This article was written based on a larger, their own studies that were conducted in 2009 among the 52 homeless women in podkarpackie voivodship. People were matched in terms of age, place of residence during the research and occasional or permanent residence in the hostel. Using autobiographical narrative interview, which is a particular form of free or deep interview. The text attempts to show the opinion of homeless women on their own. It shows the reasons for homelessness women in their opinions and their own characteristics.
This article is based on a larger research study by the author conducted in 2009 among 52 homeless women in the podkarpackie voivodship. Subjects were selected based on the criteria of age, place of residence during the research, and occasional or permanent residence in the shelter. Using the biographical method and narrative interview technique, which is a particular form of free or in-depth interview, the study attempts to outline the image of the homeless woman as a mother.
Homelessness is a social problem which in spite of its existence has not been successfully solved till today. It is very difficult for the scientific investigation and even dangerous for the researcher, also for practitioners who is involved in that problem. Therefore there is a postulate of the continuous searching for new solutions, and improving the existing ones. The subject of this article is the phenomenon of homelessness in Germany.
Homeless, wanderer, tramp, hobo, … many terms by which common language attempts to designate housing exclusion. Naming this phenomenon without stigmatizing, without eliminating the complexity of the phenomenon, is a constant challenge when it comes to addressing those affected by the lack of housing. In this article, we show how three categories of actors are trying to meet this challenge. First, in the media. An analysis of the media discourse shows that the homelessness has now become a key media figure – especially when the winter approaches -, replacing the old iconic figure of the tramp. Nevertheless, naming this phenomenon proves to be a complex exercise for the journalists. Second, toward the organisations working with the people who are homeless. For them naming the lack of housing is also the challenge of those who, every day, try to accompany people in this situation. Behind the words are obviously hidden social representations but also ways of taking care of these people in their attempts to cope with the lack of housing. In scientific research, finally. Beyond the term used, a literature review shows that it is mainly the process by which these individuals go through that intrigues the researchers. It is not only a matter of naming but of understanding. This concern is shared by field operators who deploy their own categorization to better cope with this extreme form of exclusion of lack of housing. Our field research mainly concerns French-speaking Belgium (media and operational categorization). However, to contextualize our remarks, we are also making incursions into French scientific literature as well as into the conceptualization work carried out by researchers at the European Observatory on Homelessness.
Homelessness is an urgent problem for any civilised society. It becomes the subject of examination of several fields of science such as social work, medicine, nursing, public health, law, sociology, psychology, theology, ethics, economy, environment and so on. In the paper, the authors analyze individual types of homelessness and social and health forms of assistance. They pay attention to the causes of homelessness, they describe the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms and the related right to treatment, the right to social services. In the Czech Republic, they approximate the importance, objectives and tasks of the association of asylum houses and dormitories, similarly indicating the situation in the Slovak Republic. They pay particular attention to health risks in the homeless community (mental disorders, infectious diseases, viral hepatitis, HIV/AIDS) and access to healthcare for the homeless.
Not having a permanent home means living in a constant state of stress. Though much has been written about homelessness and its stressors, very little research has focused on the experiences of those living in liminal housing, such as extended-stay motels. As affordable housing units dwindle in the US, more individuals and families with children have moved into extended-stay motels. In this study, I explore stressors that low-income families living in extended-stay motels experience, as well as their coping mechanisms. Through semi-structured interviews with 18 families with children living in extended-stay motels in the Central Florida region, consistent financial and emotional stressors were identified among all families. Additionally, gender and the community feel of a motel impacts the magnitude of the stress, as well as the ability to cope. Findings from this study suggest that, although families in motels experience constant environmental stressors, community building among precariously housed families may create an informal safety net for the families and thus, alleviate the financial and emotional crisis.
Podstawą w pracy streetworkera jest ciągłe budowanie i utrzymywanie pozytywnych relacji z osobą doświadczającą bezdomności w miejscach niemieszkalnych. Pozwala to na wzrost zaufania adresata działań, a przez to na szybszy proces wychodzenia z bezdomności pozaschroniskowej. Jednym z czynników wiążących tego typu relację jest język, który – podobnie jak w innych grupach społecznych – uwypukla przynależność do danej zbiorowości, a jego znajomość przyczynia się do okazywanego wobec siebie szacunku. Bogactwo żargonu, którym posługują się częstochowscy bezdomni, stanowi codzienne wyzwanie dla streetworkerów, którzy, będąc osobami pierwszego kontaktu w systemie pomocy społecznej, dążą do przekroczenia barier związanych z językiem, aby w wyniku współtworzonego z klientem planu pomocowego przyczynić się do powrotu osób bezdomnych do społeczeństwa.
EN
Establishing and maintaining positive relationships with the non-shelter-using homeless in nonhabitable places constitutes the basis of outreach worker. It helps to develop a degree of trust and to accelerate the process of getting out of homelessness. Language is one of the major components in this type of relationship. It emphasizes group affiliation, thus, every individual with the knowledge of language of a given group may earn respect of this group. Therefore, the jargon used by the Częstochowa homeless is a daily challenge for outreach workers who are the primary contact persons in the social welfare system. They strive to overcome language barriers in order to help the homeless to return to the society.
Prezentowany artykuł jest sprawozdaniem z badań przeprowadzonych przeze mnie wśród bezdomnych przebywających w hostelu utworzonym w ramach jednego ze stowarzyszeń (lata 2007–2013). Usytuowanie tychże badań w orientacji interpretatywnej stwarza szansę poznania perspektywy Uczestników (w tym przypadku bezdomnych). W tekście zaprezentowano podejmowane przez bezdomnych próby odnajdywania się w świecie zinstytucjonalizowanym, organizowanym przez społeczeństwo wobec bezdomnego jako sposób na jego „zagospodarowanie”. Bezdomni wskazują szereg krytycznych uwag, w obliczu których szeroko rozumiana „instytucja” jawi się raczej jako ta „utrwalająca bezdomność”, aniżeli wspierająca w zmianie sytuacji. Uporządkowano refleksje bezdomnych – Uczestników badań w obrębie kategorii instytucjonalnej organizacji przetrwania w placówce, jaką jest schronisko dla bezdomnych.
EN
The article is a reflection on the participatory research conducted by me among the homeless living in the streets of my city outside the system of institutional aid (2005–2008) and in the environment of homeless people staying in the hostel and joining an association there (from 2007 to 2013 with some breaks). The location of these studies within the interpretative orientation ensures an opportunity to get to know the perspective of the Participants (in this particular case – the homeless). In this article I present homeless people attempts to find themselves in an institutionalized world organized by the society towards the homeless as a way to “develop” it. Homeless people point to a number of critical remarks in the face of which the broadly understood “institution” appears rather as a “fixing homelessness” rather than a supportive one in changing the situation. I organize the reflections of the homeless – participants of my research within the institutional organization of surviving in the shelter for the homeless
Thesis/Objective – The article is to present issues related to the homelessness and possible roles performed by libraries for the homeless (help in overcoming this problem). The author emphasizes the importance of library services for the homeless and for the overall library image and points to the problems experienced by librarians while dealing with this group of users. Foreign solutions for this problem are presented, focused on the improvement of library services. Research methods – The critical analysis of the literature in the field (mostly the foreign one) was used. Results and conclusions – The American Library Association (ALA) strategy for the homeless in libraries is presented, tools helping to work with this particular group of users are discussed and best practices for this issue are described with the assumption that they may inspire other actions to be taken in Poland as well.
PL
Teza/cel artykułu – Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie problemów związanych z bezdomnością i ukazanie, jaką rolę mogą pełnić biblioteki wobec osób doświadczających bezdomności, umożliwiając im przezwyciężanie tej sytuacji. Zwrócono uwagę na znaczenie usług dla samych osób bezdomnych i dla wizerunku biblioteki. Zasygnalizowano też problemy, jakich doświadczają bibliotekarze w pracy z tą grupą użytkowników. Zaprezentowano zagraniczne działania podejmowane w tym zakresie, służące doskonaleniu usług bibliotecznych. Metody badawcze – Zastosowano metodę analizy i krytyki, piśmiennictwa bibliologicznego, głównie obcego. Wyniki i wnioski – przybliżono politykę American Library Association w odniesieniu do osób bezdomnych, przedstawiono narzędzia ułatwiające pracę z tą grupą użytkowników, a także ukazano najlepsze praktyki w tym zakresie, które mogą się stać inspiracją do podejmowania kolejnych działań, także na gruncie polskim.
In this article approaches toward solving housing problems of the homeless in Ukraine and in Poland are compared. Particular attention is paid to the types of housing objects and their location. The report on the situation in Poland became a basis to formulate recommendations for new Ukrainian housing policy concerning the homeless. In the group of almost several hundred thousand homeless people in Ukraine, the majority are citizens of working age and with secondary education. Although single people largely prevail in this group, the numer of those with families is increasing. According to the official estimates, in Poland there are 30–40 thousand homeless people. This group consists mainly of middle-aged unqualified men, mostly single ones. It is observed that the period of being homeless is extending each year. Similarly, the share of highly educated homeless is increasing. Both in Poland and Ukraine, people deprived of their homes concentrate in urban agglomerations and big cities. The authors conclude that shaping Ukrainian housing policy ought not focus on shelters, which are oriented towards chronic homeless, but on dwellings which enable rehabilitation, socialisation and re-integration of the excluded people with the society. Social rehabilitation should consist of 2–4 stages depending on individual cases. For each of the stages a type of dwelling is suggested. The article provides also some remarks on location of dwellings for the homeless. They are aimed at minimizing tensions between the homeless and the community where the institution is supposed to operate.
PL
W artykule podjęto się porównania podejść do rozwiązywania problemów mieszkaniowych osób bezdomnych na Ukrainie i w Polsce. Szczególną uwagę poświęcono rodzajom obiektów mieszkaniowych oraz ich lokalizacji. Omówienie aktualnej sytuacji w Polsce stało się podstawą do sformułowania rekomendacji odnośnie kształtowania nowej polityki mieszkaniowej w zakresie lokalizacji i projektowania obiektów mieszkaniowych dla bezdomnych na Ukrainie.
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