1. Homeless Families: An Extreme Stressor Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

2.  Define “homelessness”  Use attachment theory to predict who might be vulnerable to becoming homeless. Apply this to a case study in the chapter  Describe the impact of homelessness on children’s emotional development and education  Identify the major challenges that confront homeless parents, and the policies and programs that could help. Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

3.  Estimated 50% homeless women and children fleeing domestic violence  No longer single men; increasingly single women and families with children  Vast majority of homeless families are mother- headed  “hidden homelessness”  No permanent residence  “doubled up” families Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

4.  2007 estimated 1.6 million homeless has used shelters Oct. 06- Sep. 07  Difficulty in counting  Incidence vs. prevalence Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

5.  Leaving intimate partner abuse  About ½ homeless women fleeing abuse  Not all states release intimate partner abuse victims from housing contracts  Unsafe living conditions  House fire  drug use or sales  condemned structures  lack of electricity or heat  Couldn’t pay rent Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

6.  Family disputes  Lack of affordable housing  Transition to homelessness  Slow transition due to decline in safe living conditions  Quick transition – eviction, foreclosure, family problems  Never had own residence Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

7.  Typical sheltered family –  mother + 2-3 kids  African-American families overrepresented  More than ½ homeless families African American  Whites and Hispanics underrepresented Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

8.  Homeless moms often young – between age 22 and 34  46% never married  53% never graduated from high school  Higher rates of homelessness among minority groups  Inconsistent work histories common  Reflection of low SES and high poverty  Although most homeless families receive some kind of income, it’s not enough to pay for housing without additional assistance Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

9.  Mental illness and substance abuse still more common among homeless men, but an issue for many homeless women  40% homeless women had alcohol issue  46% experienced drug problems  54% had mental health issues  Poverty and homelessness key factors in causing depressive symptoms Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

10.  Positive social support  doing something to confront problem directly  Willing to ask for or accept help  Finding purpose in helping others  Having patience and enduring hardships Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

11.  53% homeless children are male  75% homeless children under age 12  Homeless kids exposed to poor living conditions  Poor sanitation  Exposure to cold, damp, mold  Communal sleeping  Many Domestic violence homeless shelters don’t let teen males remain in shelter  Shared bathroom facilities  Homeless women may leave children with family members or friends Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

12.  Homelessness influences child development and health  More chronic health outcomes  Poor living conditions  Stress  Depression  Trauma  Behavioral problems  Other mental health problems  More related to problems of poverty than homelessness alone Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

13.  Increasing rates of homelessness related to overall increase in rates of poverty over past 2 decades  Rich getting richer, poor getting poorer, shrinking middle class  Structural and SES factors  Lack of low cost housing  Imbalance between # of low- cost housing units and # of families qualifying for those units Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

14.  Individual Factors  Youth, low income, ethnicity, physical disabilities, DV as adults, low education, family breakup  Social Factors  Unhealthy social support, negative coping, poor social networks, job loss, economic changes  Social network theory  Poor social networks cause of homelessness  However, homeless often turn to family or friends until “their safety nets had worn too thin to support them any longer” Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

15.  Attachment theory  Certain people have limited support networks  Family history can lead to extreme disaffiliation and inability to use social networks  “Children who experience high degrees of abuse and family discord, low degrees of parental involvement, and poor family organization and social integration are likely to experience later difficulty in seeking caregivers” – p 345  High rates of early-childhood disruptive experiences among homeless women Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

16.  Use attachment theory to predict who might be vulnerable to becoming homeless. Apply this to a case study in the chapter  Page 334 – The Porter Family  Page 335 – The Johnson Family  Page 342 – The Aycock family Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

17.  Family boundaries fragmented  Parenting roles change  Either abdicated (failed to be fulfilled) or rigidly conceived and performed  Lose home and parents ability to be consistent and supportive caregiver  Influenced by parental emotional state Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

18.  Support networks  Family, social support, friends, kin networks, service providers  3 stages  Meeting immediate family needs  Creating new home  Maintaining stability once in permanent housing  Factors affecting escape from homelessness  Children, personal and external resources, SES Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications

19.  Help families meet immediate and transitional needs  Recognize homelessness and poverty as systemic rather than individual problems  Attention to help families avoid homelessness  Assess high-risk families  Assessment of strength in families that are able to hold together in spite of distress of poverty and homelessness. Prepared by Carrie LeFevre Sillito,Ph.D. © Sage Publications