The experience of homeless women: An exploration of housing histories and the meaning of home

The exploratory study with homeless women presented in this paper aims to highlight two shortcomings in the current literature on homelessness, which accompany the predominant conceptualisation of ‘home’ as a place of safety and security, and homelessness as a primarily structural issue characterised by ‘residential instability’. The first is the paucity of research on homeless women in their own right and the second the lack of studies which examine underlying reasons for residential instability from homeless women's own perspectives. An intensive, small sample interview study was carried out with 12 regular women users of a day centre for homeless people (Brighton, south of England). They were asked about their patterns of residence, reasons for moving, definitions of ‘house’, ‘home’, and ‘ideal home’, and they gave their housing histories in some detail. In a quantitative analysis, their patterns of moving and definitions of ‘home’ were compared to those of a group of securely housed women. Number of moves was comparable in both groups, but for the homeless women the majority of moves had been made to avoid abuse and social services relocations. Whilst all of the securely housed women could confidently define a difference in meaning between a ‘house’ and a ‘home’, only 3 of the 12 homeless women did. They equated ‘home’ with safety and security, the same terms used in the literature to define what housing means, and the two most salient features largely absent in homeless women's experience of housing. The meaning of home is further explored in a qualitative analysis, where the themes of safety and security—or rather their absence in abusive relationships—are traced through the homeless women's childhood, adolescence and adulthood. These exploratory findings question an easy equation between ‘residential instability’ and homelessness, and highlight the need to investigate further the reasons why women leave housing, and the relationship this has to an understanding of what ‘home’ means. Whilst current formulations suggest that the homelessness of women is a problem, and housing the solution, this study suggests that housing is the problem—homelessness may well be a solution.     

‘It's just like we're going around in circles and going back to the same thing …’: The Dynamics of Women's Unresolved Homelessness

The condition of long-term homelessness has been demonstrated to affect a far smaller number of individuals compared with those who exit and become housed. It is nonetheless a pressing policy concern because of the high social and economic costs associated with prolonged homelessness. As with much homelessness research generally, gender is not adequately addressed, and frequently ignored, within analyses of ‘long-term’ or ‘chronic’ homelessness. This paper seeks to redress this imbalance and examines the experiences of women who have lengthy homeless histories based on the accounts of 34 women who are participants in a larger biographical study of homeless women in Ireland. Women's movements into and out of homeless service settings are examined in some detail, as are their accounts of the lived experience of prolonged homelessness. Their narratives reveal their mothering roles and identities, intimate relationships and intimate partner violence, and their ongoing interactions with institutional settings, including homeless hostels, as key dynamics influencing their movements and the strategies used by them as they attempt to manage their homelessness. We conclude by highlighting several gender-specific forces driving the women's experiences of unresolved homelessness. A number of key messages for policy are also discussed.     

Homelessness and theory reconsidered

Theory will not directly explain the development of policy and provision for homeless people, but it is an important consideration and one deserving of careful attention. In the UK, however, homelessness has often been explained simplistically and somewhat atheoretically as either a housing or a welfare problem, caused either by structural or by individual factors. Likewise, homeless people have been frequently classified as either deserving or undeserving. Such dualistic explanations are less than adequate and any policy and provision influenced by them will, consequently, also likely be less than optimal. Accordingly, this paper explores the potential of alternative theoretical perspectives (feminism, post‐structuralism, postmodernism, structuration and critical theory) for increasing our understanding of homelessness and so potentially improving policy and provision for homeless people in the future.     

The Statutory Homelessness System in England: A Fair and Effective Rights-Based Model?

The statutory homelessness system, first established by the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977, is an important but frequently criticised element of the British welfare state. Drawing upon a survey of 2053 ‘statutorily homeless’ families in England, this paper applies a utility-maximising conceptual framework to demonstrate that (a) the statutory homelessness system is on the whole ‘fair’ with respect to the housing needs that it addresses, and (b) ‘effective’, in that it can bring about significant net gains in the welfare of those households its assists. These encouraging findings are relevant not only to current concerns about the future direction of homelessness policy in England, but also to policy debates in many countries across the developed world where there are calls to develop a ‘rights-based’ approach to addressing homelessness.     

From long-term homelessness to stable housing: investigating ‘liminality’

Abstract

This paper uses the term ‘liminality’ to refer to the experience of feeling like an outsider when people are transitioning from one housing status (long-term homelessness) to another (housed). Three dimensions of liminality are identified: ‘material’, ‘relational’ and ‘psychological’. The material dimension covers how people feel about their housing and whether they find it difficult to make the transition from homeless to housed. The relational dimension focuses on whether people are able to rebuild relations with family and friends. The psychological dimension includes how people deal with the stigma of homelessness. The paper demonstrates that most people can overcome the material dimension of liminality if they are given appropriate support, but they find it more difficult to overcome the relational and psychological dimensions of liminality. We conclude that moving on from long-term homelessness is not straightforward and we point to the policy implications of these findings.     

Young People Exiting Homelessness: An Exploration of Process,Meaning and Definition

In the past decade in particular, research attention has shifted from an almost exclusive focus on routes or pathways into homelessness towards the investigation of exits from homelessness. As well as demonstrating the multiple paths possible for young people who become homeless, recent research, and longitudinal studies in particular, has contributed to a more nuanced understanding of the complexity of the homeless pathways of young people. Nonetheless, knowledge and understanding of the nature of homeless exits, and of the mechanisms that facilitate the transition out of homelessness, is far from complete. This paper explores the processes surrounding the exit routes taken by young people out of homelessness and the meanings attached by them to these housing transitions based on selected findings from an ongoing qualitative longitudinal study of homeless youth in Dublin, Ireland. More broadly, the paper considers the utility of distinguishing between the types of routes that young people take out of homelessness, with particular attention to the notions of ‘independent’ and ‘dependent’ exits. The paper aims to further the discussion and debate on the conceptualisation of homeless exits and also discusses a number of policy implications arising from the study's findings.     

How do housing and labour markets affect individual homelessness?

Abstract

We examine the impact of housing and labour market conditions on individual risks of homelessness. Our innovation is a focus on homelessness entries, although findings from jointly estimated homelessness entry and exit probit equations are reported. Risky behaviours and life experiences such as regular use of drugs, the experience of violence and biographies of acute disadvantage lead to a higher risk of becoming homeless. Public housing is a strong protective factor. We find clear evidence that for certain subgroups it is being the ‘wrong person in the wrong place’ that matters most when considering risks of entering homelessness. Indigenous Australians, for example, are no more likely to become homeless than other vulnerable groups holding housing and labour market conditions constant. However, tighter housing markets and weaker labour markets expose Indigenous Australians to significantly higher risks of entering homelessness.     

Siblings,fairness and parental support for housing in the UK

Abstract

Financial support from parents has become critical to the capacity of many single young adults to attain and sustain independent housing in the United Kingdom. Utilising data from a qualitative study of early housing pathways, this paper applies Lüscher’s theory of ambivalence in a context previously unexplored via this framework, analysing how participants talked about competing claims between siblings for finite parental resources in support of independent living. Most expressed faith in the assumed fairness of parental behaviours in providing support whilst often constructing themselves as ‘more responsible’ or ‘more deserving’ than their siblings. Whilst parental support was routinely made available regardless of recipients’ current housing tenure, there was nonetheless a sense that support for owner occupation fell into a distinct category of assistance, reinforcing notions of tenure prejudice. Given ongoing dependency on family support, participants were largely resigned to these disparities, regarding them as integral to the ambivalent nature of inter- and intragenerational family relationships.     

Homelessness and social control: a typology

Abstract

The use of ‘social control’ interventions in housing and welfare policy often courts intense controversy, and never more so than when attempts are made to bring about change in the conduct of street homeless people. To date, academic scrutiny has focused on the so-called ‘regulation’ or ‘criminalisation’ of rough sleepers occupying public space, but a range of ‘softer’ control mechanisms are also now in evidence within homelessness support services. This paper explicates the relationship between the distinct forms of social control that have been used in this field – force, coercion, bargaining, influence and tolerance – and compares the perspectives of policy makers, frontline practitioners and homeless people regarding the appropriateness of their deployment in England. It emphasizes that the use of every one of these modes of social control, and indeed the absence of such controls, raises moral and practical dilemmas, the nuance of which is often unacknowledged in academic accounts.     

Housing First: Considering Components for Successful Resettlement of Homeless People with Multiple Needs

‘Housing First’ programmes in the US involve the provision of mainstream scatter sited permanent housing at the initial stage of support for homeless individuals with multiple needs. This is in contrast to dominant approaches (in the US and Europe) that assert the need for successful progress towards treatment goals (usually whilst living in temporary congregate accommodation) prior to resettlement. Evaluations of Housing First indicate, however, that even those considered farthest from being housed can, with help, successfully maintain a mainstream tenancy of their own. It is asserted here that one locally based agency managing both the housing and assertively providing holistic non time-limited support packages may be important factors in the success rate of Housing First programmes. However, a caveat is added—to robustly assess the effectiveness of Housing First (and homelessness policy per se) requires continued consideration as to what ‘success’ refers to in the resettlement of formerly homeless people.     

‘Equal right to housing’ in Hong Kong housing policy: perspectives from disadvantaged groups

The ‘right to housing’ incorporates at least five different dimensions which are all indispensible for the minimum satisfaction of such right, namely, housing that is adequate and affordable, enjoyed without arbitrary interference or forced eviction, and the right of choice to opt for rent or home-ownership as well as neighbourhood. ‘Equal right to housing’ essentially means equal opportunity or non-discrimination in the fulfillment of all dimensions of ‘right to housing’. In Hong Kong, for those with economic means, the extent of their ‘right to housing’ are largely satisfied; however, this may not be the case for those from the lower socioeconomic strata, especially members of disadvantaged groups from the latter, who are doubly deprived. This paper will examine the views on ‘equal right to housing’ in Hong Kong housing policy from four disadvantaged groups, namely, single-parent families, ethnic minorities, homosexuals and Mainland New Arrivals, by drawing on information from in-depth interviews with members of these groups, representatives of organizations serving these disadvantaged groups, property sector practitioners, Equal Opportunity Commission representative and members of the general public. On the whole, the members of the disadvantaged groups, especially those from the lower socioeconomic strata may not enjoy equal opportunity to different dimensions of the ‘right to housing’ in Hong Kong, mainly due to discriminatory selection of tenants on the part of private landlords as well as the limited economic means of some of them. These may be, to some extent, magnified by some biased practices in public housing policy. This paper will end by examining some of policy implications of ‘equal right to housing’.     

Strategies for exclusion from social housing

In Sweden most local social authorities sublet flats to homeless clients with special contracts. In spite of this kind of social housing there are people sleeping ‘rough’ or in night shelters. These realities were approached in a case study, where a group of social workers engaged in housing support and supply were interviewed and observed. Two sets of methods in social housing control and exclusion are identified: (a) the landlords’ strategy of border control, split into gate‐keeping and expulsion; (b) the social workers’ strategy of discipline, that is to control individuals, while keeping them inside the domains of responsibility. As landlords, the local social authorities applied both strategies to their clients/tenants. This resulted in reinforced border control and a justification of exclusion, which implied judgements of the clients’ needs and capabilities, as well as placing responsibility on the homeless themselves.     

Housing Homeless People: Local Mobilization of Federal Resources to Fight NIMBYism

Local sentiments are rarely favorable to human service facilities. City governments and neighborhood organizations frequently utilize zoning restrictions to exclude various community facilities, including services and housing for homeless people. This exclusionary phenomenon is commonly referred to as “not‐in‐my‐backyard” or “NIMBYism.” The power of NIMBYism is grounded in the local autonomy afforded municipalities concerning land use policies. However, recent cases suggest that the tradition of local authority over certain types of land uses is being reexamined and, even more frequently, challenged at the extra‐local level. Given this trend, the purpose of this article is to question the assumption that local government will be able to preserve their authority over housing for homeless people. Using a case study of a local zoning battle over a proposed housing development for homeless people, the author argues that recent changes in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s governance over Fair Housing Law enforcement and administration of Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance funding, coupled with the agency’s more aggressive position on housing discrimination, may already have changed the balance of power on this issue. By examining the process by which a non‐profit organization in Albany, New York, was able to reach a settlement with the city concerning a zoning denial by mobilizing federal resources, the author attempts to highlight a possible emerging federal role in facilitating local mobilization against NIMBYism as it applies to housing for homeless individuals.     

Relational and gendered selves: older Irish migrants’ housing and employment histories in the north and East Midlands of England

Most accounts of migration stress the economic necessity, but generally blur the role of migrants themselves in the process. It is also rare to consider male and female migrants together, or to explore the relational aspects of masculinity and femininity in migration histories. This paper explores the relational aspects of Irish (‘Irish’ is used throughout this article to refer to our participants who self-identified as ‘Irish’. It is further noted that all of the participants were from the Republic of Ireland and hence does not include Northern Irish migrants. Where ‘Ireland’ is used it refers to the Republic of Ireland) migrants’ residential and work histories using narrative enquiry. First, we explore the complex relationship between housing and employment in Irish women and men’s stories focusing particularly on the early phase of migration. Second, we argue that these narratives, especially the ‘intertwining personal, sub-cultural and cultural stories’ are essential in understanding Irish migrants’ experiences. Third, we posit that gender emerges as a significant factor with qualitative differences in Irish women’s and men’s trajectories. Our analysis focuses on the self-in-relation, housing pathways and gendered housing and employment strategies.     

‘Housing Poverty’ and Income Poverty in England and The Netherlands

This paper examines whether the distributional consequences of contrasting welfare systems are enhanced, replicated or countered by housing systems in England and the Netherlands. It adopts the monetised concepts of ‘net housing income’ and ‘net housing resources’, which are commensurable with disposable income and income-based measures of poverty. It was found that both housing systems exert a poverty-reducing impact compared to disposable income alone. The absolute reduction is greatest in England, suggesting that its housing system counters the high levels of income poverty produced by the welfare system, although the comparative levels of poverty between the two countries remain unchanged, which may signify that the distribution of disposable income is replicated in housing. However, the synthetic concept of ‘housing poverty’ reveals that the poverty-reducing impact of housing income/ resources arises because by themselves they are distributed far less equally than is disposable income, so creating a much higher rate of ‘housing poverty’. Crucially, ‘housing poverty’ occurs predominantly among those who are not income poor. This allows welfare and housing systems to combine to reduce poverty in an act of progressive dissonance, suggesting a hitherto unexpectedly high degree of independence between the two.     

Psychological distress and homeless duration*

We examine whether psychological distress levels vary with homeless and housed duration. We do this using longitudinal data from a national survey of persons facing housing insecurity that, unlike prior studies, is not restricted to those who are currently homeless (or to particular subsets of the homeless), but instead follows a nationally representative sample of Australians experiencing housing insecurity. This allows us to use methods that isolate the effects of changes in time spent homeless and time spent housed on psychological distress holding constant all unobserved person-specific effects that are time invariant. We find that the relationship between psychological distress and homelessness varies by gender and by type of homelessness. Males recently experiencing literal homelessness (i.e. sleeping rough or in crisis accommodation) exhibit the highest levels of distress, but consistent with the adaptation hypothesis, distress levels decline as homeless duration increases. This pattern is not seen when examining a broader notion of homelessness for males. Likewise, there is no clear pattern with regard to homeless duration for females.     

Support for tenure mix by residents local to the Carlton Housing Estate,Melbourne, Australia

In this paper, we report on the level of support for tenure mix policies of residents living proximate to the Carlton Housing Estate mixed tenure redevelopment in Melbourne Australia. In a telephone survey of 200 residents living in the area surrounding the estate, the majority of respondents were supportive of tenure mix. Those who were financially comfortable or only spoke English were significantly more supportive than those reporting more difficult financial circumstances or who spoke a language other than English. The reasons for support for tenure mix included avoiding ghettoization, building community and social role modelling. The reasons for opposing tenure mix reflected a concern for the loss of public housing, a view that public and private tenants would not want to be co-located and that public tenants weren’t as deserving as others of living in a good inner city location. There were also concerns from both groups about how tenure mix might work in practice. Policy implications are discussed.     

Women’s mobility,neighbourhood socio-ecologies and homemaking in urban informal settlements

Abstract

The paper contributes to the growing research on relational thinking about housing and home by exploring the informal homes of rural migrants in Khulna city, Bangladesh. The concept of ‘unbounding’ is used to trace the fluidity and connections established between migrant homes and neighbourhood socio-ecologies. Walking interviews exploring women’s livelihoods reveal that different expendable agencies of the urban environment (e.g. trash, weeds and animal excreta) create conditions for labour in which migrant women hold specific competencies to secure essential resources for home. Unbounding positions home within a socio-ecology of multiple houses that women traverse to support their urban living. The approach offers opportunities to examine the unique ways urban homeless populations strategically as well as affectively engage with under-recognized agencies and actors in informal settlements. Unbounding provides a useful lens with which to raise new conceptual and empirical questions about housing and home in relation to the city that contributes to the homes and livelihoods of marginalized populations.     

The Trappings of Home: Young Homeless People's Transitions Towards Independent Living

This paper describes the experiences of young homeless people in Western Australia during their transitions to more permanent accommodation and independent living. For these young homeless people, permanent accommodation provided an opportunity for ‘feeling at home’ and having a sense of control and stability associated with ‘home’. Within this space, these young people wanted to be considered ‘normal’ home occupiers. In this context, the paper discusses how young homeless people experience and negotiate the social and cultural understandings of home outside socially accepted pathways of leaving the parental home and becoming ‘normal’ home occupiers themselves. The paper shows how this experience of home, and the potential it offers previously homeless young people, is interrupted by discourses of youth workers, neighbours and society at large, which serve to (re)position them outside the community of ‘normal’ home occupiers. The findings have implications for both policy and the delivery of services to young homeless people.     

Housing entry pathways of refugees in Vienna,a city of social housing

This article presents the findings of an empirical study investigating refugees’ difficult entry into Vienna’s ‘tight’ housing market. Arguing that newcomers’ access to housing can be better understood by a closer look at the actors involved in the housing search process, an actor-centred approach is used. Complementing the constructivist pathway framework with a model of search based on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, four types of housing entry pathways could be identified. This study draws on semi-structured in-depth interviews with forced migrants who arrived in Austria in recent years. The analysis of newcomers’ housing entry pathways not only sheds light on the coordination structures at work in a city of social housing, but also on ‘good’ and ‘bad’ rental housing submarkets that have emerged in the course of the recent refugee movement. The paper concludes that a high proportion of social housing does not provide any indication that newcomers are granted better access to secure affordable housing.