Homelessness in the United States: Volume II: Data and Issues

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This is the second of Momeni's two-volume series on homelessness in the United States. While volume I concentrated on the statewide distribution, variations, trends, and characteristics of the homeless population, the present volume addresses the problem of data collection and specific causes and issues that relate to homelessness. Unique in its attempt to bring systematic data and analysis to bear on the subject, this groundbreaking study focuses upon such critical areas as drug abuse among the homeless, the housing situation that gives rise to homelessness, homeless children, food sources, and problems of employment. Although the contributors approach the topic from a number of different perspectives, they are united in their conclusion that realistic solutions to the problem of homelessness rest not in establishing new and dramatic programs, but rather in forging links between government and private agencies to create a system-wide response to the multiple needs of the homeless population. In addition to exploring the serious and persistent problems homeless people face, the contributors highlight the difficulties inherent in measuring the extent of homelessness accurately, concluding that efforts to do so are likely to produce an undercount. A number of chapters provide a clearer picture of the homeless population in America by examining both the socioeconomic and demographic correlates and the social-psychiatric dimensions of homelessness. Finally, the contributors compare and contrast the characteristics of homelessness and the methods of dealing with the problem in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. Two concluding essays provide an overview of homelessness on the national level and propose public policies likely to be most effective in reducing homelessness. Numerous tables and figures illustrate points made in the text. Students of social sciences, social practitioners, and public policymakers will find Homelessness in America provocative reading, and a reliable source of data and analysis.

Reviews

. . . the book contains many interesting insights which, when pieced together, create the sense that government has moved back about a century in its response to the homeless. on a permanent basis, is reminiscent of poorhouses--noisy, overcrowded, often unsanitary and unsafe, and without any privacy. Children are particular victims. There are an estimated half-million homeless children growing up in very mean circumstances that breed chronic insecurity, dysfunction and anger. The specter of chicken hawks dealing in children and the touching loyalty of children towards their alcoholic, drug-addicted mothers reads right out of Dickens. The nineteenth-century feel to homelessnes is not really surprising. As Gerald Daly, one of the authors, points out, the problems underlying it represent institutional failures on a massive scale. . . .-CHPC Booknews
While the first volume of this two-volume series documents the nationwide pervasiveness of homelessness, Volume 2 presents studies that, taken together, show how complex and intractable the problem has become. The author of each chapter reports findings that pertain to a specific dimension of the issue. For the most part, the discussions and conclusions are well written and an excellent job of relating specific subject matter to the problem as a whole. Although the research strategies vary, the chapters are ordered so as to build an effective critique of traditional uses of data, prevailing assumptions about what sorts of people may find themselves without permanent places of residence, and programs to provide shelter. . . . Homelessness in America should be of interest to students of social policy, applied research, social issues, and urban ecology. It brings together studies that document causes, point up weaknesses in existing programs, and advocate a more comprehensive strategy.-Contemporary Sociology
." . . the book contains many interesting insights which, when pieced together, create the sense that government has moved back about a century in its response to the homeless. on a permanent basis, is reminiscent of poorhouses--noisy, overcrowded, often unsanitary and unsafe, and without any privacy. Children are particular victims. There are an estimated half-million homeless children growing up in very mean circumstances that breed chronic insecurity, dysfunction and anger. The specter of chicken hawks dealing in children and the touching loyalty of children towards their alcoholic, drug-addicted mothers reads right out of Dickens. The nineteenth-century feel to homelessnes is not really surprising. As Gerald Daly, one of the authors, points out, the problems underlying it represent institutional failures on a massive scale. . . ."-CHPC Booknews
"While the first volume of this two-volume series documents the nationwide pervasiveness of homelessness, Volume 2 presents studies that, taken together, show how complex and intractable the problem has become. The author of each chapter reports findings that pertain to a specific dimension of the issue. For the most part, the discussions and conclusions are well written and an excellent job of relating specific subject matter to the problem as a whole. Although the research strategies vary, the chapters are ordered so as to build an effective critique of traditional uses of data, prevailing assumptions about what sorts of people may find themselves without permanent places of residence, and programs to provide shelter. . . . Homelessness in America should be of interest to students of social policy, applied research, social issues, and urban ecology. It brings together studies that document causes, point up weaknesses in existing programs, and advocate a more comprehensive strategy."-Contemporary Sociology

Author Bio

JAMSHID A. MOMENI is Professor of Sociology/Anthropology at Howard University. He is the editor of Homelessness in the United States, Volume I (1989), Race, Ethnicity, and Minority Housing in the United States (1986), the author of Housing and Racial/Ethnic Minority Status in the United States (1987), and many other books and journal articles.