This monograph explores how homelessness intersects most social issues that marginalize individuals and negatively influence postsecondary completion, including poverty, foster care, and LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer/questioning, and others) discrimination. As becomes evident, students experiencing homelessness should be considered…

Survey data collected from 166 homeless persons in Austin (Texas) identified four clusters distinguished by the size of the individual's social network, the degree of dysfunction, and the length of time homeless. Recommends group-based plans for building better paths out of homelessness. (DM)

Surveys the many categories of people comprising the homeless population and describes the methods that have been used to estimate their numbers. Concludes that the vast effort required to enumerate homeless people would be better directed toward focused research on the needs of identifiable subgroups. (DM)

Reviews prior research on homelessness and describes what remains to be done. Calls for greater attention to the socioeconomic causes of homelessness, its image in the media, and public attitudes toward the problem. (DM)

Introduces an issue on the causes, consequences, and social response to homelessness, with contributions by scholars in anthropology, history, medicine, sociology, economics, public administration, law, and psychology. Much attention has been given to the problems of homeless individuals; this issue attempts a comprehensive overview of the…

Interviews in Minneapolis with 113 newly homeless and 338 more chronically homeless persons on 2 occasions 6 months apart revealed a pattern of intermittent homelessness, reflecting the demography, weather, and welfare system of that city. Recommends further study along these lines and provision of more permanent exits from homelessness. (DM)

Discusses the economic implications of the recommendations of "Health Care for the Homeless," the controversial supplementary statement to the Institute of Medicine's report, "Homelessness, Health and Human Needs." Concludes that the original report presents a more politically realistic approach to the problems of the homeless…

Changes in homelessness since the 1950s and 1960s involve increasing numbers of homeless persons, striking differences in their composition, and marked deterioration in their condition. Beyond similarly high levels of mental illness and substance abuse, the new homeless are younger, poorer, often shelterless, and include more minorities, women,…

Summarizes the small body of research to date that focuses on the effects of homelessness on children. In matters related to health, development, and education, homeless children are at a grave disadvantage, many from birth. Policy implications are outlined, concluding that children need permanent housing if they are to thrive. (DM)

Examines the victimization of runaways using a sample of 84 adolescents in a midwestern city of about 250,000 people. Finds that these youth, like runaways in larger cities, are doubly victimized by abusive family situations and by life on the streets. Sex differences in the processes that influence victimization are discussed. (FMW)

Discusses social science research methodologies and reviews domestic and foreign research on homelessness. Concludes that additional research would make only a marginal contribution to solving what has been identified as an economic and political problem. (FMW)

Data from 92 towns in northern New York were used to examine the influence of community social-class composition on both de facto and de jure discrimination against such housing. The positive influence of population growth on mobile-home occurrence was found to be conditioned by intercommunity class composition. (JHZ)

Recent research suggests that approximately one-third of homeless single adults suffer from severe mental illnesses. Discusses federal initiatives undertaken by the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) to encourage research and improve services for this subgroup. Describes the target population, NIMH research findings, and current mental…

Discusses the need for critical review of expert scientific findings used in the development of social policy. Uses the case of dissent from the Institute of Medicine's report on health care for the homeless to illustrate the conflict between scientific and practical moral objectivity. (FMW)

Reports on an ethnographic project examining an Australian program designed to provide homeless adolescents with access to secondary education. Focuses on the relationships among groups of students within the program and explores the way that education can either reinforce disadvantage or offer access to opportunity. (MJP)