Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mission Driven? Applying Ethics And Capabilities To Organizational Level Responses To Homelessness, Madeline M. Mcdonald

Honors Projects

The purpose of this interdisciplinary project is to apply a philosophical theory on ethics to the homelessness crisis in Seattle Washington. The Capabilities approach- a philosophical ethical theory- provides the conceptual foundation of this study. I adapt the theory using five capabilities from Martha Nussbaum’s list of key Capabilities and apply them to the issue of homelessness. This is a qualitative study using case-based methods. I selected one key homeless organization, Mary’s Place, to examine ethics and capabilities. I conducted in-depth interviews with five employees from Mary’s Place to evaluate ethical issues in their organizational approach. The interviews revealed a …