Urban homelessness is one of the most blatant forms of social exclusion in advanced capitalist societies. In Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, homelessness has become particularly entrenched due to systemic forces such as global economic recession, the restructuring of regional economies, the dismantlement of the welfare state, and the erosion of affordable housing that together have pushed more people towards economic marginality and housing insecurity. Despite years of advocacy and 'high profile' government investments, homelessness has persisted as an intransigent social problem. A central purpose of this doctoral thesis is to provide some insight into how homelessness is being 'managed' in one Canadian city. The papers gathered together in this dissertation are based on three years of ethnographic fieldwork (conducted between 2006 and 2009) in a medium-sized, de-industrializing city in the province of Ontario. The specific focus of the thesis is the emergency shelter system. Over the past ten years, a number of new social service models have emerged in response to rising rates of homelessness. As these have been adopted homeless shelter systems in many Canadian cities have undergone significant reconfigurations. This thesis focuses on some of the new 'management spaces' that are emerging in this unfolding policy context. The first paper explores the experiences of voluntary sector organizations and local state authorities. The second paper explores the experiential dimensions of a unique service environment providing emergency shelter and social services. The third paper examines the personal experiences of chronically homeless men as they adapt to life in an innovative 'special care' facility. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

MA (English) / Department of English / In this study, I explore the depiction of homelessness in K. Sello Duiker’s Thirteen Cents (2000) and Phaswane Mpe’s Welcome to Our Hillbrow (2001). Against the background of post-colonial and transcultural theories, I explore the effects of homelessness on select characters depicted in the two novels, particularly how homelessness and its effects impact on the characters’ identity and human dignity, as some of the themes which the two authors deal with. I achieve this through a close analysis of themes, characterisation and style as well as a demonstration of how the metaphor of the plight of the homeless is drawn from the experiences of the homeless characters portrayed in the novels. I establish, through this study, that the two novels depict characters on whose identity and human dignity, colonialism had an adverse impact. I argue that the corroded dignity and identity of the select homeless characters can be restored through the application of the tenets of transcultural theory. I consistently identify the central morals of the two novels under study as highlighting the need for society to address the plight central to the two novels’ major themes of homelessness, poverty, identity and human dignity against the backdrop of postcoloniality and transculturalism.

Ho Chui-ming. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 210-223). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / List of Plates --- p.i / Abstract --- p.iii / Acknowledgements --- p.v / Introduction The Quest for the Agency of Street Sleepers --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter One --- Literature Review and Theoretical Framework --- p.9 / Chapter I. --- Reading Street Sleepers: To Review the Past Studies --- p.9 / Chapter II. --- Center and Margin: To Approach the Operation of Power --- p.24 / Chapter III. --- Domination and Resistance: To Bring the Human Agency Backin --- p.26 / Chapter IV. --- From Spatial Resistance to Spatial Formation --- p.31 / Chapter V. --- From Identity Formation to Unfixing the Body --- p.35 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Methodology and Contexutualization --- p.40 / Chapter I. --- A Qualitative Research on Street Life --- p.40 / Chapter II. --- Triangulated Methods: Ethnography and Non-Reactive Method --- p.41 / Chapter III. --- The Profile of the Subjects --- p.48 / Chapter IV. --- Contextualizing the Study and Locating the Researcher --- p.53 / Chapter V. --- The Context: Yaumatei --- p.55 / Chapter Chapter Three --- Persistence of Street Sleeping: Beyond Housed/ Non-housed --- p.69 / Chapter I. --- Home Ownership --- p.70 / Chapter II. --- Rental System in Private Market --- p.73 / Chapter III. --- Public Housing --- p.77 / Chapter IV. --- Shelter and Hostel for Street Sleepers --- p.80 / Chapter V. --- Rehabilitation Program for Substance Users --- p.84 / Chapter VI. --- Open Space --- p.86 / Chapter VII --- Concluding Remarks: Beyond Housed/Non-housed --- p.91 / Chapter Chapter Four --- Producing a Livable Space: A Space of Resistance --- p.95 / Chapter I. --- A Production of Space: The Spatial Arrangement --- p.95 / Chapter II. --- A Space of Resistance: The Spatio-social Relations --- p.111 / Chapter III. --- Concluding Remarks: Marginal Space and Livable Space --- p.135 / Chapter Chapter Five --- Narratives of Identity: Fixing and Unfixing the Body --- p.139 / Chapter I. --- The Construction of Social Identities --- p.139 / Chapter II. --- The Multiplicity of Self Narratives --- p.144 / Chapter III. --- Concluding Remarks: Negotiating Identities in Everyday Life --- p.159 / Chapter Chapter Six --- Conclusion --- p.163 / Epilogue --- p.173 / Appendix A The Profile of the Subjects --- p.176 / Appendix B The Alternative Map of Yaumatei --- p.189 / Appendix C The Benches and the Chairs in Yaumatei --- p.206 / Appendix D Glossary --- p.207 / Bibliography --- p.210

The purpose of this study was to conduct a needs assessment of homeless children and explore possible solutions to better meet the needs of homeless children and reduce the risks of intergenerational homelessness in San Bernardino County.

This thesis analyzes the impact of the political decision to broaden the scope of the Government of Canada's 3-year National Homelessness Initiative (Human Resource Development Canada, NHI, 2002) from an urban focus to one that includes smaller communities. This change provided the opportunity to study the phenomenon of homelessness and how rural responses are formed. This author postulates that this focus of attention on an almost invisible phenomenon—rural homelessness—and the accompanying community planning processes funded by the Supportive Community Partnership Initiative (SCPI) will impact local social policy development. A multi-dimensional analytical approach was adopted and considered three components: first, a policy review, a broad look at the policy agenda framework in Canada; then, a case study to illustrate implementation issues related to the National Homelessness Initiative; and, finally, a reflection on current practice in order to realize a holistic critique of public policy. The influence of socio-economic, political, and cultural factors on local planning and capacity building will be highlighted. Various models of governance were adopted across the country and guided the collaborative processes. This thesis presents an in-depth look at the community action plans and activities of the Simcoe County Alliance to End Homelessness (SCATEH) in both the rural and urban settings of Simcoe County. The processes adopted, capacity building components identified, and outcomes over the 7 years covered by the SCPI agreement are examined. The limitations of using participatory local action planning to respond to complex issues such as homelessness are detailed along with a modified community-based policy development model recommended as a learning tool to be used by those volunteers acting as agents of change. It is widely recognized that safe, affordable social housing is a fundamental need, and one that is extremely difficult to meet. The contribution this research makes is to reveal how effective government-community partnerships can be in a rural setting.

This thesis analyzes the impact of the political decision to broaden the scope of the Government of Canada's 3-year National Homelessness Initiative (Human Resource Development Canada, NHI, 2002) from an urban focus to one that includes smaller communities. This change provided the opportunity to study the phenomenon of homelessness and how rural responses are formed. This author postulates that this focus of attention on an almost invisible phenomenon—rural homelessness—and the accompanying community planning processes funded by the Supportive Community Partnership Initiative (SCPI) will impact local social policy development. A multi-dimensional analytical approach was adopted and considered three components: first, a policy review, a broad look at the policy agenda framework in Canada; then, a case study to illustrate implementation issues related to the National Homelessness Initiative; and, finally, a reflection on current practice in order to realize a holistic critique of public policy. The influence of socio-economic, political, and cultural factors on local planning and capacity building will be highlighted. Various models of governance were adopted across the country and guided the collaborative processes. This thesis presents an in-depth look at the community action plans and activities of the Simcoe County Alliance to End Homelessness (SCATEH) in both the rural and urban settings of Simcoe County. The processes adopted, capacity building components identified, and outcomes over the 7 years covered by the SCPI agreement are examined. The limitations of using participatory local action planning to respond to complex issues such as homelessness are detailed along with a modified community-based policy development model recommended as a learning tool to be used by those volunteers acting as agents of change. It is widely recognized that safe, affordable social housing is a fundamental need, and one that is extremely difficult to meet. The contribution this research makes is to reveal how effective government-community partnerships can be in a rural setting.

The aim of this study was to use stories from three people who previously lived in homelessness to increase the knowledge of the social network's impact on the process of exiting homelessness. In order to answer our questions, whether the social network facilitated or hindered the way out of homelessness, we have used a narrative method to take advantage of these person's life stories. As a theoretical perspective, we used the ecology of human development, based on the idea that human development occurs in interaction with their environment at different levels. Results showed those interviewees' networks had a significant impact on their path out of homelessness and that these relationships both facilitated and hindered this process. At the same time, these relationships affected our interviewees in different ways and were found in various areas of life, which indicates that there is more than one way out of homelessness. However, common patterns emerged in these stories that said that the relationships facilitated consisted of those who have supported and encouraged our interviewees in their way out of homelessness. While hindering relations consisted of those who disbelieved in the interviewees abilities and not supported when needed most.

Families lacking adequate housing are increasingly becoming a concern for social services throughout Sweden, challenging a key promise of the social democratic universalist welfare-state. This raises questions about experiences of parenthood under the threat of facing homelessness or while living in temporary and inadequate residence in the Swedish context. A qualitative, explorative interview study among parents without access to the housing market and housed by social services is proposed for this investigation. Interview-analysis using an inductive thematic framework-based model with content-analysis and interpretation suggests that the sample groups perceptions of reality revolves around four main interconnected themes or categories; housing history, mental processes, child-parent relationship, adaptation. These categories each accommodates subthemes such as process, exclusion, depression, repetitive thinking, closeness. Participants housing history is viewed as a process encompassing experiences of inadequacy and their mental processes seems to be dominated by different dimensions and levels of stress, depression and cognitive malfunctioning associated with future plans and living space. The study indicates that these experiences forge a strong and close parent-child relationship and seems to affect participants’ way of viewing their position in society. Observing the results through a theoretical lens concludes that concepts drawn from systems theory, social constructivist ideas such as social representation and positioning theory widens our understanding of how participants situation. Results are also in line with previous qualitative as well as quantitative studies, and can be used to construct concepts and hypothesises regarding identity, class, exclusion and family relations that needs to be tested in further research. Finally, results suggest a careful approach within a social work context towards families living under studied living conditions. It seems pivotal to be aware of how unstable housing can affect mental processes, self-identity and family relationships but keeping in mind that these individual factors are linked to societal structures that lie at the core of homeless or at risk homeless parents’ situation.

The purpose of this project was to find out whether or not there were specific factors that made homeless people depressed. Finding depression factors will help to establish strategies and programs that would prevent homeless people from being depressed. The current study tested the hypothesis that basic needs and education are needed to help in factoring depression.

This thesis titled "Integration of Homeless People into Czech Society " deals with the process of setting public political agenda and the related homelessness (and social exlusion) control policy in the Czech Republic during 2000-2013. This process falls behind in comparison with other countries or even worse - it is completely missed out. Growing number of social exluded people is the result of these faults. The aim is to evaluate conceptual and strategic approach to the integration of homeless people and to the system of homelessness prevention in social work and public administration. Following methods are used: critical discourse analysis, event analysis of public policies and semi-structured interviews with selected respondents. The main deficiency of the homelessness control policy can be the lack of systematic research strategy at the national level, which manifests itself in ineffective approach to homelessness prevention. Primarily a lack of awareness is also the cause of homelessness prevention. Public education would help to understand the roots of homelessness and to comprehend the possibilities of help. Thesis also compares approaches to homelessness prevention in selected countries during the reviewed period.