Chaelin K Ra, Emily T Hébert, Adam Alexander, Darla E Kendzor, Robert Suchting, Michael S Businelle
{"title":"Unsheltered homeless and unstably housed adults have higher levels of stress and more health risk factors than sheltered homeless adults.","authors":"Chaelin K Ra, Emily T Hébert, Adam Alexander, Darla E Kendzor, Robert Suchting, Michael S Businelle","doi":"10.1080/10530789.2021.1961990","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10530789.2021.1961990","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the United States, approximately 580,000 individuals were homeless on a single night in 2020. Homelessness can be categorized into three subgroups: sheltered homeless, unsheltered homeless, and unstably housed. Few studies have examined the relations between homelessness subtypes, shelter service utilization, levels of stress experienced, and health risk factors. This study aimed to empirically examine whether shelter status the previous night was related to current stress, recent utilization of shelter-based mental health services, and current health risk factors. Data were collected at multiple homeless shelters in 2016 in the Oklahoma City area (N=575). All participants completed assessments of demographic characteristics, including age, sex, race, marital status, years of education, and incarceration history and victimization. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine relations between homelessness subgroups and outcomes (shelter-based service utilization, health risk factors, and stressors). Results indicated that the sheltered group was younger and more likely to be White than the unsheltered group, had higher levels of education, and reported more lifetime months in jail than the unstably housed group. In addition, unsheltered homeless and unstably housed adults used fewer shelter-based health services, exhibited more health risk factors, experienced greater levels of stress, and had higher levels of food insecurity than sheltered homeless adults. Homeless adults who reside at shelters benefit most from available shelter services. The development of policies and programs targeted toward increasing sheltering options for unsheltered and unstably housed adults is needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":45390,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10281693/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9709347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carol S North, Errett Williams, Min Hyung Lee, David E Pollio
{"title":"A prospective longitudinal study of child custody status among homeless population mothers.","authors":"Carol S North, Errett Williams, Min Hyung Lee, David E Pollio","doi":"10.1080/10530789.2021.2002633","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10530789.2021.2002633","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Most women in homeless populations are mothers, the majority being single mothers. Retaining child custody is challenging in homeless circumstances. Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to follow the moving pieces of housing and child custody in the context carefully-assessed psychiatric and substance use disorders over time. A 2-year prospective longitudinal study of an epidemiologic sample of individuals with literal homelessness included 59 mothers. Annual assessments included structured diagnostic interviews, detailed assessment of homeless circumstances, urine drug testing, and service use documented by both self report and data from agencies serving these individuals. More than one-third of the mothers consistently lacked child custody throughout the course of the study and the proportions of mothers with child custody did not increase significantly. Nearly one-half of the mothers had a current year drug use disorder at baseline, including cocaine disorder in most. Continuing lack of child custody over time was associated with longitudinal lack of housing and use of drugs. The importance of drug use disorders in the longitudinal course of child custody points to a critical need for formal substance abuse treatment, not just initiatives to decrease drug use, in helping mothers regain and maintain custody of their children.</p>","PeriodicalId":45390,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10254570/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9692409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aerin J deRussy, Audrey L Jones, Erika L Austin, Adam J Gordon, Lillian Gelberg, Sonya E Gabrielian, Kevin R Riggs, John R Blosnich, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery, Sally K Holmes, Allyson L Varley, April E Hoge, Stefan G Kertesz
{"title":"Insights for Conducting Large-Scale Surveys with Veterans Who Have Experienced Homelessness.","authors":"Aerin J deRussy, Audrey L Jones, Erika L Austin, Adam J Gordon, Lillian Gelberg, Sonya E Gabrielian, Kevin R Riggs, John R Blosnich, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery, Sally K Holmes, Allyson L Varley, April E Hoge, Stefan G Kertesz","doi":"10.1080/10530789.2021.2013013","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10530789.2021.2013013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Surveys of underserved patient populations are needed to guide quality improvement efforts but are challenging to implement. The goal of this study was to describe recruitment and response to a national survey of Veterans with homeless experience (VHE). We randomly selected 14,340 potential participants from 26 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. A survey contract organization verified/updated addresses from VA administrative data with a commercial address database, then attempted to recruit VHE through 4 mailings, telephone follow-up, and a $10 incentive. We used mixed-effects logistic regressions to test for differences in survey response by patient characteristics. The response rate was 40.2% (n=5,766). Addresses from VA data elicited a higher response rate than addresses from commercial sources (46.9% vs 31.2%, <i>p</i><.001). Residential addresses elicited a higher response rate than business addresses (43.8% vs 26.2%, <i>p<.</i>001). Compared to non-respondents, respondents were older, less likely to have mental health, drug, or alcohol conditions, and had fewer VA housing and emergency service visits. Collectively, our results indicated a national mailed survey approach is feasible and successful for reaching VA patients who have recently experienced homelessness. These findings offer insight into how health systems can obtain perspectives of socially disadvantaged groups.</p>","PeriodicalId":45390,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10208227/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9536734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Life Meaning in a Social Context Among Formerly Homeless Residents of Permanent Supportive Housing.","authors":"Suzanne L Wenzel, Wichada La Motte-Kerr","doi":"10.1080/10530789.2021.1961989","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10530789.2021.1961989","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Experiencing a life of meaning is considered fundamental to \"what makes life worth living,\" yet investigation of life meaning among persons with lived experiences of homelessness is lacking. This study seeks to understand life meaning among formerly homeless residents of permanent supportive housing through an examination of its association with social context.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Data were collected through interviews with 383 persons with experience of chronic homelessness who were provided permanent supportive housing (PSH). Recruitment of participants occurred through partnerships with 26 providers of PSH in Los Angeles County, California. Multivariate logistic regression models were employed to understand association of life meaning with hypothesized social contextual variables, controlling for demographic and background characteristics.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Community integration and sense of belonging were significantly and positively associated with life meaning, consistent with findings from previous research involving persons not identified as experiencing homelessness.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Findings suggest opportunities for service providers to facilitate life meaning among residents of supportive housing. Specific attention to life meaning and its social context is consistent with the World Health Organization's position that well-being is a significant aspect of health.</p>","PeriodicalId":45390,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10281692/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9709348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dennis G Fisher, Grace L Reynolds, Noushin Khoiny, Loucine Huckabay, Debby Rannalli
{"title":"Application of the Frailty Framework among Vulnerable Populations to Hospitalization Outcomes of Individuals Experiencing Homelessness in Long Beach, California.","authors":"Dennis G Fisher, Grace L Reynolds, Noushin Khoiny, Loucine Huckabay, Debby Rannalli","doi":"10.1080/10530789.2021.1908487","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10530789.2021.1908487","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Individuals experiencing homelessness have a high prevalence of infectious diseases that may result in hospitalization. However, low ability to navigate the healthcare system and lack of health insurance may mean that those who are experiencing homelessness may not receive the healthcare that they need.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study uses risk factors at baseline to predict hospitalization at follow-up. This paper also presents the associations between reporting homelessness and selected infectious diseases.</p><p><strong>Research design: </strong>Longitudinal study of baseline and follow-up conducted August 2000 through July 2014.</p><p><strong>Subjects: </strong>4916 Not experiencing homelessness mean age 37.9 years, 29% female, and 2692 experiencing homelessness age 42.1 years, 29% female received services from a research/service center in a low-income, high-crime area of Long Beach, CA.</p><p><strong>Measures: </strong>Risk Behavior Assessment, Risk Behavior Follow-up Assessment, laboratory testing for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Predictors of hospitalization at follow-up were ever use of crack cocaine, income from Social Security or disability, reporting homelessness, female, and those who identify as Black compared to White race/ethnicity.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Income from the safety net of Social Security or disability appears to provide the participant with experience that transfers to being able to obtain healthcare. A higher proportion of those experiencing homelessness, compared to those not experiencing homelessness, appear to be hospitalized at follow-up. Women, those who identified as Black, and those who used crack at baseline are more likely to be hospitalized at follow-up whether or not they were experiencing homelessness. We recommend coordination with substance abuse treatment programs for discharge planning for homeless patients. Our findings support use of the Frailty Framework when working with individuals experiencing both homelessness and hospitalization.</p>","PeriodicalId":45390,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9697922/pdf/nihms-1691861.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10458396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"<i>\"NO BROKERS TO MOVE OUT OF HERE.\"</i>: A MIXED METHOD ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF HOMELESSNESS POLICY AND SHELTER GOVERNANCE ON FAMILIES RESIDING IN NYC SHELTERS.","authors":"Nisha Beharie, Noelle R Leonard, Marya Gwadz","doi":"10.1080/10530789.2020.1774846","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2020.1774846","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Homelessness in the United States has been increasing at an exponential rate over the past three decades, and the US has not experienced the current level of homelessness since the Great Depression of the 1930's. With this rise in homelessness has come an increase in the number of rules, regulations, and strict and punitive policies within shelters. Given the historic levels of homelessness nationally and increased bureaucracy, this paper aims to expand on the current literature related to governance of homeless shelters to examine: 1) how families residing in the shelters are impacted by policies related to homelessness, and governance within shelters (i.e., shelter rules), and 2) determine potential points of intervention to improve policy and programming and shelter governance that better address the growing needs of homeless families. Using a convergent parallel design, we conducted a mixed methods study with caregiver residents and their children (ages 13 - 17 years), as well as staff, from two family shelters located in a large urban city in the US. Findings from the study revealed that policies and programs aimed at assisting homeless families often did not adequately respond to the needs of families (e.g., finding permanent housing, continuity in education for youth), and residents (both caregivers and youth) found shelter rules to be overly restrictive. Policy and programming recommendations are provided.</p>","PeriodicalId":45390,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10530789.2020.1774846","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39595286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ruthanne Marcus, Susan Cha, Catlainn Sionean, Dafna Kanny
{"title":"HIV Injection Risk Behaviors among HIV-Negative People Who Inject Drugs Experiencing Homelessness, 23 U.S. Cities.","authors":"Ruthanne Marcus, Susan Cha, Catlainn Sionean, Dafna Kanny","doi":"10.1080/10530789.2021.1892931","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10530789.2021.1892931","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite recent declines in numbers of people who inject drugs (PWID) diagnosed with HIV, clusters of HIV among PWID are ongoing, especially among PWID experiencing homelessness. Using data from the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance in 2018, we evaluated the association between homelessness and injection risk and prevention behaviors among HIV-negative PWID who were recruited by respondent-driven sampling in 23 U.S. cities. Interviewers assessed sociodemographic characteristics, history of overdose, and behavioral risk and prevention factors for HIV. Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% CI were obtained using Poisson regression models. Of 10,614 HIV-negative PWID participants, 7275 (68.5%) reported experiencing homelessness. Homeless PWID were more likely than those who were not to be younger age, white, unemployed, without health insurance, in poverty, experiencing psychological distress, and incarcerated in the past 12 months. PWID experiencing homelessness were significantly more likely to report injection risk behaviors [share syringes/equipment (aPR = 1.26; 95% CI = 1.20-1.33), non-fatal opioid overdose (aPR = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.49-1.79)] and prevention behaviors [testing for HIV in past 12 months (aPR = 1.18; 95% CI = 1.12-1.24) and using syringe services programs (aPR = 1.09; 95% CI = 1.03-1.16)] than PWID not experiencing homelessness. Homelessness among PWID is associated with injection risk behaviors and non-fatal overdose.</p>","PeriodicalId":45390,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2020-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8570172/pdf/nihms-1751911.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39597231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dereck W Paul, Kelly R Knight, Pamela Olsen, John Weeks, Irene H Yen, Margot B Kushel
{"title":"Racial Discrimination in the Life Course of Older Adults Experiencing Homelessness: Results from the HOPE HOME Study.","authors":"Dereck W Paul, Kelly R Knight, Pamela Olsen, John Weeks, Irene H Yen, Margot B Kushel","doi":"10.1080/10530789.2019.1702248","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10530789.2019.1702248","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Over 2.5 million people experience homelessness yearly in the United States. Black persons are overrepresented by three-fold among those experiencing homelessness but little research has examined the relationship between race and homelessness. We aimed to understand the relationship between race and the experience of homelessness for older adults. We used grounded theory methodology to analyze in-depth qualitative interviews (n = 65) of persons experiencing homelessness. We recruited participants who were enrolled in two sub-studies of the Health Outcomes of People Experiencing Homelessness in Older Middle AgE (HOPE HOME) Study in Oakland California. We identified two major themes within interviews with Black participants (n=52) related to race: (1) participants experienced overt racial discrimination in early life and (2) structural racism precipitated and perpetuated adult homelessness. Further, we identified sub-themes of structural racism that contributed to participants becoming or staying homeless: criminal justice discrimination, employment discrimination, exposure to violence, premature death, and limited family wealth. We developed a theoretical model of how these elements of structural racism may increase susceptibility to homelessness. These relationships between racial discrimination and homelessness may serve as targets for policies aimed at preventing homelessness.</p>","PeriodicalId":45390,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7958187/pdf/nihms-1546437.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"25485304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pet ownership and homelessness: a scoping review","authors":"N. Kerman, Sophia Gran-Ruaz, M. Lem","doi":"10.1080/10530789.2019.1650325","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2019.1650325","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Between 5 and 25% of people experiencing homelessness have pets. Pet ownership can have a range of impacts in the lives of people experiencing homelessness, which may mitigate or further complicate the many adversities they face. However, there is a need to better understand the benefits and challenges associated with pet ownership to determine how this group can be best supported. Accordingly, a scoping review was conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar to address the question: What are the effects of pet ownership on people experiencing homelessness? All of the 18 reviewed studies used either qualitative or cross-sectional research designs. Three domains have been principally examined in relation to pet ownership and homelessness: (1) psychological health and purpose; (2) social support and connection; and (3) access to housing, employment, and service use. Physical health, violence, and crime were less frequently studied. Although the findings offer further support that there are both benefits and liabilities to pet ownership for people experiencing homelessness, there is a critical need for more rigorous research, including longitudinal and intervention studies. Recommendations for developing more pet-friendly services and using a strengths-based approach that considers animal companionship when working with people experiencing housing instability are also discussed.","PeriodicalId":45390,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2019-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10530789.2019.1650325","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45695087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Y. Paat, Jessica Morales, Ray Tullius, E. Moya, R. Alcántara
{"title":"A life course approach to understanding homelessness of shelter residents","authors":"Y. Paat, Jessica Morales, Ray Tullius, E. Moya, R. Alcántara","doi":"10.1080/10530789.2019.1640410","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2019.1640410","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Using in-depth interviews of 40 residents from a homeless shelter in El Paso, Texas in the United States, this study examines the etiology, processes, and patterns of homelessness by assessing those confronting homeless spells at different time points and for varying reasons. Our study is guided by the research questions: How did residents of homeless shelters experience transitions and turning points of homelessness? What were the coping resources that homeless people drew on to overcome life adversities? Overall, we found that risk accumulation as a result of different traumatic events, such as death of a family member, marital or relationship breakdown, victimization, unemployment, substance addiction, poor mental health, or discrimination confronted in varied contexts, could serve as precursors or consequences that exacerbated the housing crisis over the course of a life. We recommend that efforts geared toward remediating, alleviating, or preventing homelessness be life course driven. It is only through compassion and empathy rather than criminalizing and stigmatizing that we can help stop the triggers and spread of the downward spiral of homelessness.","PeriodicalId":45390,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2019-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10530789.2019.1640410","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49613564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}