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Full-Text Articles in Public Policy
Down And Out In Boston, Jack Thomas
Down And Out In Boston, Jack Thomas
New England Journal of Public Policy
Jack Thomas is a reporter for the Boston Globe, in which this article first appeared, on February 12, 1992. Reprinted with permission.
Homelessness: The Politics Of Accommodation, Kip Tiernan
Homelessness: The Politics Of Accommodation, Kip Tiernan
New England Journal of Public Policy
This article considers the problem of poverty, with homelessness as the centerpiece. A survey of the problem and its roots and ancillary branches includes (1) a description of poverty in Boston (and America) from 1974 to 1991, its effects, its victims, and its predictable effects on the economy; (2) a description of displacement and of the homelessness that results from it; (3) a description of the immediate response to displacement and homelessness, that is, shelters; (4) a description of the institutionalization/professionalization/ossification of the response (more shelters); and (5) an outline of the terms of the new debate and suggestions for …
Massachusetts At The Crossroads, Richard E. Ring
Massachusetts At The Crossroads, Richard E. Ring
New England Journal of Public Policy
Massachusetts is at a critical juncture in its care for homeless individuals. In the face of a charged political climate and with a governor bent on the "downsizing" and "privatization" of government services, decisions are being made that are of major importance to the welfare of homeless individuals in this state. Based on the choices of the state administration, Massachusetts can either solve its homelessness problem in the near future or relegate its homeless population to a lifetime spent on the streets or in shelters. In comparison to other states, Massachusetts has been relatively successful in caring for homeless people. …
Homelessness In Boston: The Media Wake Up, Ian Menzies
Homelessness In Boston: The Media Wake Up, Ian Menzies
New England Journal of Public Policy
Why did it take the media so long to "discover" and report on the dramatically rising rates of hunger and homelessness throughout the nation? Did that failure make it easier for presidential counselor Edwin Meese to declare in December 1983 that allegations of hunger in America were "purely political" and that people who go to soup kitchens do so because the food is free, statements matched a short time later by President Ronald Reagan's claim that people who sleep on grates do so "by choice." In this article, Menzies tells the unfolding story of how hunger and homelessness finally became …
Mentally Ill Persons In Emergency And Specialized Shelters: Satisfaction And Distress, Russell K. Schutt, Stephen M. Goldfinger
Mentally Ill Persons In Emergency And Specialized Shelters: Satisfaction And Distress, Russell K. Schutt, Stephen M. Goldfinger
New England Journal of Public Policy
Emergency and specialized mental health shelters represent different service philosophies and are meant to appeal to different segments of the homeless and homeless mentally ill population. This article describes the different characteristics and needs of users of emergency and specialized mental health shelters for homeless persons in Boston. Service satisfaction is described in relation to these characteristics and needs as well as in terms of shelter type. Implications are identified for social and mental health service policies for the homeless.