Homelessness in the United States: State Surveys

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Chapters in this work describe and analyze homelessness in 15 states, from all geographic regions of the US. The diversity of survey locations reveals a variety of forces contributing to homelessness. There are frequent efforts to situate the problem within the sociopolitical context of the 1980s. An occasional chapter contains rich theoretical commentary. . . . the scope of the findings is compelling and the contradiction of stereotypes is effective. Choice This volume reads and holds together well even though each of the 14 chapters was written by a different individual or group, covers a diffrent section of the country, uses different types of data sources and analytical methods, and evidences differing perspectives. An excellent foreword and introduction (Bruce Wiegand, Howard M. Bahr) put everything in context . . . Library Journal The essays in this volume attempt to answer some of the basic questions involved in the study of homelessness. They address such issues as the nature and extent of homelessness in the United States, the socioeconomic and demographic features of the homeless population, and how homelessness is conceptualized. Other examined matters include family background, duration of homelessness, shelter and social needs, socioeconomic causes, and the demands of the homeless issue on national policy. This work provides a unique sociological and demographic perspective on the problems of homelessness. Its emphasis on local and state-level studies will make it invaluable for civic groups and policy makers. It will also interest scholars in the fields of housing, urban sociology, and social problems.

Reviews

"This book represents a noteworthy advance over most of the existing literature on homelessness. In the area of inquiry marked by a multitude of local studies and innumerable bureaucractic reports, a field of study in which systematic attention to the regional or national context is notably lacking, Professor Momeni aims to correlate, to integrate, via state-by-state assessment of contemporary homelessness."-Howard M. Bahr
This volume (1 of 2 projected) reads and holds together well even though each of the 14 chapters was written by a different individual or group, covers a different section of the country, uses different types of data sources and analytical methods, and evidences differing perspectives. All essays focus on definition by quality and quantity of the contemporary homeless in the United States; all offer suggested palliatives. An excellent foreword and introduction (Bruce Weigand, Howard M. Bahr) put everything in context: the overriding necessity for the continued use of a careful social science methodology to gain understanding of the causes and magnitude of this complex national and local, social and individual, political and economic problem. Highly recommended to academics, professionals, and interested laypersons.-Library Journal
"This volume (1 of 2 projected) reads and holds together well even though each of the 14 chapters was written by a different individual or group, covers a different section of the country, uses different types of data sources and analytical methods, and evidences differing perspectives. All essays focus on definition by quality and quantity of the contemporary homeless in the United States; all offer suggested palliatives. An excellent foreword and introduction (Bruce Weigand, Howard M. Bahr) put everything in context: the overriding necessity for the continued use of a careful social science methodology to gain understanding of the causes and magnitude of this complex national and local, social and individual, political and economic problem. Highly recommended to academics, professionals, and interested laypersons."-Library Journal

Author Bio

JAMSHID A. MOMENI is Associate Professor of Sociology/Anthropology at Howard University. He is the editor of Race, Ethnicity, and Minority Housing in the United States (1986), and the author of Housing and Racial/Ethnic Minority Status in the United States (1987), Demography of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the United States (1984) and Demography of the Black Population in the United States (1983), all published by Greenwood Press.