Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 14 of 14

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2022 Report & Evaluation, Madhawa Palihapitiya Dec 2022

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2022 Report & Evaluation, Madhawa Palihapitiya

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The FY2022 evaluation report prepared by MOPC for the tenth year of the Grant Program operations confirms that the state’s FY2022 appropriation of $2.7 million[1]continued to strengthen community mediation center operations statewide, expanded public awareness and utilization of community mediation, and maintained critical public programs focused on housing stability, youth empowerment, reducing recidivism and building capacity for diversity, equity and inclusion for center practices and services, while producing significant social and economic impacts, including a $22.1 million return on the state’s investment in cost-savings and leveraged resources. This impact demonstrates the public value and cost-effectiveness of this local …


A Program Evaluation Of The Project Roomkey In Santa Clara, San Francisco, And Alameda Counties, Louella Sevegan Dec 2022

A Program Evaluation Of The Project Roomkey In Santa Clara, San Francisco, And Alameda Counties, Louella Sevegan

Master's Projects

During the early months of 2020, the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) had a significant impact on the homeless population. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development defines a homeless person as someone who "lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence" (Henry, et al., 2020, page 2). According to a report conducted by Culhane et al. (2020), the homeless population has a higher chance of being infected by COVID-19 than the general population. Issues such as inadequate access to sanitation or proper hygiene, and the inability to isolate, especially in a congregate …


Decreasing Trash In Local Creeks: A Program Evaluation Of The City Of San Jose’S Direct Discharge Trash Control Program, Lakeisha Bryant Dec 2022

Decreasing Trash In Local Creeks: A Program Evaluation Of The City Of San Jose’S Direct Discharge Trash Control Program, Lakeisha Bryant

Master's Projects

The entire San Francisco Bay was once a navigable waterway in the 1850s during the Gold Rush era. Large amounts of sediment from upstream erosion and mining flowed to the bay resulting in the downsizing of the bay’s square miles (Environmental Protection Agency, 2022). As a result of intense development on the bay shores and adjacent lands, the bay faces several challenges that affect its water quality and threatens aquatic ecosystems. Pesticides, mercury, metals, and pathogens are just a few substances in the bay that cause unhealthy conditions for aquatic life and threaten human health. California’s Water Resources Control Board …


A Quantitative Examination Of The Influence Of Social And Structural Communication Variables On The Social Connectedness Of People Experiencing Homelessness, Shawn Michael Evans Dec 2022

A Quantitative Examination Of The Influence Of Social And Structural Communication Variables On The Social Connectedness Of People Experiencing Homelessness, Shawn Michael Evans

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined the influence of social and structural communication variables on the perceived social connectedness of people experiencing homelessness in the Northwest Arkansas (NWA) and Joplin, Missouri areas. This study employed the ecological perspective of communication infrastructure theory (CIT; Ball-Rokeach et al., 2001) and a communication perspective which envisions communicative interaction as constitutive of social experience. Using survey data from 166 participants, this study examined 11 research questions and hypotheses drawn from extant literature on homelessness, social connectedness, and CIT. ANOVAs, t-tests, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed a complex relationship between individuals and the communicative environment. This study …


A Policy Agenda For Addressing The Homeless Problem, David A. Johnson May 2022

A Policy Agenda For Addressing The Homeless Problem, David A. Johnson

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

While the past 40 years has ushered in a period of improved urban real estate development and values, it has also been a time of decreased housing affordability and increased homelessness. The Agenda for Building a Changing World Responsibly needs to include improved housing assistance and affordability policies. This article outlines an agenda for housing assistance and affordability policies at both the federal and local urban jurisdiction levels. Their implementation will collectively help build a changing world responsibly.


Breaking The Cycle: An Analysis Of The Reduction Of Single Women In The Homeless Community, Luisa J. Lamagra May 2022

Breaking The Cycle: An Analysis Of The Reduction Of Single Women In The Homeless Community, Luisa J. Lamagra

Honors Projects

An analysis of homelessness with particular attention to King County and a focus on single women. This paper aims to address gender disparities in housing prioritization and homeless reduction solutions while suggesting gender-conscious policies and programs. The current system of housing prioritization is aiming to be neutral; yet it falls to the side of white, cisgender, heterosexual men. Single women without children have specific needs that are not met because the absence of children in their lives makes them insignificant, which feeds into the cyclical nature of chronic homelessness. By analyzing the specific pathways that women take into homelessness, this …


Exploring Health Inequities: Head Injuries In People Experiencing Homelessness, Emily M. Angus Apr 2022

Exploring Health Inequities: Head Injuries In People Experiencing Homelessness, Emily M. Angus

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Lifetime occurrence of head injury is disproportionately affecting people experiencing homelessness in Canada. Head injury in people experiencing homelessness is associated with victimization, housing instability and substance use (Topolovec-Vranic et al., 2017). However, individual factors including sex, race, social class and disability also produce social and health inequities which may have intersectional impacts on this population (McCall, 2005). Through secondary exploration of data from the No Fixed Address Version 2 (NFAv2) and No Fixed Address Version 2x (NFAv2x) studies (Forchuk et al., 2018; in press), and an intersectional lens, the purpose of this study was to explore relationships between individual …


The Logic Of "Social Enterprise": The Big Issue Organization And New Labour Policy At The Millennial Juncture, Suman Gupta Mar 2022

The Logic Of "Social Enterprise": The Big Issue Organization And New Labour Policy At The Millennial Juncture, Suman Gupta

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

This paper explores the emergence of and policies and practices underpinning ‘social enterprise’ in Britain: that is, the concept that businesses could provide social services and benefits while returning profits to those who have invested in them. This paper argues that, in Britain, the concept was massaged into existence and adopted as a business and policy model at a particular historical juncture, in the later 1990s and early 2000s. The process involved a careful interweaving of linguistic maneuvers with financial calculations both at the level of specific businesses and at that of political regimes. This process is traced here with …


Substance Abuse Disorders And Veteran Homelessness, Donald Rufus Williams Jan 2022

Substance Abuse Disorders And Veteran Homelessness, Donald Rufus Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractVeterans constitute a significant proportion of the homeless population in the United States. Studies indicate that substance abuse is a major issue these veterans face that can result in homelessness. Despite improvement since 2009, substance abuse among this population remains a significant problem. The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of the experiences of homeless and substance-abusing veterans to provide information to government agencies that may help them develop a practical approach for addressing the issue. The social cognitive theory and Lowry's dimension on federalism provided the theoretical framework for this study. A general qualitative research …


Homelessness In Late Life: An Exploration Of The Lived Experience, Danielle Palmisano Jan 2022

Homelessness In Late Life: An Exploration Of The Lived Experience, Danielle Palmisano

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Homelessness is a challenging, chronic public problem throughout the United States that has broad impacts on the public sector. Older adults are the largest growing segment of the population and have not been spared by this housing crisis. The experience of homelessness while aging can have negative impacts that contribute to increased healthcare costs and reduced quality of life. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experience of late life homelessness from the perspective of formerly homeless older adults to inform the development of a grounded theory on how the lived experience of …


The Effects Of Federal Funding Reductions On Emergency Shelters In Urban U.S. Sanctuary Cities., Venice Hylton Jan 2022

The Effects Of Federal Funding Reductions On Emergency Shelters In Urban U.S. Sanctuary Cities., Venice Hylton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractWhen the U.S. federal government reduces funding to urban sanctuary cities because of those cities’ refusal to cooperate with federal law enforcement agents this affects the services offered by the municipalities to their residents. The purpose of this study was to provide a better understanding of the effects that withdrawal of federal funds from urban sanctuary cities have on people experiencing homelessness. The social exchange theory provided the theoretical foundation for the study, which featured a qualitative exploratory case study design and involved interviews with four shelter administrators in three mid-Atlantic states. The participants described (a) the effects of reduced …


Challenges Faced By Recently Emancipated Youth, Williams Peña, Jerry Walter Butkiewicz Iii Jan 2022

Challenges Faced By Recently Emancipated Youth, Williams Peña, Jerry Walter Butkiewicz Iii

Communication Senior Capstones

In this academic research paper, we will be exploring the challenges faced by recently emancipated youth. We chose this topic because of the fact that this is not often spoken about or taught to the general public. This lack of attention to these issues creates hurdles when attempting to solve these sensitive issues. Considering this, we thought it would be a strong choice for further research and review. We explored many obstacles these new adults face. One such issue that we would like to touch on is the unstable housing situation of these recently emancipated individuals. Another prudent example is …


Scope Of Homelessness In Kentucky, Shannon Elyse Catron Jan 2022

Scope Of Homelessness In Kentucky, Shannon Elyse Catron

Online Theses and Dissertations

This paper is based on a data project that pulled together publicly available data from several sources to examine the scope of homelessness in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The primary findings of the project conclude that there is a lack of data regarding counting homeless individuals, and that the available data should be examined to determine changes in the homeless population and demographics over time. Examining this data would also reveal the rate of progress in the number of counties that have began participating in the K-count since 2006. Increasing awareness about the topic and encouraging local governments to develop …


Housing Choice Vouchers: Moving To Work Program In California, Benjamin Tran Jan 2022

Housing Choice Vouchers: Moving To Work Program In California, Benjamin Tran

Master's Projects

This research project examined whether the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Moving To Work (MTW) program enabled California’s public housing authorities to provide more efficient service, while meeting MTW program goals, from 2015 to 2020.