This thesis considers the condition of homelessness through its marginal position against society. Exteriority is often perceived as an abnormal state to be resolved through assimilation. To investigate it in its <em>relationship</em> with the inside, as opposites in a field of interaction, implies a constant state of reaction and change, instead of one that rests in a resolution. The thesis takes this form of continuous shifting between perspectives, media, scale of interaction, and locations, both physical and psychological. Its journey constitutes a search for a middle ground between absolute power and absolute freedom, interiority and exteriority, and an exploration into the possibilities for interaction in this strange and uncertain place. <br /><br /> Through this strategy, the thesis removes the issue of homelessness from the conventional framework of an economical problem, to understand it instead as an existential reality. Homelessness becomes an experience that involves real people and unseen identities; the shifts in the form of this work reflect the subtle idiosyncracies that arise from this subjective reading. In its exteriority, homelessness is related to the psychoanalytical notion of otherness: a quality that is emotional and uncontrolled, and exists outside of social laws. As a threat to public order, this quality is undesireable within society. Thus, the Other is an identity that becomes subjugated and hidden through the exercize of power. The thesis relies on established ideas, including Michel Foucault's exposure of this social repression, R. D. Laing's empathetic perception of ontological insecurity, and Julia Kristeva's essay on abjection, to give context to its ambiguous subject. Set against the tentative narration and notation of lived experiences, they seek to uncover the subjective identity of the Other, and to grasp the significance of his expulsion from the interior. The intention of this work is not to judge, or to implement solutions. Rather, it is passive and receptive, and exists largely in the mere <em>confrontation</em> of this estranged condition. <br /><br /> Out of this confrontation, the voices that were buried begin to emerge and assert themselves. Narrative, criticism, design, and visual essay become the vehicles that convey these voices and the multiplicity of their existential experiences, forming a reality from that which was previously invisible to the objective city. This mapping is a construction of displaced identities. The synthesis of these elements exposes the grounds for the possibility of new connections between individuals.

This study explores how middle-aged homeless persons in Atlanta, GA, who have harmful, self-identified addictive behaviors come to make positive material and psychological changes, while constrained by urban poverty and structural violence. This study is divided into two parts. In part one, I examine the interaction between individual, social, and material factors that promote recovery from addiction in a poor, urban context. I argue that recovery occurs through a process, initiated by a decision and realized through practice. Recovery is enhanced by a stable community and consistent material access. In part two, I examine how pain associated with homelessness can create a strong drive to intensify substance usage as a means to seek relief. I then describe how alienation, pain and corresponding addictive behaviors among homeless persons can be lessened through intentioned, empowering acts, which I call “symbolic love”. Finally, I offer policy recommendations based on my findings.

This thesis considers the condition of homelessness through its marginal position against society. Exteriority is often perceived as an abnormal state to be resolved through assimilation. To investigate it in its <em>relationship</em> with the inside, as opposites in a field of interaction, implies a constant state of reaction and change, instead of one that rests in a resolution. The thesis takes this form of continuous shifting between perspectives, media, scale of interaction, and locations, both physical and psychological. Its journey constitutes a search for a middle ground between absolute power and absolute freedom, interiority and exteriority, and an exploration into the possibilities for interaction in this strange and uncertain place. <br /><br /> Through this strategy, the thesis removes the issue of homelessness from the conventional framework of an economical problem, to understand it instead as an existential reality. Homelessness becomes an experience that involves real people and unseen identities; the shifts in the form of this work reflect the subtle idiosyncracies that arise from this subjective reading. In its exteriority, homelessness is related to the psychoanalytical notion of otherness: a quality that is emotional and uncontrolled, and exists outside of social laws. As a threat to public order, this quality is undesireable within society. Thus, the Other is an identity that becomes subjugated and hidden through the exercize of power. The thesis relies on established ideas, including Michel Foucault's exposure of this social repression, R. D. Laing's empathetic perception of ontological insecurity, and Julia Kristeva's essay on abjection, to give context to its ambiguous subject. Set against the tentative narration and notation of lived experiences, they seek to uncover the subjective identity of the Other, and to grasp the significance of his expulsion from the interior. The intention of this work is not to judge, or to implement solutions. Rather, it is passive and receptive, and exists largely in the mere <em>confrontation</em> of this estranged condition. <br /><br /> Out of this confrontation, the voices that were buried begin to emerge and assert themselves. Narrative, criticism, design, and visual essay become the vehicles that convey these voices and the multiplicity of their existential experiences, forming a reality from that which was previously invisible to the objective city. This mapping is a construction of displaced identities. The synthesis of these elements exposes the grounds for the possibility of new connections between individuals.

American cities have a combination of policies that both provide emergency services and restrict the movements and activities of homeless people. These policies are the product of active public debates that construct narratives that explain the causes of homelessness and characterize homeless people. I identify both the policy opportunities and limits created by the way interest groups talk about homelessness by weaving together framing theory with analysis of discursive units employed in the public discussions about homelessness published in the St. Petersburg Times, in Pinellas County, Florida. This county is representative of other metropolitan regions that experienced rapid growth, gentrification, and are now seeing skyrocketing rates of foreclosures. I situate this local debate within the nationally circulated publications referring to homelessness to identify underlying assumptions that shape the outcomes in Pinellas County and set the stage for similar discussions across the United States. I examine how these narratives function in collective action frames of homelessness, the resulting opposing views of who should respond, and how the issue of homelessness should be treated given the legal division between public and private property in our capitalistic society. Frames must be considered rhetoric because they are employed to advance persuasive arguments. The various issue and collective action frames used to shape city policies each form an argument about homelessness. Discursive units are the building blocks of these arguments. Hence, I examine the place of the discursive units of thematic values, anecdotal narratives, and characterizations within these frames. I find that the city council responds to the competing interest group frames by selectively adopting different discursive units from each group in order to frame the situation of homelessness in the region as a crisis. While maintaining the use of the same thematic values and anecdotal narratives, the government is able to transcend competing characterizations of the homeless, creating space for their new policies to pass and succeed with the support of constituents from opposed interest groups.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Geography. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-218). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ56185.

My dissertation focuses on the articulation of the concepts of precarity —i.e., temporary, affective, creative, immaterial and insecure labor—and community in an overheating system. My site of inquiry is homelessness broadly, but more specifically the labor of panhandling and the identity of “the panhandler.” I recognize that primary theorizations of precarity have located it as a problem of labor and economy. Others have looked at it from the sociological domain. My work looks at precarity as diffuse across social, political, and communal systems, but primarily as an effect of the problem of overheating as it manifests at varying levels of scale. Narrowing the global vision of such instability and insecurity to a local landscape—to streets, corners, traffic, the people who occupy infrastructural liminal zones and whose lives are precariously bound to the forces of speed and heat—reveals the critical nature of elemental metaphors. That is to say, if we might accept the thesis that we are in an epoch in which speed and time subsumes space and place, and if speed is another way of talking about heat, about intensities, then communication in the over-sped, overheated system is in dire straights. Precarity, I argue, is not causally linked to the breakdown in economy or the breakdown in affiliative bonds or networks—it does not precede or presage these shutdowns. Rather it is the shutdown. Precarity may now be viewed as the management and organization of social, political, affective, and communal bonds around economic and affiliative insecurities. I use ethnographic data from institutional meetings, and conversations with the key stakeholders at varying levels of scale, as well as textual analyses of local policies, news coverage, and public responses to those texts in order to understand how precarious communicative conditions affect the structuration of community and politics.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur socialarbetare resonerar kring olika grupper av hemlösa och om det finns skillnader i bedömningen av boendelösningar utifrån vilken orsak till hemlöshet en klient har. Uppsatsen baseras på personintervjuer med sex socialarbetare inom samma kommun. De teorier som användes för att analysera data var symbolisk interaktionism och stigmateori. Resultatet visade att socialarbetarna hade olika syn på skälen till hemlöshet då de arbetar på olika positioner inom kommunen och har olika erfarenhet av arbete med hemlösa. Utifrån de boendelösningar som den studerade kommunen erbjuder hade socialarbetarna olika sätt att se på dem. Några tyckte att det var för mycket krav på de hemlösa och inte tillräckligt med boendelösningar, medan andra inte höll med. Alla intervjupersonerna ansåg att bostadsmodellen Bostad först kan uppfattas som ett tillskott till möjligheter att lösa boendet för hemlösa eftersom modellen inte i första hand utgår från krav på att klienten ska vara drogfri. Socialarbetarna ansåg att ansvaret för de hemlösa ska vara på en samhällelig nivå, det vill säga att det inte är individen själv som har skapat problemet utan det sociala systemet i samhället och dessutom i förlängningen att hemlöshet i sig är ett samhälleligt skapat fenomen. / The aim of the essay was to examine how the social workers reason about the client’s reason for being homeless and how the social workers think about the housing solutions and if possible highlight the ambivalence that can be seen between the client’s reason for homelessness and the housing solutions that are at hand. This essay is based on interviews with six social workers with various titles within the same municipality. The theories that have been used are symbolic interactionism and stigma theory. The results show that these social workers have different attitudes with regard to the approach of the causes of homelessness. Based on the housing solutions of the municipality the social workers approached the homeless clients differently. Some social workers opinions were that there were too many requirements for the homeless to live up to and too few housing solutions to place them in. The social workers that were interviewed said that they believed that the housing model Housing First will be a great addition to the options in housing for the homeless. The reason for this attitude towards the model is that it is based on the requirement for abstinence. The social workers thought that the responsibility for the homeless ought to be on a society level, in other words it is not the individual itself that has created the problem but the social system. In a longer perspective this means that homelessness is created by society.

Homelessness has increased in the United States over the last 15 years, but one of the most distressing trends has been the increase of homeless families. Current literature suggests that healthcare services for the homeless family may be fragmented and difficult to access. Rationale for this study was to gain understanding of homeless families, and therefore increase the effectiveness of nurses working with homeless families.This qualitative study used a Heideggerian hermaneutical phenomenological approach as the philisophical framework. A script of questions and information about the study was presented to mothers at a shelter in a group meeting. The researcher then contacted each mother to learn of the mother's desire regarding participation. Seven mothers participanted. Shelter residents were informed that they may refuse participation or withdraw from the study at any time without prejudice from the researcher. Audio-taped interviews will took place in a private vacant office at the shelter. The researcher transcribed the interviews, eliminating any information (names, cities, agencies, relatives, etc.) that could identify the participants. Transcribed interviews were analyzed for common themes identified by the mothers. Audio-tapes were destroyed after data analysis.Risks involved included possible discomfort as residents discuss issues in their past. Should a mother become emotionally distressed in the interview, the researcher was prepared to assist her to identify coping resources. i ne motners were also iniormeu that, in one unlikely event information was shared that may indicate child abuse, the researcher was required to report child abuse to the State of Indiana. Benefits included ability to express feelings in a confidential setting. A $20 item of jewelry or a household commodity was presented to participants as an honorarium after completion of the interview.The lived experience of being a homeless mother with a family can only be fully understood by the mother who has lived the experience. Six common themes were identified by the mothers who participated in this study. Lack of assistance from biological fathers, or "I can't count on him" was a contributing factor towards the mothers' circumstances. Experience of a recent traumatic event without sufficient coping skills or resources emerged as a second theme, and was described by the quote "I don't know what to do." The third theme regarding the mother's concern for meeting the needs of their children was summarized by the insight "And kid's time don't stop." The perception of ineffective or demeaning treatment by helping agencies or "They really didn't care for me" was the fourth theme. The difficulty of carrying on family life was described in the fifth theme as "Things that are hard". And finally, the sixth theme described the difficulty in finding a residence as the mothers were told by landlords repeatedly, "I really don't have anything right now."The conclusion from the study was that homeless mothers and their familys have many needs not yet met by healthcare and helping agencies. This population is overwhelmed by the stresssors they face, and principles of crisis intervention are not adequately used to assist them. At the same time, these mothers demonstrate a great deal of concern and determination to care for their children.Through this study, nurses can learn of the obstacles common to homeless mothers, and the strengths that assist homeless mothers to persist and meet the needs of their family. By better understanding homeless families, nurses can adopt a more comprehensive approach to address their healthcare needs. / School of Nursing

Homelessness is an important social problem in Canada, and the needs and experiences of women may differ from those of other homeless people. Little research has looked beyond rehousing to examine community integration following homelessness. Predictive models of three distinct facets of community integration for women who have experienced homelessness are presented and tested in this thesis. The first model examines physical integration, which is defined in terms of attaining and retaining stable housing. The second model predicts economic integration, defined in terms of participation in work or education. The third model predicts psychological integration, defined as psychological sense of community in one’s neighbourhood. Data for this research comes from a two-year longitudinal study conducted in Ottawa. Participants were women aged 20 and over (N =101) who were homeless at the study’s outset. Family status was an important predictor of community integration. Women who were accompanied by dependent children were more likely than those unaccompanied by children to be physically, economically and psychologically integrated in their communities. Having access to subsidized housing predicted becoming rehoused and living in one’s current housing for longer. Greater perceived social support predicted living in one’s current housing for longer. Past work history and mental health functioning predicted economic integration. Lower levels of education predicted returns to full-time studies. Living in higher quality housing and having more positive contact with neighbours predicted psychological integration, while living in one’s current housing for longer predicted lower levels of psychological integration. Overall, participants achieved a moderate level of community integration. The majority had been housed for at least 90 days at follow-up. However, only a minority were participating in the workforce or education at follow-up. Participants achieved only a moderate level of psychological integration. Results are discussed in terms of implications for policy and service provision. Improvements in the availability and quality of affordable housing, as well as employment support are recommended. Special attention needs to be paid to providing adequate and effective services for women who are unaccompanied by dependent children. / Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la societé et la culture

There is a growing body of research on homelessness, and collective action amongst the homeless. Tent cities are examples of self-help housing efforts. Tent cities are erected as shelter and make poverty visible in public domains. The form and interaction of tent cities are context specific. The perceptions of tent city participants in Canada remain partly understood by researchers. The aim of this thesis is to investigate activism and collective mobilization in one tent city – Cridge Park tent city - from the perspectives of tent city participants. I questioned what the experiences in the tent city meant for participants, their perceived public reaction to the tent city, and whether the research participants continue their activism beyond Cridge Park tent city. I present an empirically-grounded case study to uncover four participants’ perspectives of their involvement. I used qualitative research methods to access the perspectives of tent cities from four Cridge Park tent city participants. Cridge Park participants spoke of Cridge Park tent city as a “community” where they enjoyed freedom to negotiate their individual identity and where they found security and safety, which they lost when the tent city was closed. Including houseless persons in the decision-making process for services and policies that directly impact them is required to better meet their needs. Comparative research could investigate contextual differences and influences on the success or failure of tent cities as forms of social movement activities. / Graduate