Social Work Commons^™

2024-04: Pathways To Stability And Hope: A Holistic Approach To Permanent Supportive Housing For Individuals With Serious Mental Illness (Smi), Dayna Gums, Ericka Wood, Haddy Jagne, Haley Pollard

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

The absence of accessible permanent supported housing options for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) poses a critical challenge, contributing to heightened vulnerability, increased homelessness rates, and inadequate support systems. Addressing this disparity demands a comprehensive and nuanced response that prioritizes the development and implementation of sustainable housing solutions tailored to the unique needs and experiences of individuals living with SMI. Effective interventions must embrace a holistic approach that integrates housing stability with wraparound support services, including mental health treatment, vocational training, and social inclusion initiatives.

Unstable Housing In Rural Communities, Amber Theis, Ruth Chalstrom, Kara Richard

Student Projects

Housing is a crucial part of survival and one’s ability to engage in life, but the increasing difficulty in obtaining affordable, quality, safe housing is of great concern. To better understand the housing crisis and be equipped to advocate on behalf of the unhoused, research was conducted on many factors including correlation with the ACES study, the housing crisis in America, the redefinition of housing terms, psychological impact on both adult and children, and the physical impacts of housing insecurity. It becomes evident that housing is a complex, multi-faceted issue. Nonetheless, it is one that requires significant consideration. There are …

Homelessness Estimates In The Mountain West, 2020, Saha Salahi, Vanessa Booth, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet summarizes a recent report titled, “The 2020 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress,” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. By synthesizing homelessness vulnerability categories to the Mountain West states, this report offers data for Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Keeping The Child In Mind: A Mixed Methods Study Of Reflections On Parenting Among Families In Shelter, Ann Matthews

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Homelessness among families is a growing problem across the United States (Beard, 2020). Homelessness is associated with stressful and impoverished caregiving environments that contribute to problematic parent-child relationships and increase children’s risks for poor health and academic outcomes (e.g., Perlman et al., 2012).

Responsive caregiving may protect children from adverse outcomes and foster resilience during periods of homelessness (Labella et al., 2019; Miliotis et al., 1999; Perlman et al., 2012). A parent’s capacity to understand their own and their child’s behavior as a function of internal mental states supports such responsive caregiving (e.g., Fonagy & Target, 1997; Slade, 2005) and …

How Peer Support Specialists Uniquely Initiate And Build Connection With Young People Experiencing Homelessness, James Erangey, Connor Marvin, Danielle Maude Littman, Meredith Mollica, Kimberly Bender, Tom Lucas, Tara Milligan

Graduate School of Social Work: Faculty Scholarship

Young people experiencing homelessness are often apprehensive to engage in conventional service systems due to prior mistreatment by providers and others in their lives, as well as stigma associated with accessing services. Even when relationships between service providers and young people are initiated, they often end prematurely. Mutual aid, or peer-to-peer support, has a long and promising history within the mental health field, yet has received little empirical attention in work with young people experiencing homelessness. The present study used participatory qualitative methods to understand how peers uniquely initiate and build connection with young people experiencing homelessness. Through interviews and …

Homelessness In The Mountain West, Yanneli Llamas, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This Fact Sheet provides data on homelessness in the five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. This information is adapted from the original U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness data, as reported in the Psy.D. Programs’ article, “The Places with the Most (and Least) Homelessness in America."

Emergency Department Homeless And At Risk Homeless Screening Benchmark Study, Emily Mulder

MSN Capstone Projects

Individuals experiencing homelessness drastically overutilize emergency department (ED) services compared to non-homeless individuals (Ku et al., 2014). Many unhoused individuals have serious medical and psychosocial needs, which are chronic in nature, and become exacerbated due to poor management while living on the streets (Ku et al., 2014). The health needs of such individuals would be best managed through primary care continuity. However, care coordination becomes complex when a patient does not have a physical address or knowledge of available community resources (Mitchell, León, Byrne, Lin, & Bharel, 2017). By understanding the unique barriers that homeless and at risk homeless patients …

Stressors, Self-Esteem, Social Activities, And Depression: A Sample Of Patients At A Federally Qualified Health Center Who Experienced Homelessness, Joohee Lee, Morgan W. Bradwell, Michelle Brazeal, Timothy A. Rehner, Stephanie T. Mcleod

Faculty Publications

This study examined the relationships between current stressors and depressive symptoms among Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) patients who experienced homelessness, with a particular focus on the role of self-esteem and social activities on these relationships. The sample included patients who visited any clinic site of a FQHC in the southern part of Mississippi and qualified for the Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Program. Assessments included the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the DUKE Health Profile, and a checklist of stressors. Results of the multivariate analysis using structural equation modeling revealed that ambulation difficulties were related to depressive symptoms directly …

We Have A Sacred Duty To House All Homeless Veterans, Christopher R. Fee, Joshua L. Stewart

English Faculty Publications

In a letter to Congress urging the nation to pay what it owed to veterans of the Continental Army, George Washington voiced his firm conviction that we as honorable Americans would “never leave unpaid the debt of gratitude” to those brave souls who “rescued by their arms from impending ruin” the fledgling United States. (excerpt)

House The Homeless, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

Since 2012, Gettysburg Combined Area Resources for Emergency Shelter (C.A.R.E.S.) has brought together local churches and citizens to provide emergency shelter to those without housing during the winter months. Last year alone, C.A.R.E.S. served nearly a hundred local folks, some with families, many of whom were working but unable to afford housing. (excerpt)

Wood County Project Connect: Final Report For Event Held October 19, 2016, Melissa W. Burek, Mamta Ojha, Megan Schnell

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Project Homeless Connect (PHC) is designed to provide immediate goods and services to homeless individuals and those nearing homelessness. PHC provides basic needs and critical services in one day at one location. Along with providing valuable and necessary services to help alleviate homelessness, an additional positive outcome for service providers is the opportunity to network with different agency members, and reinforce relationships, collaborations, and partnerships. On October 19, 2016, Wood County, Ohio held its fourth Project Connect (PC) event at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Bowling Green, Ohio. This report presents a compilation of data collected at the event, as …

Policy Recommendations For Meeting The Grand Challenge To End Homelessness, Deborah K. Padgett, Benjamin F. Henwood, Dennis P. Culhane

Center for Social Development Research

This brief was created forSocial Innovation for America’s Renewal, a policy conference organized by the Center for Social Development in collaboration with the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare, which is leading theGrand Challenges for Social Work initiative to champion social progress. The conference site includes links to speeches, presentations, and a full list of the policy briefs.

Sharing Our Blessings With Those In Need, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

Each year, National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week asks us to think about our most challenged neighbors during the days before Thanksgiving. As we consider our own reasons to be thankful, let us ask ourselves how we may share our blessings with those around us in need of food and shelter. [excerpt]

Entertaining Angels: Homelessness And The Hospitality Of Faith In Adams County, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

I first volunteered at a soup kitchen in the frigid depths of winter in very late 1981 or very early 1982, in the heart of the Rust Belt in the midst of a terrible recession. I should emphasize right from the onset that I didn’t want to be there: I was next to useless and very intimidated, forced to be there by the tradition of service at my all-boys Catholic high school. Still, the experience made quite an impression on me, and I tell that story to my students so that they will understand that I know what’s like to …

Critical Time Intervention For People Leaving Shelters In The Netherlands: Assessing Fidelity And Exploring Facilitators And Barriers, Renee De Vet, Danielle A. M. Lako, Marielle D. Beijersbergen, Linda Van Den Dries, Sarah Conover, Albert M. Van Hemert, Daniel Herman, Judith R. L. M. Wolf

Publications and Research

International dissemination of evidence-based interventions calls for rigorous evaluation. As part of an evaluation of critical time intervention (CTI) for homeless people and abused women leaving Dutch shelters, this study assessed fidelity in two service delivery systems and explored factors influencing model adherence. Data collection entailed chart review (n = 70) and two focus groups with CTI workers (n = 11). The intervention obtained an overall score of three out of five (fairly implemented) for compliance fidelity and chart quality combined. Fidelity did not differ significantly between service systems, supporting its suitability for a range of populations. The eight themes …

Housing And Child Well-Being, Kate Marcal, Patrick J. Fowler

Center for Social Development Research

Safe and stable housing is essential to support healthy child development and promote strong families. Children thrive in secure, stimulating environments, but far too many are exposed to precarious or unsafe housing conditions that threaten their physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Nearly 40% of the homeless population is comprised of families with children, and many more experience inadequate housing conditions such as overcrowding, household chaos, frequent moves, and poor housing quality. This brief discusses the developmental consequences of housing instability and reviews available resources in homeless services, public housing services, and the child welfare system. It also identifies gaps in …

Wood County Project Connect: Final Report For Event Held October 15, 2014, Melissa W. Burek, Mamta Ojha, Morgan Fair

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Project Connect is an outreach and an awareness raising event based on a model endorsed by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. The event is an opportunity to inform the community about the need that exists, as well as a chance to address that need. Project Connect (PC) is designed to provide immediate goods and services to at risk individuals in one day at one location. Our report presents that descriptive data and evaluation of a PC event that occurred in October of 2014 in Wood County, Ohio.

A Dereliction Of Duty: Homeless Veterans In America, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

U.S. government efforts to help homeless veterans in America are not enough.

When I first began grappling with homelessness issues in my local community quite a number of years ago, Dave, then-director of the local homeless shelter in our small town, told me a story that illustrates some of the special circumstances faced by homeless veterans in America.

Dave said a community of homeless vets had based themselves in caves in the hills outside of town, and after one was stricken with pneumonia and had to be hospitalized, his ongoing recovery left health care providers with a thorny dilemma. Clearly, …

A Lost Generation, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

America is in immediate danger of throwing away a vast number of our young people; these are kids who have fallen through the gaping holes in our social services net and have landed on our streets. They roam this country by the thousands in search of simple necessities such as food and a warm place to sleep, often trading their bodies in exchange for the most basic of human rights. In the words of Michael Stoops, Director of Community Organizing at the National Coalition for the Homeless in Washington, DC, "there is a dire need for more shelter beds for …

Want To Honor Vets This Memorial Day? Help End Veterans' Homelessness, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

Memorial Day is a day for remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

As we gather around the grill with loved ones, let's also remember veterans who survived their term of service only to find themselves without a place of their own to celebrate holidays.

When I first began grappling with homelessness in my local community years ago, Dave, then the director of the local homeless shelter in our small town, told me a story which illustrates some of the special circumstances faced by homeless veterans in America. [excerpt]

Yes, Gettysburg C.A.R.E.S., Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

Founded in the autumn of 2012, Gettysburg C.A.R.E.S. is a collaborative effort by local churches and citizens to provide emergency shelter to those without housing of any kind during the winter months. [excerpt]

These Kids Today, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

National Volunteer Week, an annual challenge and opportunity for all of us to engage with our communities, is April 6-12 this year, and recent data suggest that this could be a good opportunity to re-commit ourselves to rising to the many challenges these communities currently face. [excerpt]

Our National Shame, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

I spend a lot of time with my students working at soup kitchens and homeless shelters, and each winter, when it gets really cold and dark, my thoughts more often turn back to Dick. Dick died on January 31, 1988. He was a veteran who served in Germany in the 1950s and was a graduate of St. John's University in New York, where his father had been an English professor.

Dick had completed most of the work for his MBA during a career which included positions at Procter & Gamble, Federated Department Stores, and National Cash Register. At the time …

Homelessness: Causes, Culture And Community Development As A Solution, Kaitlin Philipps

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to explain the reasons that homelessness occurs, and how it is currently being dealt with in public policy. Triggers and predictors of homelessness are explored and it is shown that triggers are almost always compounded, indicating a multitude of factors that lead to homelessness. The culture and community surrounding the homeless lifestyle is seen as playing a significant role in how the individual copes with their homelessness. The norms and values of their culture are investigated and its role in rehabilitation is explored. Current institutions for helping the homeless are analyzed for different success rates. Additionally, initiatives …

Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces), Service Use, And Service Helpfulness Among People Experiencing Homelessness, Heather Larkin Holloway, Jihyun Park

Social Welfare Faculty Scholarship

This study examines categories of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and service use backgrounds among a convenience sample of people experiencing homelessness (N = 224), using logistic regression analysis (n = 174) and descriptive and comparative analyses. Eighty-seven percent reported at least 1 of 10 ACEs prior to age 18. Over half (53.2%) reported 4 or more ACEs. Approximately half reported parental loss, emotional neglect, living with a substance abuser, and emotional abuse. ACEs were significantly correlated with one another. Among those who used prior services, ACEs predicted interpersonal prevention, clinical, and criminal justice services for emotional or substance …

Search For Advocacy: A Measure Of Local Attentiveness To Homelessness, Courtney L. Aldrich

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

From urban capitals to rural countryside, and every locality in between, homelessness is a national phenomenon that affects every community. Each locality responds to it differently through the variety of homeless programs and services it offers. By doing such, each locality displays a certain level of attentiveness to their homeless population. This article explores how 10 small southeastern cities respond to their local homelessness and seeks to compare the homeless attentiveness of Bowling Green, Kentucky to similar localities. An evaluative measure of municipal attentiveness based on a range of homelessness program areas is used to score each city’s response to …

The First Two Years Of Housing First In Quincy, Massachusetts: "This Place Gives Me Peace, Happiness, And Hope", Tatjana Meschede

Center for Social Policy Publications

Housing First is a housing and support services program that attempts to move the most disabled homeless people directly to housing prior to treatment, using housing as the transforming element to support participation in treatment. This approach does not require sobriety or participation in long-term treatment programs unlike the traditional continuum of care approach. Promising results have been demonstrated in a number of projects using this model (Tsemberis & Eisenberg, 2000).

For the past ten years, Father Bill’s Place (FBP), a homeless shelter and housing program in Quincy, Massachusetts, has moved steadily towards providing permanent housing with supportive services, rather …

Successful Transitions Of Runaway/Homeless Youth From Shelter Care, Von Eugene Nebbitt, Laura E. House, Sanna J. Thompson, David E. Pollio

Social Work Faculty Publications

Previous research indicates that runaway and homeless youth often achieve positive outcomes after shelter stays however few studies have examined how these outcomes are achieved. This study employs qualitative methods to explicate this phenomenon. Twenty-five providers and 21 youth from four shelters participated in this study. Youth were recruited who had completed shelter care and returned home for minimally six months. Multiple raters identified themes and created a conceptual model. While in shelter, youths experienced structure and freedom, and the family experienced respite. Once youth became involved in treatment, the family re-connected and the youth returned home. After returning home, …

Moving Here Saved My Life: The Experience Of Formerly Chronically Homeless Women And Men In Quincy's Housing First Projects, Tatjana Meschede

Center for Social Policy Publications

For the past ten years, Father Bill’s Place (FBP) in Quincy, Massachusetts, has moved steadily towards providing permanent housing with supportive services rather than emergency shelter as a solution to ending homelessness. According to John Yazwinski, executive director of FBP, the vision for the future is to be able to independently house every homeless person entering FBP within a short period of time instead of “housing” people in the shelter for prolonged periods. As such, sheltering homeless people in mass emergency shelters should be a picture of the past.

Yazwinski’s Housing First Model builds upon an approach of housing “chronically” …

Prevention At Work: Homelessness Prevention Initiative (Hpi) Interim Evaluation Report, January 2004 Through September 2005, Donna H. Friedman, Jennifer Raymond, Consuela Greene, John Mcgah, Elizabeth Brown, Julia Tripp, Helen Levine

Center for Social Policy Publications

This interim report summarizes what has been learned about the processes and outcomes of interventions by HPI grantees in the first 21 months of the initiative, from January 2004 through September 2005. To ground our findings, Section One begins with a discussion of the housing, economic, and policy contexts in the U.S. and the state that impact low-income households. This section focuses on the public and nonprofit sectors these households rely upon for help when their housing circumstances are precarious.

Section Two describes the households served by HPI grantees and their varied circumstances. Section Three offers detail on the prevention …