capstone

Homeless Men and Women and the Difference

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Quantitative and one qualitative article related to the final project

For the past two decades, homelessness has become an increasingly challenging social problem. The services and programs aimed at eradicating homelessness and assisting homeless communities have been expanded considerably through expanding federal spending (Smith, 2012). However, this social crisis has persisted unabated. In this paper, a quantitative and qualitative article related to homeless men and women and the difference are analyzed based on the following: the study’s hypothesis, research questions, qualitative or quantitative data collection process and how these articles offer assistance in developing the research project. Other articles are used to add insights into the research project.

The first article, “Gender differences in the residential origins of the homeless: Identification of areas with high risk of homelessness” by Rukmana (2010), offers a gender perspective on homelessness with regards to residential origins. Rukmana (2010) takes a quantitative approach evaluating the differences between the residential origins of homeless men and women using data from a homelessness survey conducted in Miami-Dade County of Florida in 2005. The author acknowledges the challenge homelessness poses to urban planning and development, and exposes some of the characteristics associated with homeless people.

As the number of homeless men and women increase however, it is vital to understand their differences in terms of places of origin and how they are affected by the whole social problem. Baggett, O'connell, Singer and Rigotti (2010) confer with Rukmana (2010) on the great differences in characteristics of homeless men and women. According to the two authors, while men would feel free to live on the streets, women are more likely to crush in traditional housing or live in shelters. Women can also live in abandoned cars, squatter housing or make temporary living arrangements.

There are some similarities between the author’s hypotheses on differences between origins of homeless men and women, and the research project. While there could be certain issues touching on homelessness based on ethnic communities, the author offers a solid base for understanding homelessness from a gender-based perspective. Rukmana (2010) hypothesizes that residential origins of homeless women are less concentrated and more widely spread in the low-income neighbourhoods compared to those of their male counterparts.

Secondly, as supported by Russell (2013) the author hypothesizes that in the case of women, homelessness is often attributed to homelessness as opposed to men. While a lot of research has shown that homelessness’s major risk factor is poverty, family conflict and domestic violence do not have intricate relationships with poverty (Toro, Lesperance, & Braciszewski, 2011). Domestic violence on the other hand is cutting across all socioeconomic status levels and therefore poverty can predict domestic violence especially in low-income families of African Americans (Thompson Jr, Wall, Greenstein, Grant & Hasin, 2013).

The author hypothesizes that the spatial distribution of homeless people residential origins is a function of housing features, demographic composition and economic factors of the corresponding geographical unit analyses. These three hypotheses are closely related to the research project. The research project hypothesizes that homeless men face rough situations on the streets as compared to women; men take up a bigger percentage of the homeless populations; and that women take up most shelter or housing facilities in high numbers as opposed to men.

Basically, the research project looks at homelessness plays out for men and women, and how these differences can be looked out. Most importantly, as advanced by Shinn (2010), the study aims at helping governments, states and organizations to understand and deal with the rising problem of homelessness and in budgeting and delivery of public services.

On data collection, Rukmana (2010) obtained data of the residential origins of homeless women and men from a point-in-time homelessness survey in the county of Miami-Dade, Florida. The survey had been conducted in 2005. The survey had been organized by Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, which coordinates housing and homeless services in the area. The trust collected 1,201 unduplicated and completed surveys in totality drawn from the 18-82 age bracket.

In the study, the number of women who responded to the survey were 396, while 796 homeless men participated in the survey (Rukmana, 2010). Census tract groups were created for the quantitative data for two major reasons; reducing the unit numbers of analysis for analyzing small number of prior residential address records and reducing the wide variety of denominators. For the collected data, the author used statistical tests in determining the residential differences between homeless men and homeless women. The spatial distribution was done using a geocoding procedure.

How can this data collection and analysis process help in compiling the final project. Firstly, it gives an alternative of sources of secondary data that can be extracted to conduct a quantitative analysis. Quality and reliable data is an important component of this research study. One such source of quality and reliable data is primary data collection.

However, because primary data collection may prove resource and time intensive, using secondary sources- like in this case data from a county or state- can help reduce the challenges associated with jostling for primary data sources (Terrell, 2012). In fact, the target population- homeless men and women can prove challenging to deal with. This study uses official data from Miami-Dade County- such data are made public and therefore does not require a lot of finance and time investment.

The difference in survey result figures support the notion advanced by Cronley (2010) that there are more homeless men on the streets that homeless women. Most significantly, the differences in spatial distribution of homeless men and women residential origins expand on some of the differences that have been addressed in the article. It is important to understand the why homeless men and homeless women have different residential origins. In the study, domestic violence and family conflict are highly associated with homeless women who leave their couples unlike in the case of men, who are often the perpetrators of domestic conflict.

As Belcher and DeForge (2012) explain, homelessness advanced by domestic violence and family conflict are closely associated to the financial independence of the victim. As is the case in most societies, women are economically weaker than men, and therefore are likely to be the victims of domestic violence because they lack financial independence (Crawford, Trotter, Hartshorn & Whitbeck, 2011). When victims of domestic violence finally decide to leave these violent relationships, in most cases it implies that they have to leave their family homes.

In such circumstances, the abusive partner ends up controlling all the finances and therefore her financial independence is limited by the abuse (Crawford, Trotter, Hartshorn & Whitbeck, 2011). Some of these women find themselves on the streets; homeless and unable to provide for their personal needs. These findings help in understanding the demographic differences between men and women in terms of homelessness. For instance, one of the sub titles of the research project is causes of homelessness. In the case of homeless women, domestic violence plays such a huge role and therefore requires a substantial attention especially for social workers unlike in the case of men where poverty is often at center-stage.

In the article “Migrant women and homelessness: The role of gender-based violence” by Mayock, Sheridan and Parker (2012), the role of domestic violence in homeless women is deeply explored with a comparison drawn between men and women. Loates and Walsh (2010) and Moxley, Feen-Calligan, Washington and Garriott (2011) also make important contributions in understanding the role of domestic violence and intimate partner violence in homeless women and how it relates to the case of homeless men. However, the authors of this article give an interesting turn to the homelessness- the case of migrants. For a very long time, there has been an increasing number of homeless migrants, especially women.

The social problem, as Garg, Behera, Chopra and Bhardwaj (2016) further add, has an undoubted connection to the increased migration experience in European countries- often characterized by the increasing number of immigrants and a growing recognition of its significance in driving changes in population. Discrimination in housing for both male and female migrants in Western Europe and United States has been witnessed and documented for a long period of time.

For instance, a comparative analysis of discrimination against male and female minority groups and migrants in the global housing sector shows that ethnic minorities are living in comparatively poor housing conditions, largely contributing to entrenched patterns of economic and social inequality which promote homelessness in both gender (Sjollema, Hordyk, Walsh, Hanley & Ives, 2012).

Women and men migrants, like other people, are susceptible to experiencing homelessness in all its various forms, from inadequate and insecure housing, to rooflessness (Loates & Walsh, 2010). One of the key hypotheses advanced by Mayock, Sheridan and Parker (2012) is that the experiences of women of homelessness are different from those of men. This hypothesis is important to the research project because it gives a significant gender dimension to the social challenge of homelessness.

However, gender has remained one of the least explored dimensions or perspectives of homelessness not only in the American context but also that of the world. However, Speirs, Johnson and Jirojwong (2013) a substantial amount of research has been done on the experiences of women immigrants and issues faced by the migrants which make them susceptible or vulnerable to housing problems. Some of the risks that have been cited by researchers are discriminatory accommodation and rental practices, isolation, unrecognized employment and academic credentials, poverty and lack of connections or relationships.

Secondly, the authors hypothesize that gender-based violence is positively related to women homelessness, and men play a massive role in this relationship. A study by Brush, Gultekin and Grim (2016) finds that domestic violence is the major reason cited by most women in explaining their homelessness circumstances. In the recent past, Byrne, Munley, Fargo, Montgomery and Culhane (2013) demonstrated that just about 20 percent of the total number of homeless women they interviewed had become homeless because of different forms of domestic violence- from family members and partners.

The study further elaborates that for women in the 40-50 age bracket, domestic violence is such massive homelessness trigger, with about 40 percent of the women surveyed indicating that they had left their residential homes to escape domestic from family members or their partners.

How are these two hypotheses important to the research topic? The two bring forth a different perspective in understanding homelessness especially in the case of women-migrants. Through its data, the authors finally confirm that migrant women indeed face different treatment in accommodation and housing facilities- triggers homelessness. The case is true for minority ethnic communities and therefore the research has a holistic perspective when looking at differences between homeless men and women- differences in causes. The similarity between this hypothesis and that being advanced by the research project is that one of the reasons why we have homeless women is because of unfair treatment from the society.

The second article used a qualitative approach in understanding homelessness among migrant women, and some of the reasons why they end up on the streets. The research methodology used was an integration of ethnographic observation and biographical interviewing- both are which are largely qualitative in nature and application. The focus of the research methodology was conducting an in-depth evaluation of the experiences and lives of homeless women in Ireland with key attention paid to their entry routes to homelessness, their experience as homeless women and how they exit the social problem.

Before embarking on the observations, the authors conducted a community assessment exercise aimed at understanding the nature of homelessness especially for the target population. More importantly, the community assessment stage of the research was aimed at informing the community of professionals who work with homeless women about the study. The community assessment aided in understanding the community and gaining multi-level access to many sites of the community to recruit the participants (Morton, Dworsky & Samuels, 2017).

For the purpose of the interview, the researcher recruited about 60 women from strategically chosen community sites. The sites used for recruiting the participants included domestic violence refuge centers, traditional accommodation, and emergency homeless hostels for mixed and singe gender, and long –term supported housing. The criteria for recruiting eligible participants included: women who are homeless or have been living in unstable housing and accommodation for more than 6 months, those aged 18 and above, single and without any children, and those of Irish origin or other origin. The fourth criteria was important in determining whether the respondent was a migrant or not.

While the biographical interview method was largely used for collecting data, the authors also conducted ethnographic observation in four homes service areas- which included food centers (2) and homeless hostels. The method of data collection used in this survey offers a lot of benefits to the research project, especially in the area of primary data collection. It gives an elaborate background of how the biographical interview method can be integrated with ethnography to give reliable and quality data that can be used for making decisions (Creswell & Creswell, 2017).  Being an approach used in qualitative research, ethnographic observation gives the authors the real picture of homeless migrant women because they are studied in their real-life environments or niches.

The findings of the study are significant because it provides some of the challenges faced by homeless men and homeless women in exiting homelessness. As O’Sullivan (2012) explains, women’s income poverty and their lack of access to affordable houses are significant barriers in exiting homelessness. Those with dependent young children living in homeless refuge or hostel struggle in saving enough money to help pay for rented accommodation deposits. Yet in other cases, some men and women in these situations have severally applied for supported housing but they have been slapped with longer periods of waiting or rejections.

In most of the studies cited for this research project, a majority of homeless men and women depend on state income for support. Other problems which hinder homeless men and homeless women from exiting their circumstances include mental and physical health, stalking from abusive ex-partners and social isolation. These findings form a solid background for understanding why providing solutions to the homelessness problem is still a challenge not only because of finances, but because of health, emotional and social problems.

References

Baggett, T. P., O'connell, J. J., Singer, D. E., & Rigotti, N. A. (2010). The unmet health care needs of homeless adults: a national study. American journal of public health, 100(7), 1326-1333.

Belcher, J. R., & DeForge, B. R. (2012). Social stigma and homelessness: The limits of social change. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 22(8), 929-946.

Brush, B. L., Gultekin, L. E., & Grim, E. C. (2016). The data dilemma in family homelessness. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 27(3), 1046-1052.

Byrne, T., Munley, E. A., Fargo, J. D., Montgomery, A. E., & Culhane, D. P. (2013). New perspectives on community-level determinants of homelessness. Journal of Urban Affairs, 35(5), 607-625.

Crawford, D. M., Trotter, E. C., Hartshorn, K. J. S., & Whitbeck, L. B. (2011). Pregnancy and mental health of young homeless women. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(2), 173.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.

Cronley, C. (2010). Unraveling the social construction of homelessness. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 20(2), 319-333.

Garg, A., Behera, C., Chopra, S., & Bhardwaj, D. N. (2016). Mortality among homeless women who remain unclaimed after death: An insight. The National medical journal of India, 29(4), 207.

Loates, M., & Walsh, C. A. (2010). Women negotiating sexual identity in the face of homelessness: from silence to satisfaction. Culture, health & sexuality, 12(1), 87-101.

Mayock, P., Sheridan, S., & Parker, S. (2012). Migrant women and homelessness: The role of gender-based violence. European Journal of Homelessness.

Morton, M. H., Dworsky, A., & Samuels, G. M. (2017). Missed opportunities: Youth homelessness in America. National estimates. Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Moxley, D. P., Feen-Calligan, H. R., Washington, O. G., & Garriott, L. (2011). Quilting in self-efficacy group work with older African American women leaving homelessness. Art Therapy, 28(3), 113-122.

O’Sullivan, E. (2012). Varieties of punitiveness in Europe: Homelessness and urban marginality. European Journal of Homelessness _ Volume, 6(2).

Rukmana, D. (2010). Gender differences in the residential origins of the homeless: Identification of areas with high risk of homelessness. Planning Practice & Research, 25(1), 95-116.

Russell, B. G. (2013). Silent Sisters: An Ethnography Of Homeless Women. Routledge.

Shinn, M. (2010). Homelessness, poverty, and social exclusion in the United States and Europe. European Journal on Homelessness.

Sjollema, S. D., Hordyk, S., Walsh, C. A., Hanley, J., & Ives, N. (2012). Found poetry–Finding home: A qualitative study of homeless immigrant women. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 25(4), 205-217.

Smith, N. (2012). Homeless/global: scaling places. In Mapping the futures (pp. 102-135). Routledge.

Speirs, V., Johnson, M., & Jirojwong, S. (2013). A systematic review of interventions for homeless women. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 22(7-8), 1080-1093.

Terrell, S. R. (2012). Mixed-methods research methodologies. The qualitative report, 17(1), 254-280.

Thompson Jr, R. G., Wall, M. M., Greenstein, E., Grant, B. F., & Hasin, D. S. (2013). Substance-use disorders and poverty as prospective predictors of first-time homelessness in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 103(S2), S282-S288.

Toro, P., Lesperance, T. M., & Braciszewski, J. M. (2011). The heterogeneity of homeless youth in America: Examining typologies. National Alliance to End Homelessness: Washington, DC.