Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Surviving Against The Odds: Families’ Journeys Off Welfare And Out Of Homelessness, Donna H. Friedman, Tatjana Meschede, Michelle Hayes

Center for Social Policy Publications

Homeless families face complex challenges when making the transition from welfare to the workforce. By focusing on the experiences of homeless families participating in a Boston-based welfare-to-work program, the multimethod, longitudinal study described in this article explored factors contributing to more successful transitions as well as barriers faced by families having a harder time making the transition.

Nearly 90 percent of the families that were studied left a shelter with a housing subsidy and retained it 6 to 12 months later. Successful employment outcomes after exiting a shelter were more evident for families whose head of household was older, two-parent …