The federal government enacted the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (MVA) to equip schools with services to help alleviate the many barriers students experiencing homelessness face in pursuit of educational opportunities. Educational agencies use federally mandated liaisons to uphold the provisions of the MVA. Despite the homeless liaisons' importance in facilitating the policy, few studies have examined how liaisons perceive their service area's response to homelessness. This study explored homeless liaisons' perceptions of MVA implementation in their service areas. Researchers invited every homeless liaison in three southern states to complete an online survey focusing on perceptions of MVA implementation and their service area's response to homelessness. Of the 369 practitioners identified as a homeless liaison solicited for study participation, 32 percent completed surveys. Results indicated significant differences in perceived implementation in the level of collaboration with teachers and school administrators, liaisons' job titles, school's receipt of federal Education for Homeless Children and Youth funding, and awareness of homelessness in terms of general awareness, interaction, policy, and needs. Findings indicate that collaboration and awareness are major factors that affect perceptions of implementation. Furthermore, the results indicate that liaisons must take steps to ensure a collaborative environment to implement the MVA.

The purpose of this study was to conduct an analysis on ex post facto data of the federal grant supported Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) administered at Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina. Pre-existing data on variables such as performance goals, training activities, support services, and demographics from program years 2006-2008 were used as data sources for the study. A descriptive statistics method of program analysis was employed and results were used to determine if performance outcomes met initial performance goals. The results from the study revealed that in order to successfully reintegrate into the workforce, HVRP participants required basic employability and entry-level technical skills training, and access to support systems that would allow them to meet the needs of their families while they concentrated on gaining new competencies.

Homeless women and families are among the most disenfranchised groups in society. Further, because of their homelessness and associated problems, many homeless women become separated from their children. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects on predictors of entering a shelter with or without children (shelter status) and whether or not one is separated from one or more children (child separation status) on various special need predictors. A second objective was to determine the relationship between shelter status and child separation and to understand the unique experiences of homeless women who are separated from their children. These objectives were achieved via thematic analysis, quantitative methods and qualitative methods. Results suggest that shelter status significantly related to mental illness, drug abuse and domestic violence, but child separation status only significantly relates to drug abuse. The qualitative findings examined the origins of homelessness, child separation and the women's desires to be reunited with their children. Suggestions for further research and program changes are included.

Thesis (Sc.D.)--Boston University / Community participation has been regarded as a goal for people with rehabilitation needs, but there is a lack of consensus about the definition and measurement of community participation. In addition, there is limited knowledge about the community participation of individuals who are homeless. This dissertation contains three studies aimed at furthering our understanding about community participation among individuals who are, or were previously, homeless. Study 1 systematically reviewed instruments that measure community participation in people with disabilities and compared these instruments by analyzing the content based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Perspective (ICF) classification. Seventeen instruments were identified as containing community participation items. None of these instruments covered the full breadth of community participation domains, but each addressed community participation to some extent. Furthermore, most of the instruments lose precision by treating diverse activities as a single concept. [TRUNCATED] / 2018-09-01

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No description available.

Female veterans have increased risks for housing instability and homelessness linked to predictors such as housing affordability challenges, abuse and trauma experiences, education and employment barriers, mental health and substance use conditions, and social support deficiencies. Social service providers specializing in services to veterans benefit from specialized training in these areas to support female veterans seeking their services. This project evaluates the effectiveness of the Protecting the Home-Front curriculum designed to inform social service providers serving veterans about these risk factors, service strategies, and resources available to support stable housing for female veterans. Through analysis of pre- to post-program knowledge of material, results suggest that service providers displayed significant increases in knowledge of presented material, service strategies, and available resources to support female veterans. These findings provide a model for a synthesized training curriculum for service providers to become equipped in providing supportive services to unstably housed and homeless female veterans within their communities. / Master of Science

Homelessness in DC has been on the rise for a while but now it is getting to the point where it is becoming a major issue. The Mayor has proposed a plan to end homelessness with seven shelters, one in each ward of DC. The shelter this thesis is proposing would be a combination of a typical homeless center with the added benefits of an overall rehabilitation center. These features combined will provide a place where the homes can transition from their current state to a state where they can then support themselves and their families. / Master of Architecture / Homelessness is a rising problem in the Washington, D.C. area. Families with children are now the most dominant homeless population in the D.C area due to the gap between a living wage and an actual wage. Through study and analysis, it was noted that a one night shelter was not effective in ending homelessness but a therapeutic, rehabilitation center is. From these ideas, it was decided that a six month to one year residency homeless center would be the best thing to design to better help the growing homeless population.

When a person becomes displaced (homeless), he or she has few options for finding a new residence. One such option is a transitional living program. Transitional living programs provide residence to such persons under the premise that while they reside in such a facility, they will continuously be working in tandem with their case manager and other service providers to once more become self-sufficient when leaving the program. This thesis examines one transitional living program in the Central Florida area, which I will call the Women's Transitional Living Facility (WTLF). This program serves only women and their children. I analyze the intended function of the WTLF and its actual practices, based on ethnographic fieldwork, including participant-observation and semi-structured interviews, with people who serve, have served, or are residing within the Women's Transitional Living Facility. In exploring the actual functioning of this transitional living facility, I investigate the positive and negative effects of the rules in place in this institution, and how they are applied by the staff of the WTLF. I employ the term "displaced," used in recent publications by some social scientists, as this term does not carry the negative connotations of "homeless." More importantly, it does not deny the population it represents notions of belonging, or of being a member of a secure place. Persons traditionally considered "homeless" may still maintain the sense of a "home" through alternative means such as within a shelter, a flop house, or a tent community (Wardhaugh 1999).

Single mothers with young children living in poverty often experience various disadvantages, especially when they have mental health issues. They are a vulnerable population and face challenges such as poverty, homelessness, and low paying jobs. Homeless mothers and their children often have difficulty in finding means to survive and obtaining basic needs. The purpose of this study was to explore the quality and availability of mental health resources to homeless mother and their children. Ten participants were chosen outside of a homeless shelter in the City of Riverside. The study was a qualitative design conducted through face-to-face interviews. This study found that most participants in the study have utilized mental health services in their life and most found the services adequate. However, when asked what services they needed the most, more than half of the participants stated needing housing, employment, and food. Less than half of the participants stated needing more mental health services like therapy or rehabilitation services. The study also revealed that half of the participants utilized mental health services for their children and another half have not. With regards to working with a social worker, only four of the ten participants have done so and said they were helpful. Although one stated it was a failure, the remaining five have never worked with a social worker or cannot recall doing so. As a social worker, it can be recommended to actively provide housing and employment resources for their clients that are in need of basic necessities to survive. Another recommendation is for the social worker to acquire their clients’ perception of their needs and working from there to obtain those needs.