This study explores the implementation and impact of Supporting People, a policy of the New Labour and Coalition governments of 1997 to the present designed to provide housing related support to those considered vulnerable. The theoretical framework uses concepts from past studies of implementation, policy networks, governmentality, path dependency, other temporal concepts and a recent heuristic that provides an independent framework for analysing policy success. This conceptual framework was used in exploring the history of care and support services in the UK; assessing the successes and failures of the past. The study then looks at the drivers and policy goals for Supporting People and at some of the key reviews and studies of it thus far. The fieldwork uses a “mixed methods” approach utilising both quantitative and qualitative methods. An initial survey gathered views from a range of supported housing professionals, followed by a series of in-depth interviews with management practitioners from Supporting People funded organisations. Both stages utilised ideas from the conceptual framework in asking about implementation processes and successes and failures of the programme. This section also explores the use of evidence, dissemination and impact. In terms of the Supporting People policy, the study found a number of areas of strengths on which to build e.g. increased funding and improved strategic frameworks, but also many areas of weakness that require improvement. These include protection for funding, consistency across local authorities, fragmented structures of related policy networks and the top-down implementation style of the policy – there were lessons from No Second Night Out (NSNO) – Leicester in this regard. This was a piece of evaluative research carried out in tandem with the main study and integrated into it. The study found a consistent failure to provide adequate services for vulnerable people; services had failed to build up sufficient path dependent processes to protect them from funding and other resources being diverted to other priorities. The lack of a legislative and conceptual consensus around what it means to be “well housed” was key.

This thesis explores Gustavo Gutiérrez‟s and John Milbank‟s articulations of the doctrine of creation, with a view to developing a criterion that can be used to inform our understanding and evaluation of Christian charities that address homelessness and operate in contemporary British civil society. Milbank and Gutiérrez‟s works both ask questions of the peace or life that can be instituted through charitable practices. They also develop, from the doctrine of creation, their own theological accounts of social and political orders, normative anthropologies, and accounts of the interpersonal. For both Milbank and Gutiérrez, the doctrine of creation maintains a paradox: the internality and externality of the created world in relation to God. Part One of this thesis explores these respective accounts of charity and creation, noting the strengths and limitations of each position. Part One ends with a qualified endorsement of Gutiérrez‟s theology and defends the utility of the criterion he deploys in his work to judge the task of theology and praxis of the church: integral liberation. The second part of this thesis progresses in three steps. First, I put forward a theological methodology which is attentive to the logic of theo-political language and our current neoliberal socio-political order. I argue that it is prudent to think of political theology as a counter-hegemonic discourse, and in dialogue with Ernesto Laclau and Chantel Mouffe, Francis Schüssler Fiorenza and Gutiérrez, I explore and endorse political theology as spiral in character. I go on to extend Laclau and Mouffe‟s analysis of neoliberalism by developing and defending the hypothesis: 'charities are dual'. By engaging with the work of Frank Prochaska, this section argues that charities are both religious and political, as well as being both internal and external to the state apparatus. Furthermore, I contend that charities constitute and ameliorate the social exclusion attributed to homelessness, and that selfless giving, under the current circumstances, is internal to a process of volunteer self-making. By attending to the dualities of homelessness charities, this part of the thesis sets charities in their current context and proposes an elective affinity between current charitable practices and the hegemony of neoliberalism. At the end of the thesis, I return to the doctrine of creation and ask how attention to this doctrinal locus can help us to move homelessness charities beyond their dependence on the existence of homeless people, and their embeddedness in our current neoliberal arrangement. I argue that charities, and civil society more broadly, have an important role to play in envisioning and establishing a theo-politics of common life. To do so, I contend that we need to articulate a robust account of the role of the state, must defend human rights, nurture egalitarian and non-hierarchical charitable practices, be attentive to what the homeless can teach charities and volunteers about our current order, and reform aspects of charitable law. In each of these cases, I defend a paradoxical politics of integral liberation. In summary, this thesis aims to make an original contribution to the growing body of literature that explores homelessness and theology by coordinating the paradox of creation, the duality of charity, and the double truths of neoliberalism.

With the increase in quality of life (QoL) research in recent years and its relationship to physical and mental health, building a model of these relationships is an important pursuit for researchers with the aim of creating targeted social policy and programs. Two studies were designed to test a model of the relationship between quality of life, physical health, and mental health on two different groups in the National-Capital region: a housed sample and a homeless and vulnerably housed sample. Study 1 consisted of 1,339 adults who took part in the 2007-2008 Canadian Community Health Survey and were stably housed in either a rented or owned residence. Study 2 consisted of 395 single adults who participated in the City of Ottawa baseline measure of the Health and Housing in Transition (HHiT) study (Hwang, Aubry, et al., 2011) and were homeless or vulnerably housed. Subjective levels of various physical and mental health indicators were measured for each of the samples, along with subjective quality of life indicators. Of interest in each of the studies was: 1) The effect that physical and mental health factors have on quality of life in each of the samples, and 2) determining if mental health or physical health is a better predictor of quality of life. Structural analysis of the housed sample model resulted in both physical and mental health having a significant positive effect on QoL, although neither physical nor mental health was a better predictor of quality of life. For the homeless and vulnerably housed model, structural analysis determined mental health to have a significant direct positive effect on QoL, while physical health showed a non-significant negative effect. Mental health was determined to be a significantly better predictor of QoL in the homeless and vulnerably housed model, accounting for 30.47 percent of the variance in quality of life. Implications of this research are discussed.

While tobacco use remains a leading preventable risk factor for mortality and morbidity in Canada (Patra, Rehm, Baliunas & Popova, 2007), the overall smoking prevalence rate of Canadians has decreased substantially from close to 50% of the population in 1965 to 16.1% of the population in 2012 (Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS) 2012; Reid, Hammond, Rynard & Burkhalter, 2014). However, up to 85% of individuals with a mental illness continue to use tobacco products (Harris, Parle & Gagne, 2007), contributing to an inequitable distribution of negative health outcomes for this population. Individuals with severe mental illness die an estimated twenty-five years earlier than the general population, with sixty per cent of these deaths due to cardiovascular, pulmonary and infectious disease (Parks, Svendsen, Singer, & Foti, 2006). A recent study that examined specific tobacco-attributable deaths in these populations found that tobacco accounted for 53% of deaths in individuals with schizophrenia, 50% of all deaths for those diagnosed with a depressive disorder, and 48% of all deaths for those with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (Callaghan et al., 2014). This research project is intended to increase our understanding of what constitutes an effective intervention for smoking cessation and smoking reduction in a population of individuals with severe mental illness who are homeless or vulnerably housed, living in a large urban setting. Two areas of inquiry were proposed. The first inquiry examined data collected as part of a needs assessment to determine the overall prevalence rate of smoking and related behaviours for a population of individuals with severe mental illness receiving services from a community mental health agency. We found that the tobacco use prevalence was 72%, and 62% of smokers had high or very high levels of nicotine dependence; however almost half of respondents (47%) were interested in quitting or reducing tobacco within the next 6 months. Smokers were found to be over 9 times more likely to have a co-occurring substance use disorder (OR=9.44, 95%CI[6.33,14.08]). The second inquiry was a pilot study conducting a randomized controlled trial design to evaluate smoking cessation and smoking reduction outcomes for two groups of individuals (n=61) with severe mental illness receiving different smoking cessation interventions. Clients randomly assigned to the routine Smoking Cessation group (SC-R) received up to 24 weeks of no-cost Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and clients assigned to the Smoking Cessation Plus group (SC+) received up to 24 weeks of no-cost Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) plus two initial individual sessions of motivational interviewing followed by weekly psychosocial group interventions for up to 24 weeks. Primary outcomes were levels of tobacco use at the 3-month and 6-month follow-up. The 7-day point prevalence abstinence rate measured at 3 months was 21.9% (n=7) for the SC+ group and 13.8% (n=4) for the SC-R group (OR=1.75,95%CI[.46,6.74]). At 6 months, the 7-day point prevalence abstinence rate was 12.5% (n=4) for the SC+ group and 6.9% (n=2) for the SC-R group (OR=1.93, 95%CI[.33,11.41]). Secondary outcomes included change in reported quality of life, physical health and mental health status functioning over the course of the study. We found that there were no statistically significant differences in the smoking quit or smoking reduction rates between the two treatment groups. At the 3-month time point the overall quit rate for both groups combined was 18% (n=11) and at the 6-month time point the quit rate was 10% (n=6). Reduction in the number of daily cigarettes smoked was statistically significant over time (F [1.68, 98.90] = 55.13, p < .001, η p 2 = 0.48) for both groups, as was the overall reduction of the FTND score (F [2, 94] = 17.98, p < .001, η p 2 = 0.28). This research demonstrates that collecting vital tobacco prevalence and dependency information is a straightforward and important task for community mental health agencies. Individuals with mental illness have both the interest and ability to quit or reduce their use of tobacco. Practitioners need to be aware of alternative smoking practices that may contribute to understanding tobacco use patterns and dependence in this population. Other factors such as co-morbid substance use disorder and level of community functioning may influence smoking status and, consequently, how treatment is provided. The findings of the pilot trial demonstrate the feasibility of conducting smoking cessation research with the population. Findings also suggest that a larger definitive trial is warranted to examine the effectiveness of the SC+ intervention. This research adds to the limited but growing knowledge base of how to address tobacco use and provide treatment to this vulnerable group, and will contribute to advances in population health by informing effective interventions with the attendant implications for program and policy development.

This thesis explores why the commonly used broad definition of homelessness endorsed by many analysts and academics in the contemporary literature is not useful in devising effective housing policy to alleviate the most urgent needs of those who are without safe, healthy, permanent and affordable shelter. The broad definition views homelessness as the absence of permanent home over which inhabitants have personal control and which provides shelter, privacy, security at an affordable cost together with ready access to social, economic and cultural public services. It is often contrasted with a narrow definition of homelessness. While the narrow definition only focus on the needs of the absolute homeless (i.e., people without a roof over their head), the broad definition employs a comprehensive perspective to take into consideration the needs of the at risk homeless (i.e., people who are at the risk of losing their home) as well. Housing analysts who endorse the broad definition of homelessness believe that by framing the issue in its wider context they may be able to induce public policy change to tackle homelessness broadly in the public agenda. However, contrary to this well-intended motive, this study finds that the broad definition may actually hinder policy decision making to respond effectively and efficiently to those who are most in need. It does so for five reasons: 1) its broadness is inconsistent with the ideological and political realities in a homeownership dominant housing system; 2) it contains an inadequately formulated category of "at risk homeless" which ignores or dismisses the housing difficulties (e.g., affordability, suitability and adequacy) of the at risk homeowners; 3) it fails to establish precise boundaries of the broadly defined homeless population mainly due to technical and political ramifications; 4) it is weak in coalescing inter-agency, community and individual support and advocacy; and 5) the broader the definition the bigger the social problem and the more the public resources required to address the issue broadly which in turn undermines the concept's utility in generating welfare consensus to mobilize resources in assisting the weakest members in the community. In order to redirect housing policy decision making to be responsive to the neediest, this thesis proposes that: 1) the potential utility of Housing Dimension of Homelessness must be distinguished from the "general" broad conception of homelessness so that policy specific focus can be given to each individual dimension of homelessness to facilitate immediate actions and solutions to aid each target group (e.g., housing dimension of homelessness focuses mainly on housing aspect of homelessness therefore the concept has the highest utility for investigating housing problems and formulating housing solutions for people with severe basic shelter need. The general broad view of homelessness focuses on all contributing factors of homelessness equally therefore the concept has the highest utility in investigating broader social issues such as social inequality); 2) homeless should be recategorized into five subgroups: at risk renters, at risk homeowners, street homeless, shelter homeless and by-choice homeless in order to increase the concepts' utility for prioritizing needs and allocating public resources to aid the neediest; and 3) policies and programs for the homeless must be targeted at "shelter homeless" and "street homeless" instead of "homeless" as a general broad category to ascertain that the most vulnerable members in the community will receive the highest priority assistance in Canada's housing system. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The United States is in the midst of demographic transformation that will continue to diversify the cultural, ethnic, racial, and linguistic landscape of the country. Within the last decade, millions of immigrant families have emigrated to the U.S. to escape tremendous hardships in their native countries. These families are guided by the hope of creating a stable, safe, and comfortable environment for their children. Unfortunately, the pathway to citizenship and authorized entry into the U.S. is convoluted (Kremer, Moccio,& Hammell, 2009) and families are frequently assigned wait times that can last several years (U.S. Department of State, 2013). These very long wait times are an unfortunate reality for several families, which is one of the many reasons some families enter the U.S. without authorization. Upon arrival into the U.S., many immigrant families experience anti-immigrant attitudes, prejudicial law enforcement practices, and feel socially isolated. The U.S. born children of these immigrant families are at risk for being separated from their parents who lack authorized resident status. In this regard, over 100,000 parents of U.S. citizen children were deported between 1998 and 2007 (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2012). However, little is known about how these children cope with the loss of their parents. To date, no research has been conducted that measures the psychosocial impact of parental absence because of aggressive immigration enforcement. Thus, a patent need exists for research on the psychosocial implications of parental absence in a child's life because of deportation. This study addressed the psychosocial impact of parental loss because of aggressive immigration enforcement. All participants of this study completed a demographic questionnaire and two technically adequate standardized psychosocial assessments that measured emotional symptoms. A two-group independent samples design was employed that included a sample of youth who were homeless because their parents were impacted by immigration and customs enforcement and a sample of youth who were homeless for other reasons. The present study sought to answer the following questions: Are there significant differences in emotional symptoms between youth who are living on their own as a result of immigration enforcement in comparison to those youth who are living on their own for other reasons? Are there significant differences in emotional symptoms between U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen youth? Do significant differences exist in perceptions of school climate between youth who are living on their own as a result of immigration enforcement in comparison to those youth who are living on their own for other reasons? Is the quality of relationships with parents significantly different between youth who are living on their own as a result of immigration enforcement in comparison to those youth who are living on their own for other reasons? Do significant differences exist in emotional symptoms between youth whose parents have been impacted by immigration and customs enforcement (ICE; Impacted by ICE group) in comparison to youth whose parents have been impacted by immigration enforcement for other reasons (Homeless for Other Reasons group)? Lastly, are there significant differences in perception of school climate between U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen youth? Results of this study did not reveal significant differences in emotional symptoms between the Impacted by ICE group and the Homeless for Other Reasons group. However, in terms of how they perceived their relationships with their parents, the Impacted by Immigration group reported more positive relations with their parents. There were significant differences regarding perceptions of school climate between the Impacted by ICE and Homeless for Other Reasons groups. Intra-group analyses within the Impacted by Immigration group indicated significant differences in perceptions of school climate among authorized U.S. citizens and unauthorized non-U.S. citizens. Unauthorized non-U.S. citizens tended to perceive school climate more favorably than U.S. citizens.

The study examined relations between a cross-cultural geographically mobile childhood and adult cultural identity, attachment to cross-cultural identities (CCIs) and self-esteem. CCIs are loosely defined identities (e.g., third culture kids [TCKs], military brats, missionary kids) that describe some individuals' childhood cross-cultural experience. The 475 participants spent at least two years before age 18 in a culture different from their parents' and completed an online survey including childhood cross-cultural experiences, Cultural Homelessness Criteria, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and Self Label Identity Measure (SLIM) that captured strength of affirmation, belonging and commitment to any CCI. Cultural homelessness (CH) was related to lower self-esteem; higher SLIM scores was related to higher self-esteem and lower CH. TCKs reported lower self-esteem than non-TCKs and older participants experienced less CH and higher self-esteem. SLIM scores buffered the CH-self-esteem relationship, whereas a TCK CCI and having more cross-culturally experienced social networks did not.

The number of homeless people in Malmö has increased in recent years, which makes it a relevant subject to study. Structural homelessness has grown to be the most common reason to homelessness. Earlier social homelessness was the most common reason. How does that effect the work with the clients in social homelessness and how is the support designed. The reasons above makes it an interesting subject to study.This study mainly focuses on similarities and differences in the view of the support between professionals at Social Services and Housing First for people in social homelessness.The study has been conducted with a qualitative approach in which six semi structured interviews have been carried out with social workers at the Social Services and at Housing First.The results from the interviews were then analyzed through a thematic analysis using organizational theory.The main differences that were shown in the results were differences in support between Social Services and Housing First in the way they work with clients in social homelessness. The result also shows a common view of the need for more support efforts.

This is a qualitative, mixed-methods study that focuses on the dispositions that preservice teachers bring into teacher education programs in regard to homelessness. Teacher education programs play an important role in providing preservice teachers experiences teaching that prepare them for working with diverse populations of students. Students enrolled in an elementary art methods course and participated in a civic engagement experience, teaching children after school who were living in a transitional housing program. The results of this study showed evidence that working in community settings with diverse students can alter preservice teachers' notions and awareness of impoverished and homeless children. As a researcher, it is my hope that this alteration will significantly impact the way that pre-service teachers interact with all of their future students.

The issue of homelessness is one that many cities and states in the United States have to contend with; however, the issue of homelessness on an island can be even more difficult to find viable solutions. The homeless problem on the island of O`ahu is one that affects not only residents but also tourists. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to reveal the perceptions of policy makers on the island of O`ahu, Hawai`i if diffusing public policy from Salt Lake City, Utah, would help ameliorate homelessness on the island. The theoretical framework was the diffusion theory and diffusions of innovation. These conceptual frameworks provided a lens to find viable solutions to reduce homelessness on O`ahu. Data was collected utilizing a triangulation process, whereas surveys were completed and collected from 18 policy makers, 3 knowledgeable sources were interviewed, and reports and articles from Salt Lake City and O`ahu were analyzed regarding homeless policies to ascertain whether diffusing policy would ameliorate homelessness on O`ahu. The data collected was then analyzed and hand coded to identify themes and patterns. Results indicated that affordable housing, a coordination of services, as well as a collaborative relationship with other organizations, would help with reducing homelessness on O`ahu. Furthermore, adopting policy from Salt Lake City would have to be adjusted for cultural issues of the population as well as a shortage of available land on O`ahu; however, the majority of the lawmakers found value in the plan implemented in Salt Lake City. The implications for positive social change are directed at informing policy makers about the necessity to diffuse policy from Salt Lake City to ameliorate homelessness on O`ahu.