This article investigates a community-based group therapy intervention designed to address specific needs of women in transition as compared to women also in transition, engaged in a traditional, nonclinical women's program. Both interventions were found to increase social network size, decrease social isolation, and decrease financial stress. The…

Professionals who work with runaway, throwaway, and homeless youth have long known that many of these young people leave home to escape abusive and/or destructive family situations. This update presents the findings of a national study on such children. Results of the study, "Youth with Runaway, Throwaway, and Homeless Experiences:…

In 1994, an evaluation was made of the Adult Education for the Homeless (AEH) program in Ohio. Ohio currently has the third largest AEH project (of 32 states), with 40 sites spread over 12 locations. The evaluation was both formative and summative and was based on theoretical models of adult education (Teaching-Learning Exchange Theory and…

This book reviews the findings of 29 studies published between 1960 and 1992 on the impact of childhood out-of-home care on adults' self-sufficiency, adjustment, family and social support, and personal well-being. Section 1, "Out-of-Home Care and Out-of-Home Care Studies," introduces the study and presents the history of out-of-home care…

This volume, successor to the 1973 volume "Racism and Mental Health," presents a range of perspectives on mental health, prejudice, and discrimination. Contributors are of multiracial, multiethnic, and gender-diverse backgrounds. They use their existential experiences to analyze pressing mental health and mental illness issues. Contributions…

An evening adult literacy program was developed to provide pre-General Educational Development (GED) instruction to residents of a men's shelter who desired to become dry cleaners pressers. Because an intake assessment of the 32 enrollees revealed that only 34% of them were high school dropouts and more than 50% had some college background, the…

To assess the status of hunger and homelessness in urban America during 1991, The U.S. Conference of Mayors surveyed 28 major cities whose mayors are members of its Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness. The survey sought information and estimates from each city on: (1) the demand for emergency food assistance and emergency shelter and the…

This paper discusses a number of interventions that are aimed at increasing educational opportunities of homeless students in the United States. Only a few of these programs have been locally evaluated, and the evaluation process is particularly challenging for local evaluators to undertake. At a state and national level, commitment to evaluation…

Research on homeless children and families carried out by the Institute for Children and Poverty over the last 6 years is compiled in this document. The contents range from programmatic solutions and policy recommendations to simple "snapshots" of homeless families. Much of the research is based on the experiences of Homes for the…

There is an alarming trend in homelessness: children aged 17 and younger are the most rapidly growing group of the homeless; families continue to be a growing group of the homeless; and many people who are homeless were raised or have lived in the suburbs. Homelessness is no longer an inner-city phenomenon. Three homeless youth were interviewed…

This case study documents the experiences of a Peace Corps volunteer who worked as a Youth Development volunteer with disadvantaged institutionalized youth in Honduras. Youth Development volunteers provide direct services in the areas of vocational education, recreational programming, informal education, and counseling. Many are assigned to…

An evaluation was done of New York City Public Schools' program ADVANCE (Adolescents Developing Valuable and Necessary Channels of Esteem), a U.S. Department of Education funded project that provided support to adolescents in Tier II transitional housing in Brooklyn (New York). Tier II housing provides temporary living space and on-site social…

Some facts about the homeless population in Florida are the following: (1) 40,000 persons in Florida are homeless on any given day, with 40 percent of the total being families; (2) 65 percent are new homeless (not chronic); (3) 30 percent of the homeless are addicted to drugs or alcohol and 20 percent are mentally ill; (4) causes of homelessness…

Four adult education programs serving homeless persons in Wisconsin were evaluated. Data were gathered through site visits, a review of program documents, and a survey of 43 homeless individuals served by the programs (7 percent of the total population served). Participants expressed very positive feelings about the programs. Many reported that…

This report summarizes a study conducted by the New York Family Services Project (NYFSP) of Bank Street College. The study's principal objectives were the following: (1) to document the developmental status of preschool-aged homeless children in comparison to a group of poor housed children, and the special contribution of exposure to early…