NCJ Number
178003
Journal
Sociological Spectrum Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: July-September 1998 Pages: 229-262
Date Published
1998
Length
34 pages
Annotation
Data from a longitudinal study of sheltered mothers demonstrate that homeless women are not passive victims of this total institution; instead, the structure of shelter life provides homeless women with opportunities for effective action.
Abstract
The research used quantitative data collected from 298 women in 2 model family shelters in Westchester County (N.Y.) and qualitative data from taped interviews of 55 of the women. The quantitative research began in 1992 and involved 3 waves over a 34-month period. Almost 62 percent of the participants remained in shelters until they obtained some form of long-term housing assistance; another 11 percent were still living in the shelter and had lived there for an average of 27.5 months. The analysis suggested that although sheltered homeless women are thought to be among the most powerless women in society, homeless women often effectively use strategies based on stereotypical representations of poor welfare mothers to gain resources important to their ongoing survival. Their approaches represent a strategic use of power. Their actions maintain a sense of personal efficacy while also helping to obtain their most important goal, a permanent place to live. Gaining a home in which to raise their children and protect themselves and their families from the worst ravages of poverty represents a real increase in social power for impoverished women. Footnotes and 61 references (Author abstract modified)