Shifting away from the traditional focus of enumeration and prevention of, or early exit from, homelessness, the present study was directed towards understanding the homeless experience and how the health and life quality of homeless people could be improved during their homelessness. To answer key questions, a mixed method inquiry explored the lived experience of homelessness in Darwin between June, 2004, and June, 2005. The study was undertaken through St. Vincent de Paul’s Ozanam House meal and shelter service. Their clients’ life worlds and experiences were documented through participant observation, informal interviews and individual narratives. This study has found that there were very few treatment options available to homeless people who suffered from trauma related illnesses. Self management of wellbeing and health reinforced the negative perception of homeless people held by mainstream society, in turn reinforcing the stigmatising processes individuals spent much of their daily life managing. By addressing the key dimensions of the homeless experience which have had the greatest influence on health, the relevant agencies can begin to create living environments which reflect the experiences and the hopes of the homeless people and which are supportive of good health and a better quality of life. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 184-206). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

One of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population in the United States is families, with women and their children heading up to 90% of these families. African-Americans represent a disproportionate number within the homeless population. Homelessness is a devastating experience for women and their children who often seek an emergency homeless shelter as their only option for temporary housing. This grounded theory study explored how homeless African-American mothers and their children defined their health and managed and obtained their health for themselves and their children within the context of an emergency homeless shelter. The grounded theory of Layered Stressors emerged after fifteen homeless African-American mothers were interviewed. Health was perceived by the participants as “having your own.” In the first stage, a perceived “loss of self-control” or loss of autonomy was given over to the shelter. In the second stage, homeless mothers experienced layered stressors which consisted of “following the shelter’s rules,” “living with strangers,” “mothering in public,” “changed behaviors of their children,” “smoking more,” “feeling trapped, helpless and powerless,” “shared infectious illnesses.” Chronic stress affects an individual’s physical, psychological and social make-up and may contribute to allostatic load, the cumulative biologic burden exacted on the body and brain. McEwen (2002) described allostatis, and allostatic load as stressors. Allostatic load may contribute to chronic medical illnesses.

No description available.

As extreme poverty and homelessness continue to increase and become more visible in urban centres throughout Canada, it is increasingly more important to develop and critique interventions within the field. This grounded theory study provides and overview of one type of intervention---street outreach programs. It is informed by interviews with front line street outreach workers in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. It includes an outline of the academic literature on homelessness and street outreach programs and stresses the importance of viewing this social phenomenon through a structural lens. It describes in detail the main aspects of street outreach work, as well as evaluates the greater the political significance of this type of work. Conclusions demonstrate the importance of establishing trusting relationships with clients and working from a structural approach that satisfy peoples immediate needs while addressing the root causes of extreme poverty and oppression.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, November, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Anthropology, 1999? / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-90).

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1991. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2952. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-68).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 290-303). Also available on the Internet.