Abstract
The Chronic Homelessness initiative has directed millions of federal dollars to services for single unaccompanied homeless individuals, specifically excluding women living with their children. Using a data set with a nationally representative sample of homeless adults, we calculated the prevalence rates and profiles of long-term homelessness in homeless women (n = 849). With the exception of the criterion of being a single unaccompanied individual, many women, including women with children, met the criteria for chronic homelessness including having a disability of mental health or substance abuse problems. Our findings suggest that the federal definition of chronic homelessness needs to be revised.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 470-485 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Social Work in Public Health |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2010 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Martha Burt, PhD, and Linda Weinreb, MD, in reviewing the manuscript. This study was funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Substance Abuse Policy and Research Program No. 52826.
Keywords
- Homelessness
- children
- family
- mental illness
- substance abuse
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Health Policy
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
