Homeless Research Articles

Aporophobic and Homeless Victimisation—the Case of Ghent

Aporophobia, the rejection of poor people, is a major social problem with known harmful consequences, especially for the most excluded in our society, i.e., homeless people. However, this phenomenon has been only rarely studied using testable means on the ground. This article reports on empirical research conducted on a sample of homeless people in Ghent, Belgium. The principal objective was to analyse aporophobic discriminatory incidents and hate crimes which were experienced by around 50% of the respondents. The most common offences were property crimes, particularly thefts and robberies, with the belief being that the perpetrators were motivated to perform these crimes as they saw this particular demographic group as more helpless and vulnerable. Moreover, the victims usually experienced more than one crime and different typologies. Unfortunately, underreporting was pronounced. It is therefore necessary to increase the visibility of these crimes and the reporting rate, as well as to reduce victimisation. To this end, it is essential to know the real scope of such crimes and their characteristics.

Unleashing entrepreneurial potential: Empowering social beneficiaries through the practice of developing marketing plans at Panti Sosial Bina Karya Harapan Jaya

Urbanization and welfare have become serious concerns in DKI Jakarta, especially with the increasing number of homeless people and beggars that have caused various social problems. The government has implemented comprehensive programs to address these issues, including a social rehabilitation program. Equipping social beneficiaries (WBS) with entrepreneurial skills is highly needed. This Community Service activity aims to unleashing entrepreneurial potential of WBS at the Panti Sosial Bina Karya (PSBK) Harapan Jaya, through the practice of developing marketing plans. Training was conducted through demonstrations, hands-on practice, and question-and-answer. This activity has successfully increased the knowledge of participants in developing simple yet effective marketing plans. A total of 85% of the participants stated that their understanding was better than before, and 80% of the participants felt capable of implementing it.

Between decoloniality and borders, positionalities and scales in urban space: geographical considerations from the murder of a homeless person in a brazilian city

The murder of a homeless person triggered this geographic consideration. What could be understood as a recurrent scene of urban violence in Brazil conveys a series of spatiotemporal meanings, practices, behaviors and gestures around socio-spatial relations. When thinking about Latin America it is known that, even with the processes of independence and the formal end of colonialism, coloniality and everything associated with it did not disappear. Urban space is a privileged site for thinking about power relations and a varied sort of devices that take shape in public, private and institutional spaces are reproduced in it. In this sense, issues of ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, territorial origin, cultural background and immigration-related stigmas, need to be understood within a geopolitical, positional and relational framework in a non-hierarchical way, from local to global scale. Given the complexity that comprises the emergence of homeless people, this paper aims to understand their daily life confrontations and the risks of its exclusion or violent eradication. In doing this we ponder about the problem of the positionality of the roles of geographer, researcher, citizen and activist in the search for socio-spatial justice. Such questions are involved in a set of trajectories and positionalities, which appear in the form of annunciations, denunciations and tensions that we hope to present and discuss with the aim of offering alternatives for the geographic practice itself.

Stances on hate speech: Population opinions and attitudes

This research aims to know the opinions and attitudes of the Spanish population towards hate speech through a survey of 1,022 persons of both sexes and over 16 years of age. The results show a high awareness of hate speech: participants could identify these messages, assess their different intensities of severity, and understand the harm it causes. This high awareness may be because almost half of the sample has felt alluded to by these types of messages at some point. This group is more proactive in denouncing and counterattacking hate messages, although it is more frequent to remain on the sidelines. There is a hierarchy in the ratings in which racist and sexist comments are considered more severe than those directed at other minority groups (e.g., homeless people). Among the main reasons why people publish these expressions, participants point to the education of the authors, in particular, the rudeness and disrespect that are also perceived as a generalized aspect in today’s society. The polarized Spanish political context is seen as beneficial to the appearance of these messages, as well as the lack of a democratic culture that respects ideological diversity. What is most interesting is that although there is awareness of the seriousness of hate messages in other spheres and towards various groups, hate speech has become normalized in politics, as previously stated.

Peran Dinas Sosial dalam Penertiban Gelandangan dan Pengemis di Kota Surakarta

<em><span lang="EN-US">This legal research describes and examine two problems. First, how sosial service take action in put in order homeless and beggars according to government rules number 31 year 1980, about countermeasures homeless and beggars in Surakarta city in put in order homeless and beggars. Second, which hinders factors that made Surakarta Social Services (Dinas Sosial Surakarta) in put in order homeless and beggars. This research is normative legal research with prescriptive character and using statutes approach. Legal material primary source is the legislation rule and legal material secondary source are books, article journals, science article, and interviews. This research using silogisme methods with deductive mind patterns with collection technique materials are using study documents and interviews. The purpose from this research consists of two purpose which are subjective and objective. Based on the results of this study, it can be conclude that the role of the Surakarta Social Service in an effort to put in order homeless and beggars under government regulations number 31 year 1980 , is not yet working effectively. Due to the obstacle factors that affect the effectiveness of the role of the Surakarta City Social Service, namely the absence of a halfway house for homeless people and beggars in order to develop their personalities to be a better person, so can reduce the number of beggars in the city of Surakarta. Lack of cooperation between agencies such as the Social Service and Satpol PP. In addition, there is no Surakarta City regulation regarding efforts and sanctions for homeless people and beggars.</span></em>

Homelessness and COVID-19 in New Zealand: Challenges, emergency responses, and implications for disaster risk reduction

People experiencing homelessness have traditionally received limited attention in disaster research and disaster risk reduction policy. The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the vulnerable conditions of urban homelessness during emergency with unprecedented response efforts. Focusing on Aotearoa New Zealand, this research analyses homeless people's experiences of the COVID-19 and examines the policies and actions developed by government agencies and local organisations. The study highlights that while the homeless did not perceive the virus as a threat the COVID-19 framework with border closures and lockdowns had direct impacts on their livelihoods. The emergency policies focused mainly on homeless who are rough sleepers with a strong emphasis on emergency shelters. The study finds that while effective in temporally housing the homeless, the emergency shelters were often inappropriate to cater for homeless needs and lacked long-term views to transit towards sustainable solutions to homelessness. We also point out issues linked to coordination across agencies, leadership and resources needed for both effective emergency management and disaster risk reduction.

Access to medical and social services among homeless people in Kraków, Poland, during the COVID-19 pandemic

Access to medical and social services among homeless people in Kraków, Poland, during the COVID-19 pandemic

Attachment, trauma and homelessness

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe research into attachment styles of rough sleepers and considersthe implications for practice.Design/methodology/approachThe research was structured interviews with a cohort of rough sleepers analysed through evidence-based techniques, and the implications were drawn out with reference to current best practice.FindingsThe rough sleepers in the cohort had a very different pattern of attachment styles to the housed population, with 100% insecure vs c35%, and 50% insecure disorganised vs >15%.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation is that the cohort was relatively small, n = 22 and was a sample of convenience. The implications are that homelessness services working with rough sleepers need to be attachment-informed as much as trauma-informed.Practical implicationsPractical implications are that homelessness services need to have a more rounded psychological perspective such as psychologically informed environments rather than just a trauma-informed approach.Social implicationsRough sleepers suffer from deeply pervasive and severe attachment disorders, and this may be causal to their becoming rough sleepers and is certainly a factor in whether or not they are successfully rehoused.Originality/valueThere is almost no other original research published into the attachment styles of rough sleepers or homeless people. The current trend is for trauma-informed services: the call for attachment-informed ones is original.

The Bench - exploring exclusionary design through arts practices

ABSTRACT This paper takes point of departure in ongoing research into exclusionary design. Through design interventions such as leaning benches, steel spikes, water sprinklers, and barbed wire socially vulnerable and homeless people are kept from occupying and staying in public spaces in the cities around the world. Such exclusion by design contributes to “atmospheres of rejection” and affords new patterns of human mobility in the city. As the leaning (or otherwise modified) bench is one of the most predominant dark design interventions, this paper will single out the bench as one exemplary artefact to be explored. The bench carries both symbolic meaning, as well as it is a material artefact affording rest and occupancy. The design of benches and the positioning (or removal) of them are micro-installations that together with other urban furniture, makes-up the urban spaces as sites of congregation, exchange, and experience. The paper explores the bench on a background of three key terms: affordance, atmosphere, and material interpellation. The paper then turns to art practices in public spaces and illustrate how the socio-cultural significance of benches has been made visible by art interventions such as the “socially modified” benches by the artist Jeppe Hein. In the conclusion the paper draws out lines of enquiry for further research.

Misuse of Pregabalin: a qualitative study from a patient’s perspective

IntroductionThe misuse of Pregabalin has been the subject of growing concern for several years. The effects sought are multiple and it is rarely taken as a single drug. It is most frequently used together with opioids, which may increase the risk of fatal overdose. In response to this emerging phenomenon, we seek to better understand the situation of misuse in Belgium and identify the people involved in it.MethodologyA qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 20 participants who misuse Pregabalin was conducted throughout the French-speaking region of Belgium between August 2021 and January 2022. Recruitment mostly took place in addictions centers, shelters for migrants and homeless persons and primary care centers. We then conducted a thematic analysis with the help of Nvivo software.ResultsA profile emerged, of young male users, immigrants, mainly first generation immigrants coming from North Africa. They had in common a challenging or even traumatic migration pathway and precarious living conditions in Belgian territory. Most of them had no stable income. They saw Pregabalin as enabling them to cope with their daily situation. All had psychiatric and/or somatic comorbidities for which they had apparently not recieved adequate medical care. This seemed to lead many of them to use Pregabalin as self-medication, for anxiety-depressive disorders and chronic pain, and it was sometimes initiated in their home country. Pregabalin was never used alone.ConclusionThis study has highlighted a rare and insufficient documented profile of Pregabalin misuse: self-medication among a group of first generation immigrants, most of whom have no previous history of opioid-related disorders. Measures should be taken to improve access to health and social care for this population, considering all their biopsychosocial vulnerabilities.

PROBLEM BESKUĆNIŠTVA U SUSTAVU SOCIJALNE SKRBI: IZAZOVI I MOGUĆNOSTI

Homelessness is a social problem that represents a challenge for the entire society, therefore policy holders and social welfare systems should have the obligation and responsibility of creating measures for the effective fight against homelessness based on professional and scientific indicators. Croatia still does not have a clear methodology for monitoring the number of homeless people and indicators of homelessness. There is a significant difference in the number of officially registered homeless people in the social welfare system and data from civil society organizations and homeless service providers. The absence of relevant data on the number of homeless people has an effect on the attitude of the profession towards the problem of homelessness and the system for organizing comprehensive care for the homeless. Also, the fact that the homeless were only defined as beneficiaries in the social welfare system for the first time in 2011 indicates that it was a social problem that was not recognized in our society for a long time. Therefore, this work aims to describe and problematize insurance in the social welfare system as a competent system for exercising rights and benefits for combating poverty and organizing the provision of assistance to socially vulnerable persons. The homeless represent one of the most vulnerable social groups, exposed to extreme poverty, risk of social exclusion, prejudice and stigma. The complexity of the problem of homelessness, the individual specificities of the homeless and the difficult access to exercising rights and social services, requires a good knowledge of the problem, sensitization and a highly individualized approach of experts in the social care system. Key words: homelessness; social welfare system; individualized approach

Improving the Living Conditions of the Homeless Population

With the rapid development of China’s economy and the acceleration of urbanization, more and more people are moving into cities. Objectively, the number of vagrants and beggars has increased dramatically; this problem has become more and more prominent. Society has launched a series of assistance programs to support the homeless, but due to the persistence of homelessness with its associated problems, urban vagrants are still prevalent throughout the country. Moreover, this number is still increasing, leading some vagrants to rely on assistance programs which treat the symptoms rather than the root causes. To make an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the current social assistance system, we propose a set of solutions. First, we will contact homeless people aged between 18 and 30 through local welfare institutions and aid stations and establish target individuals for our help. Second, we will contact relevant enterprises to find out if they are willing to participate by providing a job that can satisfy the needs of the research target. If necessary, we will contact relevant training providers. Finally, we will design a series of criteria to measure the effectiveness of our plan.

Mental Health and Homelessness

Homeless people have a prevalence of mental illness when compared to the general population. They are more likely to suffer from alcoholism and drug dependency. Being chronically homeless also means that people with mental illness are more likely to experience catastrophic health crises requiring medical intervention or resulting in institutionalization within the criminal justice system. In this paper, we consider the rankings of states with respect to homelessness and mental health. We use fuzzy similarity measures to determine the degree of similarity between these rankings. We determine measures of similarity of these rankings using techniques of fuzzy similarity relations.

People living in homeless hostels: a survey of health and care needs

People experiencing homelessness have extremely poor health outcomes and frequently die young. Many single homeless people live in hostels, the remit of which is to provide support to facilitate recovery out of homelessness. They are not usually designed to support people with high health or care needs. A cross-sectional survey was developed with, and completed by, hostel managers to explore and quantify the level of health and care needs of people living in their hostels. In total, 58 managers completed the survey, with information on 2,355 clients: 64% had substance use disorder, 56% had mental health issues, and 37.5% were in poor physical health. In addition, 5% had had more than three unplanned hospital visits in the previous month, and 11% had had safeguarding referrals submitted over the past year. Barriers to getting support and referrals accepted were highlighted, particularly for people with substance use disorder. Hostel managers identified 9% of clients as having needs too high for their service, while move-on options were scarce. Our study highlights significant unmet needs. Health and care services are not providing adequate support for many people living in hostels, who often have very poor health outcomes. This inequity needs to be considered and addressed as a matter of urgency.

Unmet needs in street homeless people: a commentary on multiple interconnected needs in a vulnerable group

Street homeless people face stigmas in addition multiple unmet needs, which may include physical, psychological, mental health and social needs to name a few. Their life expectancy is shorter than that of the general population. Mental health problems are common but street homeless people face considerable barriers accessing support. Institutional approaches from the health system re-traumatise street homeless people seeking care and cause moral injury and burn-out in staff. Given high rates of trauma in street homeless people, trauma-informed care approaches should be used. Professionals should make every contact count, using it as an opportunity to build trust with honesty and consistency and find out what matters to the person, as well as taking practical steps such as ensuring a means of contact. Engaging with the person's wider support system, such as support workers from homeless organisations, is key as they may have a good understanding how the mental health affects the person.

정책모기지 이용자 만족도 영향 요인 연구

Policy mortgage is a policy financial product that enables long-term fixed interest rate, low interest rate, long-term loan period, and installment repayment for the residential stability of the common people and improvement of housing welfare. This study conducted an empirical analysis through a proportional odds logit model for households using Bogeumjari Loan, a policy mortgage for the housing vulnerable class, based on the Korea Housing Finance Corporation's '2021 Housing Finance and Demand Survey'. As a result of the analysis, the factors that affect Bogeumjari Loan user satisfaction are loan income requirements, loan maturity, increase in existing loan limit, educational level, type of product used, number of children, comparison with other products before joining, and finally single householder in order. In order to vitalize policy mortgage, it is considered that flexible operation considering the factors that most affect the satisfaction of policy mortgage users, such as housing price loan limit, income requirement, maturity, and repayment capacity, is necessary. As interest rates have risen sharply recently, the burden of repayment of interest on home mortgage loan users has been increasing, so the role of policy mortgage for the housing vulnerable class is expected to become more important. In addition, the results of this study can be used as policy data to improve housing welfare for homeless people or low-income consumers who want to buy their own home.

Peran Dinas Sosial Dalam Penanganan Tuna Wisma Di Kota Padang

The high number of homeless people in the city of Padang is caused by economic and cultural factors in the community. The most important thing that must be considered by social services is the guidance of the homeless. Because at certain times the homeless population increases, such as on holidays, religious holidays, or in recreation centers. However, if due to the family's unfavorable economic conditions, it becomes a factor for children to go to the streets to work to help their parents. Homeless people are a city community, their presence is closely related to the environmental conditions of the children's community. Homeless people who have been netted cannot be sure that they will not take to the streets again. This is due to various reasons, such as economic needs that are still not fulfilled and there are no other activities that can generate money, forcing the child to take to the streets again. One of the programs for dealing with homeless people at the Social Service is working with Satpol PP to screen homeless people. So the guidance for families that must be carried out by social services is by empowering the family economy which creates independence, so that finally with the various coaching programs provided, both to the child and to his family it is hoped that they will not return to the streets again. The purpose of this study was to find out how the role of the Padang City Social Service in dealing with existing homeless people. Implementation of this research using descriptive qualitative method. The results of this study found how the role of the Padang City Social Service in dealing with the existing Homeless, as well as how the efforts were made and the inhibiting factors in handling the Homeless.

Rehabilitating Homeless: Dataset and Key Insights

This paper presents a large anonymized dataset of homelessness alongside insights into the data-driven rehabilitation of homeless people. The dataset was gathered by a large non-profit organization working on rehabilitating the homeless for twenty years. This is the first dataset that we know of that contains rich information on thousands of homeless individuals seeking rehabilitation. We show how data analysis can help to make the rehabilitation of homeless people more effective and successful. Thus, we hope this paper alerts the data science community to the problem of homelessness.

Staff Members' Experience of Italian Shelters for LGBTQIA+ Homeless and Runaway People: An Exploratory Study.

Some LGBTQIA+ people, after coming out, experience marginalization and homelessness due to rejection and discrimination from their family and community. The increase in support requests led to the creation of LGBTQIA+ temporary shelter homes worldwide. This study aims to explore the functioning and effectiveness of shelters, analyzing the experiences of staff members in Italy. Focus groups were held with a total of 15 staff members (age range: 32-53) working in three shelters for LGBTQIA+ people. Data were analyzed qualitatively through the grounded theory methodology. Data coding showed five final core categories: (1) user characteristics; (2) staff characteristics; (3) community relations; (4) activities carried out by services; (5) criteria for intervention assessment and staff satisfaction. Results revealed some criticalities in the effectiveness of these services, particularly the difficulty in achieving autonomy for users, a weakness attributable to the non-exhaustive training of staff members and the funding discontinuity. To improve the efficacy of shelters, this study emphasizes the necessity to (a) carry out an analysis of the vulnerability of the local LGBTQIA+ community, (b) establish a stable network with local services (NHS system), and (c) implement staff members' psychological training.

Types of social services for homeless people

The article examines the types of social services provided to homeless persons in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Social Services". On the basis of the analysis of legislative norms and scientific developments, the need to apply a comprehensive approach to the functioning of the system of providing services to homeless persons is substantiated, taking into account the state social standards, which determine the procedure for providing appropriate social services for persons who find themselves in difficult life circumstances.
 It was found that homeless persons are recipients of such social services as shelter, night shelter, supported accommodation of homeless persons, social integration and reintegration, and in-kind assistance. At the same time, the legislation of Ukraine provides for the possibility of applying to homeless persons such types of social services as information and social prevention, representation of interests, social support during employment and at the workplace, representation (mediation).
 Given the fact that the only social service within which emergency medical assistance is provided on the street is emergency (crisis) intervention, it is necessary to recognize homeless persons as its recipients. It is also proposed to supplement the list of social services for homeless people with social and psychological rehabilitation.
 Attention is focused on the need to harmonize the provisions of Art. 17 of the Law of Ukraine «On the Basics of Social Protection of Homeless Persons and Homeless Children» and Art. 16 of the Law of Ukraine «On Social Services» regarding the types of social services provided to homeless persons. It has been proven that temporary shelter, social, medical, legal, educational, and rehabilitation services for homeless persons in the sense of the provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On Social Services» are not provided for. Therefore, it is suggested that the provisions of Art. 17 of the Law of Ukraine «On the Basics of Social Protection of Homeless Persons and Homeless Children» in the following wording: «Homeless persons have the right to social services and rehabilitation in the order and under the conditions determined by the legislation of Ukraine.»