This study examined a segment of the homeless population who participated in a jobs training program. The research investigated the effect of socioeconomic status, self-esteem, and locus of control on the clients in getting and keeping jobs. The training was a comprehensive 36-day treatment dealing with three major areas: (a) how to get a job, (b) how to keep a job, and (c) how to develop life-coping skills. A quasi-experimental research design was used for testing by t-tests, two-by-two repeated-measured anova, chi-square tests, and regression analysis. The findings showed that high socioeconomic status clients demonstrated higher self-esteem and internal locus of control than low socioeconomic status clients at the start of the treatment. The treatment had a significant effect on both groups with an increase in self-esteem and internal locus of control and a decrease in both external locus of control dimensions of powerful others and chance. The treatment had a greater effect on the low socioeconomic status clients than on the high socioeconomic status clients on increases in self-esteem and locus of control—internal. Both groups were successful in finding jobs, with 79% for high socioeconomic status clients and 74% for low socioeconomic status clients having jobs at the end of the treatment. Both high self-esteem and high socioeconomic status had a positive effect on the length of time over a sixmonth period following treatment that clients were able to maintain employment (job retention). This study must be considered largely as exploratory in its findings. Restrictions in the selection process prevented the results from being generalized. It does, however, provide a very important profile of a segment of the homeless population that can be useful in the research for new and improved methods of dealing with the problems of the homeless unemployed.

Masters in Research Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand, 2016 / Stories of home and homelessness: Young men’s experiences of Jo’burg city centre. This study paper aimed to explore phenomenon of homelessness through the narratives of young men living in Johannesburg. Current research focuses on 1) the prevalence of homelessness or 2) homelessness in relation to social problems. While the first focus serves to perpetuate the conceptualisation of homelessness as only about the absence of a house, the second focus identifies homeless people as the social problem and fails to recognise the social factors that cause and maintain this phenomenon. This study views home+less+ness as not just the lack of shelter but also as a state or experience that is not separate from the rest of the individual life. Seven young men were recruited on the basis of being currently or recently homeless, or living on the streets. The data were collected through narrative interviews and subjected to two forms’ of analysis, thematic analysis and a structural analysis that maps movement in space and time. Main themes identified were related to home as elsewhere; home (lessness) and belonging in past, present; and imagined future relationships and spaces. Mapping the life histories of the participants reveals trajectories of frequent movement, including that participants may journeys ‘home’ to their places of origin but always once again returning to the streets of Johannesburg. This suggests that the conventional ideas of home as a safe space of belonging and homelessness as a place of loss and hopelessness, are not binary, rather these are oscillating, intertwined experiences / GR2017

Johannesburg is a melting pot of people from different walks of life who have come to the city on the pursuit of happiness. Hillbrow is a neighbourhood infamous for its criminal activities. It is the point of arrival for many of the people who travel to Johannesburg looking for work, making it a very hostile environment for the vulnerable. Human trafficking is a highly lucrative business in South Africa. The global market for human trafficking is at $42, 5-billion (about R317-billion). In the Children’s Act 38, Section 194 of 2005 one of clauses refers to the needs of young women affected by human trafficking, (Mahery, Jamieson, & Scott, 2011). There is a clear need for a re-imagined approach to the typology of shelters provided through welfare structures. Young women need shelters in the inner city that are tailored for their specific needs especially the vast majority who are forced into the city through prostitution and human trafficking. This thesis deals with the design of a new typology that best addresses the needs of a shelter for young women in the city.

Le phénomène du sans-abrisme évoque la plupart du temps des images d’hommes, seuls, exposés dans les espaces publics et pratiquant la mendicité. Or, le sans abrisme se conjugue également au féminin. Cette thèse de sociologie propose d’interroger l’expérience des femmes sans abri à partir des modalités d’accueil et des pratiques de catégorisation des sexes observées dans les dispositifs d’accueil et d’hébergement à Saint-Etienne et à Montréal. Au croisement de la sociologie du sans-abrisme et de la sociologie du genre, ce travail vise à comprendre d’une part la place des femmes sans abri dans le monde de l’assistance et d’autre part, comment l’assistance participe à fabriquer le genre des individus qui y ont recours. Au moyen d’une ethnographie comparative, je montre que, si au Québec l’itinérance des femmes est devenue un problème public, en France, les femmes tendent à être accueillies et prises en charge avec les hommes (mixité des sexes) et « comme » des personnes singulières. L’observation de cette différence de traitement des femmes en France et au Québec a permis l’élaboration de deux grammaires de l’assistance : celle de la « personne » qui tend à désexualiser les individus et qui souligne la nécessité de reconnaissance de la singularité des êtres accueillis, faisant du genre et des catégories de sexes des « petits troubles » situés à la marge des situations et celle de la « vulnérabilité de genre » qui insiste explicitement sur les violences multiples dont les femmes sans abri sont l’objet et qui induit une forme de justice sociale basée sur la reconnaissance de la différence de l’expérience des femmes. / Homelessness often evokes images of lonely men, exposed in public spaces and begging. However, the phenomenon of homelessness also includes women. This doctoral dissertation in sociology proposes to investigate the experience of homeless women based on the welcoming methods and gender categorization practices observed in day centers and shelters in Saint-Etienne (France) and Montreal (Canada). At the crossroads of sociology of homelessness and sociology of gender, this work aims to understand the place of homeless women in the world of assistance and how assistance contributes to the making of gender in/for people who use it. Drawing on a comparative ethnography, we demonstrate that, while in Quebec women's homelessness has become a public problem, in France, women tend to be welcomed and cared for among men (“gender mixity”) and "as" singular people. The observation of this difference in the treatment of women in France and Quebec has led to the elaboration of two grammars for assistance: (1) a grammar of "person" who tends to desexualize individuals and who emphasizes the need to recognize the singularity of the people being welcomed, making gender and gender categories of the "small troubles" located at the margin of situations (2) and a grammar of "gender vulnerability" which explicitly insists on violence undergone by homeless women, and implies a form of social justice, based on the recognition of the difference of women’s experience.

Homeless youth are typically defined as a group of adolescents and young adults (ages 12-24) who do not have stable dwellings, but instead live on the streets, in shelters or abandoned buildings, or in other unstable situations (e.g., doubling up with friends). Given the myriad of hardships, stressors, and marginalization faced by youth as they navigate life on the streets, it is encouraging that researchers have begun examining well-being among youth experiencing homelessness. However, the few studies examining well-being among homeless youth have produced inconsistent results. Furthermore, little is known about the components of well-being that are both relevant to and valued by homeless youth, as well as which factors predict differences in well-being among youth. This study examined psychological well-being and its associations with demographic characteristics (race, gender, and sexual orientation), intrapersonal factors (mental health, optimism, and self-esteem), and social-contextual factors (social support, sense of community, and empowerment) among 100 homeless youth utilizing services in Portland, Oregon. Quantitative results indicated that the intrapersonal and social-contextual variables were all significantly associated with psychological well-being among homeless youth at the bivariate level. However, in a full hierarchical regression model containing all study variables, only self-esteem and psychological distress were significant predictors of well-being. Thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed 11 categories of factors that impact youth's well-being, including Self Care, Social Support, and Personal Outlook. Collectively, findings have practical implications for program development at homeless youth service centers while also informing future research in this area.

This professional report explores the unique health needs of homeless individuals, how homeless individuals access medical and mental health services, and the impact that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) may have on medical services for homeless individuals. Homeless individuals are more likely to experience physical and mental health problems and earlier mortality rates than the general population. Common access points for homeless medical services include clinics, such as Community Health Centers, and emergency care centers, such as hospital emergency rooms. Homeless individuals often face barriers of access to medical services, including competing priorities to sustain life, strained relationships with medical providers, and an inability to pay for high health care costs. Through the expansion of Medicaid and the Community Health Center network, the ACA has the potential to increase access to medical services for homeless individuals. This report concludes by offering recommendations to ensure that homeless individuals benefit from health care reform through the ACA. / text

This case study of Covenant House, an emergency shelter for street kids in downtown Toronto, focuses on the experiences that draw kids into youth shelters and that drive them out. The analysis stresses the importance to street kids of feeling "cared for". Street kids were drawn to Covenant House because they felt cared for there by its open intake policy, appealing facilities (clean surroundings and good food), and staff who listened to and were interested in their problems. But residents were rather swiftly turned off by its rigidly enforced, elaborate and "uncaring' rule structure, and either walked out or got kicked out. Given the limited alternatives in Toronto's "shelter world", however, Covenant House has become the preferred choice for street kids who find themselves in a cycle of entering, leaving and returning.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 274-312).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 328-347).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, School of Population Health, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 226-266).