A Research Program on Homelessness in France

Abstract

Data on the homeless in France were obtained from two surveys conducted in Paris and a recent national survey. What emerges from these surveys of homeless people is their social proximity to other people who are living in conditions of poverty. The findings draw attention to the diversity of the individuals involved. Both contextual factors (e.g., industrial restructuring) and individual handicaps (e.g., poor education and living conditions during childhood) must be taken into account in order to explain why some people are at greater risk than others of losing their home. The findings suggest that preventive policy must not just focus on keeping people in their homes, but also contribute to the more general struggle against all aspects of poverty.The increase in the visibility of homeless people in France occurred during the 1980s in a context of economic crisis and growing insecurity due to unemployment, at a time when family bonds were seen as weakening. These conditions coincided with a decrease in the stock of privately owned low quality but inexpensive housing, much of which was demolished or renovated while original inhabitants were later replaced by better-off residents. Despite the increased concern with housing and homelessness, when the research program on homelessness started at the beginning of the 1990s in our research institute, French National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED), there had been no genuinely representative survey of the homeless population in France, either at a national or local level.INED's research on the homeless addresses methodological issues and provides insights into the living conditions and trajectories of the homeless. It is based on two quantitative surveys, as well as a number of qualitative studies. It comprises in-depth interviews of homeless people and service providers: our first survey conducted in Paris in 1995 with a sample of 591 persons aged 18 and over (Marpsat & Firdion, 1996), a second survey, conducted in Paris and the nearest suburbs

Toward an International Understanding of Homelessness

“…Many researchers and advocates now talk about homelessness in the context of a “continuum of housing,” running from the stably housed to the literally homeless, with many persons falling between these two extremes. The “international” articles represented in this issue sometimes adopt a definition similar to the “literal homeless” favored by most U.S. researchers (e.g., see Firdion & Marpsat, 2007; Philippot, Lecocq, Sempoux, Nachtergael, & Galand, 2007; Toro, Tompsett, et al, 2007). Others, however, use a broader definition that, according to most U.S, researchers, would include many of the “precariously housed” (e.g., Hladikova & Hradecky, 2007).…”

“…In part due to their training in fields other than psychology, European researchers studying homelessness, if they discuss theories at all, tend to turn to sociological and related theories (e.g., see Firdion & Marpsat, 2007, for a discussion of the theory of Bourdieu, 1985). In the terms outlined by Shinn (2007) in her concluding piece, those in Europe tend to look at broader socio‐cultural and policy levels, as exemplified by the policy‐oriented piece by Anderson (2007), while we in the United States tend to adopt a more individual level of analysis in our research and theorizing.…”

“…While the United States has its share of recent immigrants from conflict‐ridden nations (e.g., Central and South America, southeastern Asia), some European nations, given their close proximity to many areas of recent conflict (e.g., Bosnia, the Middle East, Africa) and to the now collapsed Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc communist satellite nations, have seen very dramatic increases of certain recent immigrant groups among their homeless populations (Harding, 2000). Many of these recent immigrants are illegal and they often come from nations with traditional ties to the nation in question or from those in very close proximity (e.g., from its former colonies, in the case of France; see Firdion & Marpsat, 2007). Being illegal, such homeless persons often have tremendous difficulty in obtaining government‐supported assistance.…”

The impact of the crisis on homelessness in Spain: social intervention in a context of greater need and fewer resources

“…A large part of the research has been conducted using quantitative studies and methodologies, mainly surveys (Appelbaum, 1990;Firdion & Marpsat, 2007;Koegel, Burnam, & Morton, 1996;Toro et al, 1999). In addition, other sources have been used, such as registers or headcounts on the streets of large cities (Cabrera, 2009).…”

Do Childhood Experiences of Parental Separation Lead to Homelessness?

“…Shinn (2007) points to divorce and separations as frequently cited contributors to homelessness (Firdion & Marpsat, 2007;Hladikova & Hradecky, 2007;Okamoto, 2007;Philippot et al, 2007), together with financial difficulties, domestic violence, mental health problems, substance abuse and incarceration. Unfortunately these studies only suggest a conjunction of factors that lead people to lose their homes, rather than being able to isolate the causal effect of separation on homelessness.…”