 72 ]. Given that education prepares individuals to think creatively and to problem-solve, it is surmised that those with higher levels of education would have a greater ability to negotiate the complex rules that often are associated with government assistance. Those who are wealthy and educated are also much more likely to be capable of identifying and acquiring the services they might need, such as being able to pay for family counseling rather than being wait-listed for government supplied family counseling.

Simulating the result for case 2

•From Figure ​ Figure10, 10 , it is noted that this model shows a initial dip in levels of income and education in the first iterations as society attempts to deal with the addictions and threat to family cohesion that result from the addictions. However, very quickly, the protective factors of income, education, and social network support overwhelm the negative factors and the threat of homelessness diminishes and remains at levels close to zero (as indicated by the flat line at the bottom of Figure ​ Figure10). 10 ). Over time, the threat of family breakdown is also eliminated and income and education both rise back to their initial levels.

Activated concepts at levels least likely to result in homelessness with graphical representation of impact of concepts on levels of homelessness over time.

•This second model demonstrates the critical importance of factors such as income - which lead to health, acquisition of knowledge, better food and health care; and education - which lead to wealth and all the positive factors which wealth can purchase. Though addictions are shown as present in this modeled society, the low levels are unable to overwhelm the model. Through model testing it became apparent that levels of addiction lower than 0.30 often fail to overwhelm the positive factors, as long as social support and education are both present at fairly high levels, see Figure ​ Figure10. 10 . Much of the empirical literature support this [ 41 , 59 , 78 ]. Those with high levels of social support such as family, church, social groups, community groups, school friends and community friends are often better able to weather threats such as addictions and family breakdown.

• Case 3: Uncertain outcome of homelessness. In this model, we activated low levels of addiction and social network, high levels of education and income, and moderate levels of family breakdown as shown in Table ​ Table7. 7 . In this case, the protective factors of education and income delay the onset of homelessness but are insufficiently strong to prevent rising levels as the model iterates. Over time, due to family breakdown and the diminishing social network support, addictions begin to rise and as addictions rise, the likelihood of homelessness rapidly increases. This model demonstrates, once again, the importance of family and social support as well as the incredibly negative effects of drug addiction, both as a cause and result of family breakdown.

Simulating the result for case 3

•As in the case of the common-sense map of homelessness (Figure ​ (Figure3), 3 ), this final model (Figure ​ (Figure11), 11 ), acted in a manner which was fully explainable based on information acquired during the literature search and prior knowledge of the research team. This allowed for confidence that the model was functioning as it ought to and that we had captured not only a number of the integral aspects which contribute to homelessness, but that they were functioning in the direction and strengths which approximated real-life conditions.

Activated concepts at levels most closely representing a typical real-world case with graphical representation of the impact of concepts on levels of homelessness over time.

Analysis of network concepts

The purpose of this network analysis is to compare the degree of impact each of the concepts exerts on the model. During network analysis, we varied the initial value of a single concept from 0.1 to 1 while keeping the initial values of all other concepts at a static level; except for the concept representing homelessness. After several iterations, the value of homelessness was recorded. Then, for each factor, a plot of the value of homelessness versus the initial value of the concept was recorded. Ideally, for a factor with a positive effect on homelessness, the value of homelessness should increase as the value of the factor increases, gradually converging to a positive value. Concepts which have the reverse - a negative effect on homelessness, should demonstrate a decrease in homelessness as they are increased. Concepts which have higher convergent rates should demonstrate a greater impact on levels of homelessness.

To conduct the network analysis we first set the initial values for all concepts at a level of 0.5 and checked the levels of homelessness after 5 iterations. At this level and number of iterations, the majority of the plots resulted in a straight line at a value of +1. This told us that the initial value of the factor (0.1 to 1) made no difference on levels of homelessness and, obviously, was no help to our analysis. After analyzing the map, we tried reducing the level of the initial values for all concepts as well as reducing the number of iterations. Through a gradual reduction process we found that by setting the initial concept values at 0.01 and running three iterations we were able to generate reasonable and useful plots (see Figure ​ Figure12) 12 ) which could then be compared for effects on levels of homelessness.

Comparison of the affects of individual concepts on levels of homelessness (a) shows the impact of Addiction, Criminal Justice System, Cost of housing and Social Network on Homelessness (b) highlights the impact of Education, Family Breakdown, Government Assistance and Income on Homelessness and (c) depicts the impact of Mental Illness, NGO, Poverty and Childhood hardships.

Plots can be examined in pairs or groupings so that the effect of the concepts on levels of homelessness can be compared for both intensity and speed. For example, in comparing the plots for, “Addictions”, and, “Cost of Housing”, it can be seen that they both are monotonically increasing. However, the plot for “Addictions” demonstrates a more dramatic increase, resulting in a quicker convergence to +1 than does the plot for “Cost of Housing”. Therefore it can be concluded that addictions have a greater impact on homelessness than does cost of housing.

Another way to visually analyze the impact of various factors on homelessness is through box plota (see Figure ​ Figure13). 13 ). Making the same comparison, “Addictions” to “Cost of Housing”, it can be seen that the plot of “Addictions” has a narrower median and longer lower quantile. The size of the box determines the variability of concepts, for instance, the size of the box of “Cost of Housing” is greater than size of the box of “Addictions” indicating that the impact of housing cost is more variable and hence not a strong indicator [ 94 ].

Boxplot comparison of the affects of individual concepts on levels of homelessness.

Measure of centrality

Another approach to analyze the most influential factor is through measures of centrality . There are also other measurements for analyzing an FCM, but here we focus on this property. In this subsection, we describe the results of the analysis based on two types of centrality: degree centrality and closeness centrality. Degree centrality of each node/concept, in a given weighted and directed graph, is defined as the sum of the absolute values of the weights of the outgoing and incoming edges [ 8 , 95 ]. For the node, x , of the graph G =< V , E > the degree centrality is mathematically defined as:

where w xy and w yx are the weights of the edge from x to y and the edge from y to x , respectively. Degree centrality of a graph indicates how strongly a concept node in a FCM affects other concept nodes of the graph [ 96 ].

Closeness centrality of a node is the inverse of the sum of the lengths of the shortest paths between that node and all other nodes. For the node, x , of the graph G =< V , E >, the closeness centrality is mathematically defined as:

where d xy denotes the length of the shortest path from node x to node y . Closeness centrality indicates how quickly a concept node affects other nodes of the FCM [ 96 ].

Note : For closeness centrality the distance measured between each pair of nodes is the inverse of the weight of the corresponding edge in the FCM. If there is no edge between nodes then the distance from the one node to the second node would obviously be infinite. Since the FCM is not strongly connected, the length of the shortest path for some pairs of nodes is, in fact, infinite. This then causes the closeness centrality for that node to drop to zero. For example, the length of shortest path for each node to the node, “Cost of Housing”, is infinite. This makes the centrality of all nodes to be zero. To conquer this problem, we choose a numerical value which is large enough to be considered as an infinite value. Since the distance measure between each pair of nodes is defined as the inverse of the weight between the nodes of the FCM, the greatest distance between each two nodes would be 4. This value is corresponding to the edge between “poverty” and “addiction”, whose weight is 0.25. The FCM has 14 concepts, thus each path of the FCM will, at most, have 13 edges. Therefore, the length of each path will be at most 4×13=52, which is still an overestimation of the paths in the graph. Regarding this value, we picked 100 as an large enough value. This approach is similar to the Big-M method described in operation research theories [ 97 ]. Please note that changing 100 to a greater value, may change nodes’ closeness centrality, but the order of the nodes’ closeness centrality will not change.

The result of the degree and closeness centrality computation in our FCM is displayed in Table ​ Table8. 8 . As shown, the concept “Education” has the greatest degree centrality while the concept “Cost of Housing” has the least. This means that “Education” gives and receives the greatest direct influence on all other concepts, whereas “Cost of Housing” gives and receives the least. Closeness centrality was determined to act similarly to degree centrality in that “Education” has the greatest amount of degree centrality whereas “Cost of Housing” has the least. This means that “Education” exerts the greatest force on the map in reference to closeness centrality with changes in “Education” resulting in the most prominent changes in the other concepts. Likewise, changes in “Cost of Housing” would result in the least amount of change in all other concepts. These results are consistent with the results of the overall experiment.

Degree centrality and closeness centrality of every concept

This study demonstrates the efficacy of using FCM to graphically represent and simulate the actions and interactions present in the social, personal, and structural factors related to homelessness. The FCM is particularly suited to modeling this type of problem due to its ability to incorporate vast amounts of information, synthesizing what is known about a problem and then allowing for meaningful simulations. The FCM is particularly suitable due to its dynamic nature and ability to simulate potential policy changes and show predicted outcomes on levels of homelessness. Further, the FCM helps to identify those factors that exert the greatest impact in a complex system, in this case: affordable/appropriate housing, access to social support services for those with addictions/mental illness, family support for those with children, positive community support and rental supplements.

The problem of homelessness is really situated in factors that occur at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels of society; future research should aim to refine the FCM by sorting factors into their appropriate levels thereby allowing differentiation between what the individual is potentially capable of controlling and that which he or she is not. This would allow for clearer identification of where government policy changes would have the greatest effect. Future refinements must also capture the effect of time. Many factors affect the system differently as time progresses (i.e., unemployment insurance) and this would help to make the system more closely replicate reality. Future maps may also wish to include factors which affect the system but which did not make it into this one such as early brain injury in childhood, sexual/physical/emotional abuse in childhood, and learning disabilities - all of which have been shown to affect levels of homelessness.

The initial construction of this map demonstrated the disparity between the empirical truth of homelessness and what the researchers had learned over a lifetime of media and social propaganda. This has implications for government policy-making and, again, demonstrates the usefulness of FCMs for describing complex social problems such as homelessness.

The FCM built to model the complex social system of homelessness reasonably represented reality for the sample scenarios. This provided evidence that FCMs are a viable alternative for conceptualizing homelessness and that a literature search of peer reviewed, academic literature is a reasonable foundation upon which to build the model. Further, it was determined that the direction and strength of relationship between concepts included in this map are a reasonable approximation of their action in reality. However, the concept, homelessness , in this study, is used as a consequent variable. In reality, many of the concepts including homelessness concept could be an antecedent concept resulting in more complex loops. The flexibility of limiting the complexity is one of the advantages of constructing and using FCMs for social science research.

Dynamic modeling does, however, have it’s limitations and this work should be regarded as purely exploratory. For one, by basing our concepts off of peer reviewed literature that was searched semi-systematically there is a possibility of not capturing all possible terms. Future work should search for papers and terms in a similar fashion as systematic or scoping reviews where inclusion and exclusion criteria are highly scrutinized and analyzed by several research team members. A second limitation concerns the interpretation of the results from the FCM. FCMs, and dynamic models more broadly, have the luxury of experimenting with problems in an environment that is encapsulated from the real-world. It should be noted that every societal issue carries with it its own contextual element that cannot always be captured by a modeling environment. Further, FCMs do not fully replicate the mirco-level interactions that may prove to be powerful in determining meso- and macro-level outcomes. Future work should aim to incorporate these influences in to their models and interpretations as best possible. Lastly, dynamic models are exploratory and we can not reasonably assume that outcomes presented in this research will be realized in the real world.

This research provides empirical support for the usefulness of this model, not only for researchers and social scientists, but for others who reside within a society where homelessness is experienced. This model is based on a limited collection of published, peer reviewed scholarly articles but despite this limitation, does justify the use of FCM techniques as a useful tool to analyze the complex situation of homelessness. The role of FCM for the purpose of modelling complex social systems has been strongly supported by this research and should continue to be utilized in future studies.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ contributions

VKM and VD conceived the idea and formulated mathematical model. TW, SN, PG, RC and VKM implemented the computational model. HKM, CF wrote the paper along with VKM. All authors critically analyzed the simulations, reviewed the manuscript, read and approved the final version.

Pre-publication history

The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6947/13/94/prepub

Acknowledgements

Initial work on this research project was conducted during the IRMACS Modelling Summer School. This research was supported by the SFU CTEF MoCSSy program. We are also grateful for technical support from the IRMACS Centre, Simon Fraser University, BC.

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In addition to grant programs relevant to homelessness, the Department of Health and Human Services also works to advance research in this field. The Department funds the development of a range of research projects to aid providers and policymakers in better understanding and addressing the issues facing people experiencing homelessness.

Resources from the CDC on People Experiencing Homelessness and COVID-19, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Homelessness Research, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families

Homelessness Research, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

Homelessness Among People Living in Encampments (Conducted in partnership with HUD) As of 2019, homeless encampments were appearing in numbers not seen in almost a century. To learn more about encampments and cities’ approaches in responding to them, Abt Associates conducted the study Exploring Homelessness Among People Living in Encampments and Associated Costs for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). After completing a literature review, the study team selected nine cities currently responding to encampments to participate in telephone interviews in early 2019. Findings from this study – the report on costs, individual site summary reports, and the literature review – are intended to help federal, state, and local policymakers and practitioners understand the nature of encampments, strategies for responding to encampments, and the costs associated with those approaches.

Health Conditions Among Individuals With a History of Homelessness This paper uses a proprietary data set with electronic health records of more than 54,000 individuals with ICD-10 code of homelessness between 2015 and 2019. The paper found that for many chronic conditions, people with a history of homelessness have a greater prevalence than a comparison cohort of individuals matched on age and gender. In addition, the cohort with a history of homelessness had twice the rate of ever having head injuries and high rates of viral hepatitis, alcohol abuse, and opioid abuse.

Comorbid Health Conditions and Treatment Utilization among Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder Experiencing Homelessness People experiencing homelessness have been particularly hard hit by the opioid crisis. This epidemic has also impacted individuals experiencing homelessness in ways that are distinct from how it has impacted individuals with stable housing. However, not much is known about comorbid health conditions and health services utilization among adults with opioid use disorder (OUD) who are experiencing homelessness. A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted utilizing a large national all-payer electronic health record database, finding that underlying mental health conditions and polysubstance use contribute toward making individuals experiencing homelessness more susceptible to adverse health outcomes associated with OUD. Health policy initiatives directed toward treatment engagement might benefit from an emphasis on addressing housing instability that many individuals with OUD might be experiencing.

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Individuals Experiencing Homelessness Are Likely to Have Medical Conditions Associated with Severe Illness from COVID-19 This paper is a descriptive analysis of the prevalence rates of some chronic health conditions that are associated with a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 among people with a history of homelessness. It uses a proprietary dataset with electronic health records of 61,180 individuals with an ICD-10 code of homelessness between 2015 and 2019. The paper finds that many of the health conditions examined (those believed to be linked to higher risks of severe illness from COVID-19), people with a history of homelessness have greater prevalence than the general population. People with a history of homelessness have comorbidities that impact their health in multi-faceted ways.

Housing Models that May Promote Recovery for Individuals and Families Facing Opioid Use Disorder This project describes the housing models available for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) who experience housing instability or homelessness. The association between OUD and homelessness has been examined and established. To better understand housing models that may support those with OUD, the study team conducted an environmental scan and held discussions with experts and providers in four communities.

Behavioral Health Improvements Over Time among Adults in Families Experiencing Homelessness The Behavioral Health Improvements Over Time among Adults in Families Experiencing Homelessness brief explores parents’ behavioral health at the time the family was in emergency shelter and at 20 and 37 months after experiencing homelessness. This brief examines psychological distress, alcohol dependence, drug abuse, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder; examines what family characteristics and experiences prior to shelter were associated with behavioral health problems and changes over time; and examines the relationship between housing instability and behavioral health 37 months after a shelter stay.

Employment of Families Experiencing Homelessness The Employment of Families Experiencing Homelessness brief explores parents’ earnings at the time the family was in emergency shelter, prior to becoming homeless and at 20 and 37 months after experiencing homelessness. This brief examines employment rates, compares the employment rates of families experiencing homelessness to the employment rate of parents in deeply poor families in the same communities, discusses barriers parents identified for not working, and explores the relationship between employment, income, and continued housing instability.

Child Separation among Families Experiencing Homelessness The Child Separation among Families Experiencing Homelessness brief explores child separations among families experiencing homelessness. It builds upon the fourth brief in this series, “Child and Partner Transitions among Families Experiencing Homelessness,” which looked at family separations and reunifications in the 20 months after being in emergency shelter and the association between family separation and recent housing instability following an initial shelter stay. This brief provides a more detailed examination of these families and their children before and after the initial shelter stay, revealing more extensive and persistent levels of child separation. It gives detailed characteristics of separated children and examines whether future child separation after a shelter stay is related to either housing instability of previous separations.

Child and Partner Transitions among Families Experiencing Homelessness This research brief takes advantage of data collected for the Family Options Study, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This brief examines the extent to which parents were separated from their children or adult partners, including spouses,1 during a stay in emergency shelter and whether they experienced additional separations or reunifications in the 20 months following the shelter stay. It also considers whether family separations while in shelter are associated with additional housing instability following the shelter stay, as well as whether continued housing instability is associated with subsequent family separations.

Well-being of Young Children after Experiencing Homelessness This research brief takes advantage of data collected for the Family Options Study, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. High-quality early education and care arrangements have been linked to gains in school readiness for children in low-income families, but less is known about its influence on children who have experienced homelessness. This study examines the extent to which children are enrolled in Head Start and other early education and center-based care programs 20 months after a shelter stay, as well as whether continued housing instability after a shelter stay is related to enrollment rates and stability of care arrangements. The study then examine whether there is evidence of relationships between Head Start and other early education and center-based care enrollment and children’s school readiness and behavioral challenges.

Pretesting a Human Trafficking Screening Tool in the Child Welfare and Runaway and Homeless Youth Systems Despite the fact that youth involved in the child welfare (CW) and runaway and homeless youth (RHY) systems are particularly vulnerable to being trafficked, there is no consensus screening tool to identify trafficking experiences among such youth. In order to better serve youth trafficking victims, this study developed a Human Trafficking Screening Tool (HTST) and pretested it with 617 RHY- and CW-involved youth. This research established that the screening tool is accessible to youth and easy to administer, and that both the full-length tool and a shorter version were effective in identifying youth who are trafficking victims in RHY and CW systems, though additional research with more youth is needed.

Patterns of Benefit Receipt among Families who Experience Homelessness This brief uses data collected for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Family Options Study to analyze patterns of receipt of TANF cash assistance, SNAP food assistance, and publicly funded health insurance benefits among these families, with a focus on the characteristics of those receiving and not receiving benefits. The brief: Examines whether family characteristics, including age, marital status, and demographic characteristics relate to benefit receipt; Explores the relationship between benefit receipt and housing instability following an initial shelter stay; and examines whether help accessing benefits is related to families’ TANF receipt

Final Report – Street Outreach Program Data Collection Study This first-of-its-kind study focused on 873 youth ages 14 to 21 in 11 cities. Respondents included street youth receiving services from ACF’s Street Outreach Program grantees and street youth who were not currently using services from SOP grantees. Study findings include that: nearly half of respondents became homeless for the first time because they were asked to leave home by a parent or caregiver; more than half have tried to stay at a shelter but found it full; the average youth had spent nearly two years living on the street; and nearly 30 percent identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, and nearly 7 percent identified as transgender.

Are Homeless Families Connected to the Social Safety Net? This analysis of HUD's Family Options Study data shows that families in a shelter and 20 months later are generally connected to public benefits at similar rates to other families in deep poverty. This non-experimental analysis finds that homeless families receive TANF, publicly funded health insurance (including Medicaid, CHIP, and state-funded insurance), and SNAP at equal or greater rates than other families in their communities who are also living in deep poverty.

State Strategies for Coordinating Medicaid Services and Housing for Adults with Behavioral Health Conditions This Issue Brief describes the strategies used by four states--Louisiana, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Illinois--to improve the link between Medicaid and housing services for adult Medicaid beneficiaries with behavioral health conditions. This brief does not assess the success of these strategies, but instead focuses on the mechanisms the states are using to improve care coordination for individuals with both behavioral health and housing needs. Federal and state policymakers and other stakeholders can use this information in developing their own initiatives.

Improving the Coordination of Services for Adults with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Profiles for Four State Medicaid Initiatives In 2013, ASPE contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to conduct case studies of the financing arrangements and delivery models that states are using to improve the coordination of care for Medicaid beneficiaries with mental health and substance use disorders in four states: Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Tennessee. This report profiles and describes the key elements of the strategy used in each state, including the financing mechanisms, state-level and local-level partnerships, use of data and information systems, and efforts to improve coordination with housing. Moreover, the case studies sought to describe the "on-the-ground" operation of the care coordination models from the perspectives of providers, consumers, and other stakeholders. Although these case studies do not evaluate the effectiveness or outcomes of the strategies used in these states, policymakers, managed care organizations, providers, and other stakeholders may wish to consider the components of these strategies in their own efforts to improve care coordination.

State Strategies for Improving Provider Collaboration and Care Coordination for Medicaid Beneficiaries with Behavioral Health Conditions This Issue Brief highlights the efforts of four states--Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Tennessee--to facilitate provider-level coordination for Medicaid beneficiaries with behavioral health disorders. It describes the financing strategies and specific mechanisms that states are using to improve care coordination. It summarizes some of the key ingredients of these efforts as reported by providers, consumers, agency representatives, and managed care companies in the four states. This information may be useful to federal and state policymakers and other stakeholders as they develop their own initiatives.

"Homeless Caseload is Associated with Behavioral Health and Case Management Staffing in Health Centers"    [Journal Article authored by analysts at ASPE and SAMHSA)] This paper examines organizational characteristics and staffing patterns in FQHCs with large homeless caseloads. Regardless of whether each health center received targeted Health Care for the Homeless funding, health centers with high homeless caseloads were more likely to have high behavioral health and enabling services staffing—indicating that health centers tailor their staffing mix to the needs of their patients. The study also found that rural health centers had lower levels of behavioral health and enabling services staffing, highlighting the need to monitor disparities, link health centers with technical assistance on partnering with community-based behavioral health providers, and emphasize co-locating behavioral health services through grant oversight mechanisms.

Medicaid and Permanent Supportive Housing for Chronically Homeless Individuals: Emerging Practices From the Field (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This report describes existing practices in the field of communities currently serving homeless and formerly homeless individuals as Medicaid beneficiaries.

Building Partnerships to Address Family Homelessness Around the country, Head Start and Early Head Start programs are building partnerships in their communities in order to make their services more accessible for children experiencing homelessness. This resource paper highlights the work being done by local Head Start and Early Head Start programs to connect with public housing associations, emergency shelter providers, local education agencies, and other community service providers. It also provides recommendations and resources to facilitate collaborations in other communities.

Promising Practices for Children Experiencing Homelessness: A Look at Two States This resource paper highlights work to create interventions that are specifically targeted at increasing access to high-quality early care and learning programs for children experiencing homelessness. It provides an overview of the effects of homelessness on young children, reviews federal initiatives that have expanded access to early care and learning for this population, looks at how two states - Massachusetts and Oregon - have implemented innovative policies to improve early childhood outcomes for this group, and presents recommendations for how other states can develop their own interventions.

Identifying and Serving LGBTQ Youth: Case Studies of Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Grantees To better understand provider experiences serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) runaway and homeless youth, this study reports on case studies of four local agencies receiving grants from the Administration for Children and Family’s Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) Program. The purpose of the study was to learn about programs’ strategies for identifying and serving LGBTQ RHY, the challenges programs face in understanding and addressing the needs of this population, and potential areas for future research.

Promoting Protective Factors for In-Risk Families and Youth: A Brief for Researchers    (Administration for Children and Families) This report explores the factors that make children and young people more able to cope with the trauma they face. It focuses on five populations that are often victimized the most: infants, children, and adolescents who are victims of child abuse and neglect; runaway and homeless youth; youth in or transitioning out of foster care; children and youth exposed to domestic violence; and pregnant and parenting teens.

Housing for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, with HHS’ Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This research project focused on the housing needs of the over 25,000 youth who “age out” of the foster care system each year. It explores and documents the range of housing options available to these youth, includes an in-depth review of communities using the Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers, identifies opportunities to mitigate the risk of homelessness for youth as they transition from the foster care system, and suggests areas for future research.

Housing Assistance and Supportive Services in Memphis: Best Practices for Serving High Needs Populations This standalone document from the Housing Assistance and Supportive Services in Memphis project synthesizes the literature and recent research on how to provide services to people in HUD-assisted housing.

Linking Human Services and Housing Assistance for Homeless Families and Families at Risk of Homelessness    (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This final report presents findings from the Linking Human Services and Housing Supports to Address Family Homelessness project. Through in-depth, on-site case studies, this study observed 14 communities that coordinate federally funded housing supports and comprehensive services to more effectively serve homeless families and families at risk of becoming homeless. Seven of the models include participation from local public housing agencies (PHAs). The report includes information about the structure of the programs examined, common promising practices identified across the models, and detailed case studies of the 14 models.

Establishing Eligibility for SSI for Chronically Homeless People    (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This issue paper describes innovative approaches to establishing SSI eligibility.

Health, Housing, and Service Supports for Three Groups of People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness  (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This issue paper describes three subgroups of the people experiencing chronic homelessness, and the services and housing configurations currently supporting them.

Public Housing Agencies and Permanent Supportive Housing for Chronically Homeless People    (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This issue paper looks at innovative ways that public housing agencies are supporting housing for formerly homeless people in the communities the researchers visited.

Medicaid Financing for Services in Supportive Housing for Chronically Homeless People: Current Practices and Opportunities    (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This issue paper describes the ways that Medicaid is being used now and might be used in the future under provisions of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 to serve chronically homeless people.

Housing Assistance for Youth Who Have Aged Out of Foster Care: The Role of the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program Each year the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program provides $140 million for independent living services to assist youth as they age out of foster care and enter adulthood. Under this formula grant program, states are provided allocations and allowed to use up to 30 percent of program funds for room and board for youth ages 18 to 21 who have left care. This report describes how states are using these funds to provide housing assistance to these vulnerable youth and explores how the assistance provided through this program fits in with other sources of housing assistance available in the states examined.

Medicaid and Permanent Supportive Housing for Chronically Homeless Individuals: Literature Synthesis and Environmental Scan This report reflects existing published and unpublished literature on permanent supportive housing (PSH) for people who are chronically homeless. It has a particular focus on the role that Medicaid currently plays in covering the costs of the supportive services that help people keep their housing and improve their health and quality of life. In addition to written material, this document incorporates the knowledge of housing and service configurations and ways that providers have been able to cover the cost of supportive services, garnered over our many years in the field.

Human Services and Housing Supports to Address Family Homelessness: Promising Practices in the Field  (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This ASPE Research Brief explores local programs for linking human services and housing supports to prevent and end family homelessness. The Research Brief is based on interviews with stakeholders in 14 communities nationwide, highlighting key practices that facilitated the implementation and ongoing sustainability of the programs. The Research Brief was prepared by Abt Associates under contract with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

Homeless Children Roundtable, Conference   (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) The purpose of the Roundtable (May 2010) was to understand the impact of homelessness on children, identify the resources currently available to address the needs of homeless children, and discuss opportunities for coordination. While other meetings have focused on the adults in homeless families, the Roundtable focused specifically on the children in families that are experiencing homelessness. A diverse group of policy experts, researchers, practitioners, and federal agency staff were invited.

Homeless Children: Discussion Synthesis   (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This document synthesizes the discussion from the Roundtable on Homeless Children. The background paper from this meeting is also available and provides an update on the research, policy, laws, and funding for programs and services for children who are homeless in the United States.

Homeless Children: Update on Research, Policy, Programs, and Opportunities  (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) Despite the knowledge that homeless children face poor outcomes, research has largely focused on the parent(s) in a homeless family, perhaps because these children are still part of a family unit. The children themselves, however, have different and separate needs from their parent(s). Given the impact of the current recession, it is critical to understand the impact of homelessness on our youngest population, and to ensure that resources are mobilized to guarantee that these children's needs are met quickly and thoroughly. This paper provides an update on the research, policy, laws, and funding for programs and services for children who are homeless in the United States. Education, health, and mental health for homeless children are examined.

Findings from a Study of the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR)  Initiative   (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs provide critical income support for those who meet eligibility requirements. The SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) initiative aims to improve access to SSI/SSDI benefits for individuals who are homeless through a multi-pronged strategy designed to mitigate the challenges this population faces when navigating the SSI/SSDI application process. To determine how and the extent to which SOAR is achieving its goals, ASPE conducted an evaluation of SOAR. The goals of the evaluation were to (1) provide a comprehensive description of SOAR processes, (2) examine the outputs and some of the short- and long-term outcomes that may be associated with these processes, (3) assess the factors that appear to be associated with successful implementation of the initiative, and (4) describe ways in which the initiative might be improved at either the state or federal level. This report summarizes the findings from the evaluation.

Homelessness Data in HHS Mainstream Programs  (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This study explores the extent to which states collect data on housing status and homelessness from applicants for the two largest HHS mainstream programs that may serve individuals or families experiencing homelessness:  Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Interviews were conducted with TANF and Medicaid directors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to learn about state practices related to the collection of housing status and homelessness data from program applicants. The study also includes a review of data-collection practices in nine other HHS mainstream programs. The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) jointly funded this project. The study yielded three publications:

• Homelessness Data in Health and Human Services Mainstream Programs , Final Report, Winter 2009.
• Housing Status Assessment Guide for State TANF and Medicaid Programs , Winter 2009.
• Potential Analyses with Homelessness Data: Ideas for Policymakers and Researchers , Winter 2009.

Study of HHS Programs Serving Human Trafficking Victims This project developed information on how HHS programs are currently addressing the needs of victims of human trafficking, including domestic victims (i.e., citizens and legal permanent residents), with a priority focus on domestic youth. The project provides in-depth and timely information to help HHS design and implement effective programs and services that help trafficking victims overcome the trauma and injuries they have suffered, to regain their dignity, and become self-sufficient. Components to the study include a comprehensive review of relevant literature, studies or data (published or unpublished) related to providing services to victims of human trafficking (including domestic victims); nine site visits to geographic areas (e.g., counties) containing at least one HHS- or federally-funded program currently assisting victims of human trafficking; at least three brief reports highlighting interesting, innovative, and/or effective experiences, knowledge, or information resulting from one or more of the site visits; and a final report providing a synthesis of all information obtained under the study.

The Mental Health of Vulnerable Youth and their Transition to Adulthood: Examining the Role of the Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, and Runaway/Homeless Systems This project focused on the mental health of vulnerable youth who have been in contact with service systems, including child welfare, juvenile justice, and run-away and homeless programs. Data for this project come from the  National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health  (Add Health). The Add Health is a nationally representative study that was designed to examine the causes of health-related behaviors of adolescents and their outcomes in young adulthood. The analytic sample for this current study was limited to participants who completed an interview at Waves 1 and 3 and who have a valid population weight for these Waves.

Final Report for the Independent Evaluation of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) The independent evaluation of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG) was conducted to assess the extent to which the SABG Program is effective, functioning as intended, and achieving desired outcomes. Key Finding 1 indicates the SABG program demonstrated a positive outcome in the stable housing domain of the client-level National Outcome Measures (NOMs) between admission to and discharge from a treatment episode.

• Executive Summary (PDF | 209 KB)
• Highlights of Key Findings (PDF | 1.4 MB)
• Detailed Key Findings (PDF | 2.5 MB)
• Final Report (PDF | 1.1 MB)

Characteristics and Dynamics of Homeless Families with Children  (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This report investigates the availability of data with which to construct a typology of homeless families with the goal of identifying key knowledge gaps regarding homeless families and to consider whether these gaps may most efficiently be filled through secondary analysis of existing data, adding questions or a module to planned surveys that include low-income populations, or whether additional primary data collection would be needed. Ultimately, it is intended that an improved understanding of the characteristics of homeless families with children will guide the development of appropriate service responses to such families and provide an empirical foundation for the design of homelessness prevention and intervention approaches. The project consisted of three phases: assessing the availability of already existing data that could be mined through secondary data analysis; proposing a set of questions to modify existing and ongoing surveys that would allow for the key research questions related to homeless families to be answered, and conceptualizing various primary data collections that would specifically collect the kind of data required to develop a typology of homeless families.

Evaluation of the Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness  (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) A cornerstone effort of the Administration goal to end chronic homelessness was the development of the  Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness  (CICH), an innovative demonstration project coordinated by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, jointly funded by the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services (HHS: SAMHSA and HRSA), and Veterans Affairs.

Summary of CICH Interim Reports The summary reviews the background of the study, the methods, client outcomes, and system outcomes.

Preliminary Client Outcomes Report , February 2007  This report presents data on screening, enrollment, client characteristics across sites, service use over time, and outcomes during the first 12 months of CICH participation. Data are also presented on a comparison group that received some lesser combination of housing and services than the CICH clients.

An Evaluation of an Initiative to Improve Coordination and Service Delivery of Homeless Service Networks , February 2007  This report examines the service system of the CICH during the first 24 months of the program including the types of housing and service models that were available for the target population and the nature of the interaction between agencies in the CICH.

Is System Integration Associated with Client Outcomes? , June 2007 This report merges network data reflecting collaboration, trust and use of evidence-based practices at the time clients enrolled in the CICH with 12-month client outcome data to examine the association of interagency relationships at the start of the program and client outcome during the first year of program participation.

Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects   (National Institutes of Health) The National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports a wide range of studies involving homeless populations because of associations between homelessness and many adverse health conditions. Research projects funded via an NIH grant are traditionally published in scientific journals. To access a full list of research relevant to homelessness currently being supported by NIH and other Public Health Agencies, follow the link to search Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP). CRISP is a searchable database of federally funded biomedical research projects conducted at universities, hospitals, and other research institutions. The database, maintained by the Office of Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health, includes projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Health Resources and Services Administration, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, and Office of Assistant Secretary of Health.

Toward Understanding Homelessness: The 2007 National Symposium on Homelessness Research   (Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Housing and Urban Development) The National Symposium on Homelessness Research, co-funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (both Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development in FY 2005, sponsored the development of twelve research papers in an effort to capture the current state of the research related to homelessness. The Symposium event itself, which was held over two days in March of 2007, brought together 200 researchers, policy makers, government officials, service providers, and consumers from across the country to discuss the research papers and directions for future research related to homelessness. This Symposium was a follow-on event to the first National Symposium on Homelessness Research, which took place in 1998 and was also sponsored by Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This volume presents the twelve papers developed and presented at the 2007 Symposium.

Promising Strategies to End Youth Homelessness  (Administration for Children and Families)

Provides an overview of youth homelessness, as well as a set of preventive strategies that show promise in the effort to end homelessness. This report was created by the Administration for Children and Families, in consultation with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Strategic Action Plan on Homelessness   (Department of Health and Human Services)

Report details Departmental strategies to prevent homelessness; ensures the provision of services to eligible individuals and families; empower states and community partners to improve their response to homelessness, and track Departmental progress in reaching these goals.

Condensed Version  of the Medicaid Primer on How to Use Medicaid to Assist Persons Who are Homeless to Access Medical, Behavioral Health and Support Services (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) Primer to help to connect people who are homeless with critical Medicaid benefits

An Evaluation of the Respite Pilot Initiative  (Health Resources and Services Administration) In May 2000, Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) funded ten Health Care for the Homeless grantees, for up to five years, to enhance their medical respite services for homeless persons. HRSA also supported a prospective evaluation to document the differing models of respite care delivery being used and assess the effect of those respite services on the health of homeless persons. 

Evaluability Assessment of Discharge Planning and the Prevention of Homelessness: Final Report   (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) The purpose of this study was to conduct an evaluability assessment of discharge planning in institutional and custodial settings, with a specific focus on whether discharge planning is a strategy that can prevent homelessness. 

Using Medicaid to Support Working Age Adults with Serious Mental Illness in the Community: A Handbook  (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) The purpose of this primer is to describe the Medicaid program in the delivery of services to adults with serious mental illnesses; specifically, the primer explains how existing Medicaid options and waivers are used by states to finance a broad range of community services and supports for adults with serious mental illnesses, and to demonstrate what aspects of state-of-the-art community services and supports for this population are funded by Medicaid.

The Implementation of Maternity Group Home Programs: Serving Pregnant and Parenting Teens in a Residential Setting Given the considerable interest in maternity group homes and the roles they can play in assisting pregnant and parenting teens’ transition to independence, it is important to fill some of the gaps in the existing research. For this reason, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is interested in learning more about maternity group home programs and in assessing the feasibility of conducting a rigorous evaluation to measure the effectiveness of such programs. To this end, ASPE contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. to conduct a study of how these programs operate and to explore options for studying them further. This report aims to document the implementation of maternity group home programs.

Improving Medicaid Access for People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness: State Examples (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) This technical assistance report is designed to highlight several state initiatives that increase Medicaid access for people who are chronically homeless.

Maternity Group Homes Classification and Literature Review This document provides an overview of past research and develops a preliminary classification framework for maternity group homes. The report classifies maternity group homes according to population served, degree of structure and supervision provided, and level of support services offered. The report also reviews research related to maternity group homes by categorizing existing studies into four groups: those that describe the characteristics of maternity group homes, but do not report data on outcomes; those that collect some data, but without any context for comparison; those that compare outcomes of different groups or at different points in time; and those that look at implementation of maternity group homes. Included in the review of research are resident characteristics, experiences during residence, outcomes after leaving maternity group homes, limitations of existing studies, and recommendations for future research.

Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America  (President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health) In 2002, the President announced the creation of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and charged the Commission to study the mental health service delivery system, and to make recommendations that would enable adults with serious mental illnesses and children with serious emotional disturbance to live, work, learn, and participate fully in their communities.  Achieving the Promise  is the final report of the New Freedom Commission.

Adapting Your Practice: Treatment and Recommendations for Homeless Patients with HIV/AIDS Pocket Guidebook (Health Resources and Services Administration) This condensed pocket guidebook on adapting clinical guidelines for homeless clients with HIV/AIDS was a project of the HIV/AIDS Bureau Homelessness and Housing Workgroup in revising the original manual,  Adapting Your Practice: Treatment and Recommendations for Homeless Patients with HIV/AIDS (2003) , developed by the Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians’ Network. 

Adapting Your Practice: Treatment and Recommendations for Homeless Patients with HIV/AIDS  (Health Resources and Services Administration) A clinical guidebook written by clinicians with extensive experience caring for individuals who are homeless and who routinely adapt their medical practice to foster better outcomes for these patients. 

Core Performance Indicators for Homeless-Serving Programs Administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services  (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This report explores the feasibility of developing a core set of performance measures across four Health and Human Services (HHS) programs that focus on service delivery to homeless persons. The report also explores the extent to which mainstream service-delivery programs supported by HHS, i.e., those not specifically targeted to homelessness, could generate performance measures on the extent to which homeless persons are served and to what effect. 

Ending Chronic Homelessness: Strategies for Action   (Department of Health and Human Services) This document was developed in 2003 by the Health and Human Services Secretary’s Work Group on Ending Chronic Homelessness to outline a series of goal and strategies that would align the Department’s effort towards the goal of ending chronic homelessness.

The 1996 National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients: A Comparison of Faith-Based and Secular Non-Profit Programs  (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation) This study examines data from National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients to determine more thoroughly the role that faith-based programs play in the larger context of homeless assistance. The study has an explicit focus on comparing homeless assistance programs administered by faith-based versus secular non-profit service agencies. It provides a basic but comprehensive picture of the numbers and characteristics of the two types of homeless assistance programs.

Practical Lessons:  The 1998 National Symposium on Homelessness and Research   (Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Housing and Urban Development) This symposium was jointly sponsored with HUD and provides 13 papers that summarize more than a decade of research on homelessness.

UChicago research produces surprising information about homelessness

Bruce Meyer, McCormick Foundation Professor at Harris Public Policy, recently spoke with NPR Illinois reporter Maureen McKinney about recent research findings on homelessness in his report: "Homelessness and the Persistence of Deprivation: Income, Employment, and Safety Net Participation" . 

I would say that the main, single point is that those who are homeless are in the midst of a very long period of severe deprivation...they're in the midst of not a bad week or month or a year, but a really a bad lifetime with severe deprivation, low-income, high program receipt, Meyer said.

Read or listen to the interview at nprillinois.org .

Bruce D. Meyer McCormick Foundation Professor

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Working with Unsheltered People: Findings from the Alliance’s Workforce Survey

Written by: Joy Moses, Vice President of Research and Evidence

During the summer of 2023, the Alliance surveyed the nation’s homeless services workforce. The online questions were answered by 5,044 people in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The results highlighted mission-driven workers in challenging settings who were making personal sacrifices rooted in limited salaries. In light of the unsheltered homelessness crisis ( record-high numbers of people are currently living in these situations), this brief will spotlight the subset of workers most focused on the population—street outreach and drop-in center workers.

693 survey respondents (14 percent of the total) self-identified as working in this area. Their responses indicated:

• Newness to the Profession. Sixty percent of these professionals reported working in homelessness for five years or less. The same is true for only 51 percent of all other workers. ( » link to section )
• Increased Stress About Clients. Street outreach and drop-in center workers were more likely to be stressed about clients. Possible explanations include: 1) they may have more frequent interactions with people in greater states of crisis, and 2) they may have more limited resources to help those in need. ( » link to section )
• Increased Financial Distress. On a subset of questions, workers serving people living unsheltered were more likely to show signs of financial distress. Full-time workers reported their salaries indicated lower wages than all other workers. ( » link to section )

Pathways into unsheltered homelessness are often shaped by painful circumstances. One study found nearly half (46 percent) of unsheltered people report abuse and/or trauma as the cause of their current episode of homelessness. Sleeping outdoors (and in unstable situations) only adds more stressors to a person’s life.

When compared to their sheltered peers, those living unsheltered tend to experience greater challenges. They report being homeless for longer periods of time while also reporting far more physical and mental health conditions. Research suggests that those reached by outreach workers have more severe symptoms and are more difficult to engage in services.

Providing Services to Unsheltered People

People living unsheltered may come into drop-in centers , which are central locations where people can connect to all types of aid such as housing assistance, health resources, food, employment assistance, and hygiene services (e.g., showers). Street outreach workers similarly aim to connect people with assistance, but they are not typically in one set location—essentially, they travel across neighborhoods looking for individuals who may (or may not) be seeking help.

Serving people with complex needs requires multiple skills. According to the literature , delivering high-quality street outreach services requires an ability to build relationships and trust with people who often distrust service providers; training and proficiency with evidence-based practices (e.g., trauma-informed care and motivational interviewing); crisis management skills; cultural competency; capacity to implement nonjudgmental and person-centered approaches; an ability to navigate multiple social services systems; data entry skills; teamwork ; flexibility; empathy; commitment; and persistence, amongst other skills and attributes.

Not everyone can do this work. And those with identified talents should be retained for as long as possible.

Despite the great needs of the population and the demands of the job, the Alliance survey found that many street outreach and drop-in center workers are new to the profession. Sixty percent had been working in homeless services for five years or less. This number stands in contrast to all other homeless services workers—only 51 percent reported being in this limited-tenure category.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, very few seasoned professionals were working for street outreach programs and drop-in centers. Only 9 percent of survey respondent group members had 20 or more years of experience in homeless services.

Implications

This finding points to some important implications:

• Workforce Stability Difficulties. An organization with mostly newer staff suggests frequent turnover and, therefore, constant shifts in who is working with clients. Indeed, 68 percent of street outreach and drop-in center workers said that their workplaces experience a lot of turnover. For programs, building relationships and trust with clients is likely harder when those clients must frequently meet (and become acquainted with) new faces. Constant turnover and new staff mean that staff are constantly learning and re-learning their jobs, which distracts from the true focus of homeless services: getting unsheltered people into housing.
• Increased Demand for Training. Newer workers and frequent turnover point to a need for high-quality training that is broadly and regularly available. This pool of workers just beginning their careers in homelessness also offers an opportunity for current organizational and regional leaders to identify and support future leaders of the profession. Current leaders can shape training, mentorship, and other professional development opportunities with that goal in mind.
• Need for Greater Retention. Street outreach and drop-in center employers require enhanced supports to promote employee retention. Such efforts would ensure that more clients are consistently served by familiar workers, while also increasing the pool of employees who can offer training and mentorship rooted in real world work experience.

On multiple survey questions, street outreach and drop-in center staff were more likely than other homeless services workers to be stressed about their clients. An overwhelming majority were concerned about having limited resources to serve people—those surveyed expressed frustrations about this stress ( 80 percent ) and indicated it was affecting their ability to do their jobs well ( 76 percent ). More generally, workers reaching unsheltered people were also more likely to directly state that they were experiencing “stress/worry about the well-being of clients.”

Although concerns about clients are common within the profession, there are a few possible explanations for why this subset of workers were more likely to share such responses:

Serving Clients with More Complex Challenges. As noted above, research indicates people living unsheltered report more physical and mental health conditions than their sheltered counterparts. Having clients with greater challenges may equate to a greater likelihood of workplace stress.

Working within a Limited Ability to Help. Given the nature of their jobs, temporary and permanent housing providers offer a subset of people an important resource—a bed (or a form of housing). Street outreach and drop-in center staff are less able to do the same, which may lead to increased worry about where clients will sleep or receive needed resources.

Even successfully referring people to a shelter may be difficult— 78 percent of Continuums of Care have a shortage of shelter beds on a given night 1 . And, for some clients, there may be barriers (e.g., exclusionary program rules) to accessing the beds that are available.

Being unable to provide high-need unsheltered people with shelter (and other resources) is presumably stressful.

This finding points to one rather straightforward implication: in order to do their jobs well, street outreach and drop-in center staffers overwhelmingly said they need more resources for clients. Policymakers (at all levels of government) should provide these resources—including a far greater number of housing opportunities for people living unsheltered.

Further, street outreach and drop-in center workers should receive workplace supports catered to the unique challenges associated with their roles. Models for managing the stresses of the job could include forms of training, peer support networks, and/or mentoring. Organizations should share promising practices with their partners, and such practices should also be tested and evaluated for their effectiveness.

Compared to others working in homelessness who completed the Alliance’s survey, street outreach and drop-in center workers were more likely to show signs of financial distress. Indeed, they reported having lower salaries— 62 percent were earning $50,000 or less (compared to 53 percent of all other workers). In examining pay disparities, the Alliance’s analysis explored connections to race and ethnicity. Those who work mainly with unsheltered people were somewhat more likely to be non-white, with 43 percent falling into this category, compared to their 40 percent representation amongst all other homeless services workers 2 .

Additionally, 43 percent said their salaries were not enough to meet their basic needs, a number that is 9 points higher than the rest of the homeless services workforce. Only a small slice ( 10 percent ) said that they were making enough money to live well (i.e., having their basic needs and many wants covered).

Unfortunately, street outreach and drop-in center employees were also slightly more likely to say they were making ends meet through methods indicative of hardship and harm to their overall financial well-being. For example, higher percentages of these workers borrowed money, skipped bill payments, or relied on food pantries and other charities to make ends meet. Street outreach and drop-in center employees were also more apt to report poverty indicators such as homelessness and hunger.

The Alliance’s survey and previous housing wage gap analysis (examining the difference between what homeless services workers make and how much it costs to afford housing) suggest that all sectors of the homeless services workforce should be earning more money. However, this finding points to a need to further examine any existing disparities between the wages of street outreach and drop-in center workers, and their other homeless services colleagues.

Salary disparities may partially be explained by differences in the average years of experience or average educational attainment associated with the varying sectors of homeless services. However, both the field and individual communities should revisit and reevaluate their values to determine if any salary disparities continue to be appropriate. Those considerations should include the degree to which people with lived experience of homelessness hold these jobs and how their knowledge is valued and incorporated into service delivery.

A body of research indicates that people with lived experience help clients reach various goals, including housing stability, in ways that people without lived experience may not be able to. Such findings point to a need to reconsider traditional characteristics (e.g., education and years of work experience) used to determine salary levels, so as to include lived experience of homelessness as a factor that boosts worker income.

Finally, future policies designed to improve the salaries of the workforce as a whole should also consider how to reduce or eliminate salary disparities among those serving unsheltered populations.

Each day, street outreach and drop-in center workers connect with clients who are too often ignored by most people in the community, and who are managing complex health challenges and trauma. Doing this work requires skills as well as specific personal qualities (e.g., compassion, empathy, and patience). When skilled workers are able to build relationships and trust with clients, they can play a critical role in connecting them to housing and services. However, for workers reaching people living unsheltered, their skills and the roles they play in ending homelessness are currently undervalued. Taking steps to change the status quo will improve client services and help in ending unsheltered homelessness.

The homeless services workforce is in crisis. The Alliance survey revealed significant needs tied to salaries and work environments: it’s clear that there are some meaningful differences between employees reaching unsheltered populations (street outreach and drop-in center workers) and others in the field. CoCs and programs should work to implement specialized and targeted training, retention initiatives, supports to manage workplace stress, and reevaluations of pay disparities are warranted. Importantly, policymakers at all levels of government should ensure that CoCs and program have both the resources they need to support the workforce and the resources they need to fully meet the needs of clients.

1 This data point is based on a comparison between each Continuum of Care’s Point-in-Time Count and Housing Inventory Counts for 2023.

2 Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians/Alaska Natives/Indigenous, and multi-racial individuals are the only subgroups that had representations within street outreach and drop-in center programs that exceeded their representations among all other workers. Notably, these results could be tied to the survey’s methodology—workers of color may have been less likely to learn about the survey or respond. Also, national-level data may not suitably reflect the workforces of individual communities.

Privacy Overview

Reference Examples

More than 100 reference examples and their corresponding in-text citations are presented in the seventh edition Publication Manual . Examples of the most common works that writers cite are provided on this page; additional examples are available in the Publication Manual .

To find the reference example you need, first select a category (e.g., periodicals) and then choose the appropriate type of work (e.g., journal article ) and follow the relevant example.

When selecting a category, use the webpages and websites category only when a work does not fit better within another category. For example, a report from a government website would use the reports category, whereas a page on a government website that is not a report or other work would use the webpages and websites category.

Also note that print and electronic references are largely the same. For example, to cite both print books and ebooks, use the books and reference works category and then choose the appropriate type of work (i.e., book ) and follow the relevant example (e.g., whole authored book ).

Examples on these pages illustrate the details of reference formats. We make every attempt to show examples that are in keeping with APA Style’s guiding principles of inclusivity and bias-free language. These examples are presented out of context only to demonstrate formatting issues (e.g., which elements to italicize, where punctuation is needed, placement of parentheses). References, including these examples, are not inherently endorsements for the ideas or content of the works themselves. An author may cite a work to support a statement or an idea, to critique that work, or for many other reasons. For more examples, see our sample papers .

Reference examples are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Chapter 10 and the Concise Guide Chapter 10

Related handouts

• Common Reference Examples Guide (PDF, 147KB)
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Textual Works

Textual works are covered in Sections 10.1–10.8 of the Publication Manual . The most common categories and examples are presented here. For the reviews of other works category, see Section 10.7.

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• ERIC Database References
• Preprint Article References

Data and Assessments

Data sets are covered in Section 10.9 of the Publication Manual . For the software and tests categories, see Sections 10.10 and 10.11.

• Data Set References
• Toolbox References

Audiovisual Media

Audiovisual media are covered in Sections 10.12–10.14 of the Publication Manual . The most common examples are presented together here. In the manual, these examples and more are separated into categories for audiovisual, audio, and visual media.

• Artwork References
• Clip Art or Stock Image References
• Film and Television References
• Musical Score References
• Online Course or MOOC References
• Podcast References
• PowerPoint Slide or Lecture Note References
• Radio Broadcast References
• TED Talk References
• Transcript of an Audiovisual Work References
• YouTube Video References

Online Media

Online media are covered in Sections 10.15 and 10.16 of the Publication Manual . Please note that blog posts are part of the periodicals category.

• Facebook References
• Instagram References
• LinkedIn References
• Online Forum (e.g., Reddit) References
• TikTok References
• X References
• Webpage on a Website References
• Clinical Practice References
• Open Educational Resource References
• Whole Website References