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Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Sharing Our Blessings With Those In Need, Christopher R. Fee Nov 2016

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]


Lgbtq Emerging Adults: Their Experiences With Homelessness, Jesse L. Grainger, Brent E. Cagle Oct 2016

Lgbtq Emerging Adults: Their Experiences With Homelessness, Jesse L. Grainger, Brent E. Cagle

The Winthrop McNair Research Bulletin

Using a qualitative method, this study explored the experiences of emerging adults (ages 18-24) who are LGBTQ and homeless in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg area of North Carolina. Emerging adults who are homeless and identify as LGBTQ are shown to have different health and safety concerns compared to peers. Because of these unique factors, researchers suggest these individuals require specific social services that cater to their needs. Nine face-to-face interviews were conducted which resulted in a total of 9 hours of collected data. In order to ensure that research results are as accurate as possible, grounded theorists suggest that one have at …


Factors Contributing To The Economic Self-Sufficiency Of At-Risk Foster Youth Who Have Aged Out Of Care, Alexzandra M. Hust Aug 2016

Factors Contributing To The Economic Self-Sufficiency Of At-Risk Foster Youth Who Have Aged Out Of Care, Alexzandra M. Hust

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Foster youth aging out of care encounter many struggles upon transitioning into adulthood, resulting in an increased risk of homelessness and adverse social, health, and financial outcomes. This study aimed to determine if various factors (environmental factors: education, mental health service, social support and personal factors: incarceration, substance abuse referral, and unplanned parenthood) were associated with indicators of economic self-sufficiency (full-time and part-time employment, housing stability, and use of financial, food, and housing assistance). Multiple logistic regressions were conducted to explore risk and predictive factors of each indicator of economic self-sufficiency with a sample of 265 19 year old foster …


Entertaining Angels: Homelessness And The Hospitality Of Faith In Adams County, Christopher R. Fee Jun 2016

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 …


The Experiences Of Adults With Severe And Persistent Mental Illness And Long-Term Housing, Heather Hurner May 2016

The Experiences Of Adults With Severe And Persistent Mental Illness And Long-Term Housing, Heather Hurner

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This paper examines the barriers that adults with a severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) may experience when they approach securing and maintaining long-term hous- ing. According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAM- HSA, 2011), around 30% of persons who experience chronic homelessness have a mental health condition, and of that group 50% also experience problems with co-occurring sub- stance use. This article utilized six qualitative interviews with service providers who work with this population and housing in some aspect. This study found that relationships between service providers and both landlords and clients play an important role …


Interventions That Address Safety Concerns Among Youth Experiencing, Katrina Mateski May 2016

Interventions That Address Safety Concerns Among Youth Experiencing, Katrina Mateski

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

In this systematic review, literature regarding youth experiencing homelessness and the clinical interventions focused on safety towards youth experiencing homelessness were synthesized. Using two databases SocINDEX, and PsychINFO; 10 studies regarding clinical interventions met criteria for the review. Each study was analyzed in population, intervention, and findings; while contrasting and comparing the definition of safety and the safety concerns between the clinical interventions. The findings identified focus areas of safety which include chemical health reduction, promoting harm reduction, psychological health, resilience, and service utilization. The primary safety focus areas were reduced to chemical health reduction, promoting harm reduction, and psychological …


Common Table, Patrick Mclaughlin Apr 2016

Common Table, Patrick Mclaughlin

Center for Engagement and Community Development

Describes Common Table approach to increasing awareness and assistance to community members experiencing hunger and related economic stresses.


Gimme Shelter: Homeless Services Providers' Assessments Of The Effectiveness Of Housing First Programs In Portland, Maine, Eric Kneeland Jan 2016

Gimme Shelter: Homeless Services Providers' Assessments Of The Effectiveness Of Housing First Programs In Portland, Maine, Eric Kneeland

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the Housing First model of addressing chronic homelessness in the state of Maine, primarily in the city of Portland. Preble Street, an organization based in Portland, operates a Housing First program called Logan Place, which houses 30 chronically homeless adults. I interviewed eight members of the staff at Preble Street using a semi-structured interview style: three caseworkers, three administrators, and two administrators with casework responsibilities. The major themes that were revealed from the interviews are the successes of the program, the ongoing challenges of securing funding to continue the program's successes, the role of public perception …


Toward Housing Stability: Exiting Homelessness As An Emerging Adult, Jeff Karabanow, Sean A. Kidd, Tyler Frederick, Jean Hughes Jan 2016

Toward Housing Stability: Exiting Homelessness As An Emerging Adult, Jeff Karabanow, Sean A. Kidd, Tyler Frederick, Jean Hughes

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper explores the lives of formerly homeless young people as they transitioned towards housing stability. The study employed a longitudinal design involving 51 street youth in Halifax, N.S. (n = 21) and Toronto, ON (n = 30). This paper sheds light upon the pathways through which young people transitioned away from homelessness using the developmental lens of emerging adulthood: a stage involving numerous developmental struggles (identity, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between) but also an age filled with hope and possibilities. There are numerous interrelated factors at play that allow participants to regain a sense of citizenship with mainstream society. While …


A Phenomenological Study: Foster Care Youth Aging Out Of The System, Guy Thompson Jan 2016

A Phenomenological Study: Foster Care Youth Aging Out Of The System, Guy Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this applied dissertation was to explore the lived experiences of teens aging out of foster care, in an effort to better understand their needs. While the child welfare system is geared towards family preservation, reunification, and adoption, most young adults transitioning from the foster care system are not reunited with family members or are only reunited as a last resort. Unfortunately, every year, thousands are leaving the support of the foster care system, unprepared. Youth departing the child welfare system are not gradually transitioned into becoming self-sufficient. They do not have an effective support system available if …


Transitional Planning And Homelessness Of Youths Emancipated From Foster Care, Sharon Patricia Sutherland Jan 2016

Transitional Planning And Homelessness Of Youths Emancipated From Foster Care, Sharon Patricia Sutherland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has indicated that approximately 25% of the 30,000 youths emancipated from foster care each year experience negative outcomes including poor education attainment, limited employment opportunities, homelessness, lack of access to healthcare, and poor social networks. Despite the existence of federal legislation that requires foster care agencies to assist foster youths to make the transition to independent living, research has revealed that the current transitional planning process is not effective. There is a gap in the current literature regarding qualitative research on youths' shared experiences of the transitional planning process as they transit out of foster care. This study …


Heath And The Homeless Population Of Missoula: “Housing First” As A Solution, Marissa S. Ginnett Jan 2016

Heath And The Homeless Population Of Missoula: “Housing First” As A Solution, Marissa S. Ginnett

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Missoula, Montana has an extremely high rate of homelessness at .75% of the population (compared to other large cities, Seattle, Washington at .23% and Los Angeles, California at .32%). This is due to there not being much done to help chronically inebriated homeless individuals. All are turned away from Missoula's overnight shelters if they are not sober. For an inebriated homeless person, the jail and the hospital are the only two places where they can stay the night. Through comparison to other cities, such as Seattle, Washington, I have identified that Missoula needs a wet housing program. Wet housing provides …