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Homelessness is a global challenge.

The United Nations Human Settlements Program estimates that 1.1 billion people live in inadequate housing, and the best data available suggest that more than 100 million people have no housing at all.

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Psychache and Suicide Ideation among Men Who Are Homeless: A Test of Shneidman's Model

Allisha A. Patterson

Ronald R. Holden

Suicide ideation among the homeless is 10 times more common than in the general population. Cognitive theories of depression and hopelessness propose to explain suicidality; however, as yet, none of these fully account for the phenomenon. Shneidman has suggested a theory of psychache or unbearable psychological pain to explain suicidality. This theory has found support among low-risk populations but has not been extensively...

Help Seeking and Access to Primary Care for People from “Hard-to-Reach” Groups with Common Mental Health Problems

According to the World Health Organization, half of all people with ill health in Western Europe have mental illness, with the majority coming into the diagnostic categories of anxiety and depression. Such problems impose substantial emotional, social and economic burdens on those who experience them, their families and carers, and society as a whole. The National Service Framework for mental health in England dictated that...

Homelessness in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Audit Office

Homelessness can affect anyone in society. Contrary to popular belief, it is not restricted to people who sleep rough. Many households, recorded in official statistics as homeless, are living somewhere that it is not suitable for them. Other households, not included in the statistics or visible on the streets, are the hidden homeless who may be squatting or sharing with friends. Homelessness is also often linked to mental...

An Ecological Systems Comparison Between Homeless Sexual Minority Youths and Homeless Heterosexual Youths

Maurice N. Gattis

This study examined risk and protective outcomes by comparing homeless sexual minority youths to heterosexual homeless youths regarding family, peer behaviors, school, mental health, stigma, discrimination, substance use, and sexual risk behaviors. Structured interviews were conducted with individuals aged 16 to 24 years old in Toronto. Bivariate analyses indicated statistically significant differences between homeless...

Comparative Cost Analysis of Housing and Case Management Program for Chronically Ill Homeless Adults Compared to Usual Care

The objective of this study was to assess thecosts of a housing and case management program in a novel sample-homeless adults with chronic medical illnesses. The study used data from multiple sources: (1) electronic medical records for hospital, emergency room, and ambulatory medical and mental health visits; (2) institutional and regional databases for days in respite centers, jails, or prisons; and (3) interviews for days...

Zero tolerance: A case study of police policies and practices in New York City

J. A. Greene

The police reforms introduced in New York City by William Bratton are now hailed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani as the epitome of “zero-tolerance” policing, and he credits them for winning dramatic reductions in the city's crime rate. But the number of citizen complaints filed before the Civilian Complaint Review Board has jumped skyward, as has the number of lawsuits alleging police misconduct and abuse offorce. Comparison of...

How can German housing cooperatives contribute to reducing climate change?

Gabriele Wendorf

Germany is well known for its long and significant history of housing cooperatives. These organizations continue to play a crucial role in the housing sector. Although there are more than 2.000 housing cooperatives with over two million apartments and over three million members in Germany providing housing to communities and people, unfortunately, it is not precisely known how many of these cooperatives include the issue of...

Concurrent Mental Health and Substance Use Problems among Street-Involved Youth

Marritt Kirst

Tyler Frederick

Patricia G. Erickson

Among marginalized populations, homeless adults are known to have elevated rates of mental health and substance use problems compared to the general population, but less is known about their youthful homeless counterparts. While few studies currently exist, what research has been conducted among street-involved youth has confirmed high rates of comorbidity among this population. However, few of these studies explore...

The Administration and Criminalization of the Homeless: Notes on the Possibilities and Limits of Bureaucratic Engagement

Lorne Sossin

This article argues that successfully addressing social problems such as homelessness requires that the vast and often hidden discretion afforded public officials be exposed, rehabilitated, and expanded. A more proactive bureaucratic role in implementing social welfare legislation ought to be tied to explicit normative underpinnings. State intervention to eliminate homelessness will only succeed if its goals are clear, if...

The New Homelessness Revisited

Barrett A. Lee

Kimberly A. Tyler

James D. Wright

The new homelessness has drawn sustained attention from scholars over the past three decades. Definitional inconsistencies and data limitations rendered early work during this period largely speculative in nature. Thanks to conceptual, theoretical, and methodological progress, however, the research literature now provides a fuller understanding of homelessness. Contributions by sociologists and other social scientists since...

Canada’s HIV positive youth desperately lack services and social support.

Sarah Flicker

What is this research about? There are over 13,000 youth and young adults that have tested positive for HIV in Canada. Being HIV positive makes youth a particularly vulnerable population. HIV positive youth experience higher than usual rates of homelessness, sexual and physical abuse, financial difficulties, addictions, and social isolation. Despite this troubling reality, there has been little effort to look at what can...

Summary of Living Wage Ordinance Provisions in the United States

This report summarizes Living Wages in various United States cities.

Homelessness Among A Cohort of Women in Street-Based Sex Work: The Need for Safer Environment Interventions

Drawing on data from a community-based prospective cohort study in Vancouver, Canada, we examined the prevalence and individual, interpersonal and work environment correlates of homelessness among 252 women in street-based sex work. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression using generalized estimating equations (GEE) was used to examine the individual, interpersonal and work environment factors that were associated with...

Assessing Health, Promoting Wellness: Common Health Issues Among People Experiencing Homelessness

Ken Kraybill

Sharon Morrison

While PATH providers often do not have medical training, they regularly encounter consumers who face health issues. This section of Assessing Health, Promoting Wellness provides an overview of common health issues among people experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is a marker for illness. People living on the streets and in shelters are more likely to get sick, their health issues are more likely to be severe, and they are...

Poverty and ethnicity in Scotland

Gina Netto

Filip Sosenko

Glen Bramley

The size, make-up and settlement patterns of minority ethnic communities are significantly different in devolved Scotland from those in England. Little attention has been given to systematically examining the relationship between poverty and ethnicity, particularly in Scotland. Yet, in the face of extensive cuts to public spending, it is crucial that the impacts to small minority ethnic communities are considered. This review...

Using common themes: Cost-effectiveness of permanent supported housing for people with mental illness

T.C. McLaughlin

This article examines the cost-effectiveness of providing permanent supported housing to homeless people with mental illness. Through the use of billing records and frequency of use charts, researchers were able to map the service usage of a cohort of 268 homeless individuals from both urban and rural communities. The results suggest that significant cost savings can be achieved by establishing supportive housing programs...

Exploring gender and sexual minority status among street-involved youth

This article compares heterosexual and sexual minority street-involved youth across a number of sociodemographic, risk and current mental health, victimization and delinquency measures with a particular focus on gender differences. The sample consists of 147 homeless and street-involved young men and women aged 16-21 years in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bivariate analyses indicate that many of the differences between the...

Youth matters in London: Mental health, addiction and homelessness

This project will work closely with existing service partners involved in street level services and focus on testing and evaluating three approaches for street level interventions for youth who are homeless and who have severe or moderate mentally illness. Youth will be asked to choose their preferred service approach: Housing First related initiatives focused on interventions designed to move youth to appropriate and...

Services for Homeless People: Innovation and change in the European Union

Bill Edgar

Joe Doherty

Amy Mina-Coull

The significant feature of homelessness in Europe over the past 25 years has been its persistence. Traditional policies have increasingly been found wanting in the light of the changed economic and demographic circumstances of the last quarter of the 20th century. A reappraisal of the nature of European homelessness by academics and practitioners demonstrates the need for the development of innovative policies and practices...

Forced Evictions and Human Rights

International human rights law establishes norms and principles touching on virtually all facets of life. This is reflected in the consistent reaffirmation by the international community of the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights, whether civil, cultural, economic, political or social. The indispensable equality of all human rights, now firmly entrenched in the provisions of international human rights...

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