Simple SummaryIn rental housing policy, pets are rarely considered as valued household members. Instead, landlords and property managers are often permitted to ban pets outright, or to advertise them as merely negotiable in their listings for rental housing. In fact, previous research has shown that moving and renting are key reasons for animal relinquishment. To reduce the number of animals that are given up each year due to housing issues, we surveyed landlords and property managers about their perspectives towards pets. Also, because younger adults are disproportionately tenants and because dogs are often banned from rental housing, we interviewed younger tenants with dogs about their recent experiences in the rental market. Our results confirm that dog owners face difficulties in finding rental housing. To keep their pets, tenants made compromises on where and how they lived, which held consequences for their health and that of their pets. Suggestions for improvement are provided, as are implications for research, policy, and practice.AbstractPrevious research has shown that housing insecurity contributes to animal relinquishment and that tenants with dogs face disadvantages in the rental market. Still, little is known about how dog owners navigate rental markets, nor how landlords and property managers perceive dogs and other pets. This case study reports on in-depth interviews with younger tenants with dogs and on open-ended survey responses from landlords and property managers. In their housing searches, tenants with dogs reported feeling powerless in negotiations and feeling discriminated against. They described settling for substandard properties, often located in less desirable neighborhoods. Also, some said they felt obliged to stay put in these rentals, given how difficult it had been to find a place that would accommodate their dogs. Meanwhile, landlords and property managers indicated that listings advertised as “pet-friendly” tend to receive more applicants than listings in which pets are prohibited. Suggestions for improvement included meeting pets prior to signing the lease; getting everything in writing; steering clear from furnished units; charging utilities to tenants; and speeding up the pet approval process when dealing with condominium boards. These suggestions offer implications for future research, partnerships, and policy options to improve the prospects of pets and their people in rental housing.

Background: The purpose of this study is to highlight the experiences of women who are often hidden in what we know and understand about homelessness, and to make policy and practice recommendations for womencentred services including adaptations to current housing interventions. Methods: Three hundred survey interviews were conducted with people experiencing homelessness in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The survey instrument measured socio-demographics, adverse childhood experiences, mental and physical health, and perceived accessibility to resources. Eighty-one women participants were identified as a subsample to be examined in greater depth. Descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were calculated to provide insight into women respondents' characteristics and experiences of homelessness and how they differed from men's experiences. Results: Women's experiences of homelessness are different from their male counterparts. Women have greater mental health concerns, higher rates of diagnosed mental health issues, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and adverse childhood trauma. The results should not be considered in isolation, as the literature suggests, because they are highly interconnected. Conclusion: In order to ensure that women who are less visible in their experiences of homelessness are able to access appropriate services, it is important that service provision is both gender specific and trauma-informed. Current Housing First interventions should be adapted to ensure women's safety is protected and their unique needs are addressed.

This paper draws on the work of Bourdieu to understand how experiences with dog ownership become embodied and how these experiences influence young people’s development as they leave home and learn to mobilize any capital to which they have access. Our results show that dogs can provide everyday routine during a stage in life when young people often experience instability. Additionally, dogs may help to shift the focus beyond self, thereby influencing how, and with whom, millennials spend their time. Nonetheless, balancing dog ownership with education, work, dating, social life, and other obligations could become challenging. Overall, this paper highlights that young people’s access to resources, including housing, may influence their capacities to experience all the benefits that pet ownership purports to offer. Dog ownership has numerous implications for healthy development among millennials, yet greater support may be needed to facilitate smoother transitions.

Objective This study examines the impacts of structural violence on women and how this can influence their trajectory into and their sustainable exits from homelessness. Methods The research is qualitative and community-based, including 15 interviews with mothers living in emergency shelters and a group interview with nine professionals. An advisory group was formed through partnership with community services to provide project oversight and guide and interpret the results. A member check group consisting of seven mothers with recent experiences of homelessness was engaged to further refine findings and implications. The research team used Critical Social Theory, in particular feminist theory, as an analysis framework in order to account for the implications of structural violence on mothers with diverse and complex histories. Results The results highlight three structural-level factors: gendered pathways into homelessness, systems of support that create structural barriers, and disjointed services that exacerbate trauma. Conclusion The authors propose systems-level changes rooted in trauma-informed approaches to facilitate a sustainable exit from homelessness for mothers and their children. Résumé Objectif Examiner les répercussions de la violence structurelle sur les femmes et son influence possible sur leur cheminement vers l'itinérance et sur leur sortie durable de l'itinérance. Méthode Notre étude qualitative et communautaire a comporté 15 entretiens avec des mères vivant dans des refuges d'urgence et un entretien de groupe avec neuf professionnels. Un groupe consultatif a été créé en partenariat avec des services de proximité pour assurer la supervision du projet et en guider et en interpréter les résultats. Un groupe de contrôle, composé de sept mères ayant vécu une expérience récente d'itinérance, a été recruté pour peaufiner les constatations et les conséquences de l'étude. L'équipe de recherche a utilisé la théorie sociale critique, en particulier la théorie féministe, comme cadre d'analyse pour tenir compte des conséquences de la violence structurelle sur les mères aux antécédents divers et complexes. Résultats Les résultats font ressortir trois facteurs structurels : les cheminements genrés vers l'itinérance, les systèmes de soutien qui créent des obstacles structurels, et les services fragmentaires qui exacerbent les traumatismes. Conclusion Les auteures proposent des changements systémiques ancrés dans des démarches sensibles aux traumatismes pour favoriser une sortie durable de l'itinérance pour les mères et leurs enfants.

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