Critical Homelessness: Expanding Narratives of Inclusive Democracy

Abstract

The experience (as opposed to the concept) of homelessness is hardly part of the academic discourse in education, cultural studies, or human development. One of the central goals of our special issue is to create a bridge between homelessness as a personal experience and homelessness as a public issue. Along with the personal experience that breaks free from the deficit-model informing dominant notions of homelessness, we also want to bring attention to the politics in the construction of knowledge about homelessness. Starting from street folk's textual representations of their visceral knowledge of homelessness, we offer a reading of current dominant narratives of homelessness: narratives of poverty as individual trouble (as opposed to systemic expression of ideologies of domination), narratives of personal choice (as in "choose the right" movements), and narratives of charity (as in "feel good about yourself for spending a week of your spring break vacation helping clean and build around Katrina").

But Good Intentions are Not Enough: Preparing Teachers to Center Race and Poverty

“…(p. 105) Finley and Diversi (2010) stressed that homelessness is not well defined, and this fuzziness can be seen by the public and policymakers as a much smaller epidemic than it actually is. Consequently, resources to assist homeless individuals and families can be limited and limiting.…”

Supporting Students Living Below the Poverty Line

“…Finley and Diversi (2010) stressed this problem and the "fuzziness" of how homelessness is defined. They particularly emphasized this problem from the perspective of policymakers, as homelessness is seen as a much smaller epidemic than it actually is and, consequently, resources to assist individuals can be limited.…”

“…Although many students are counted as homeless through receiving social services such as temporary housing, many more are overlooked because they stay with relatives or friends instead of actively living on the streets (Finley & Diversi, 2010). The experience of homelessness presents obstacles to children in enrolling and attending school (MawhinneyRhoads & Stahler, 2006), may inhibit the development of the executive functioning skills required for academic success (Herbers et al, 2011), and may make literacy development more challenging (Di Santo et al, 2016).…”

“…Powerfully, Finley and Diversi (2010) provided a collection of textual representations of homelessness from different vantage points across the United States. The researchers' goal was to assemble real life images to contribute to scholarly and public perspectives about the human condition and to provide words and photographic images that are often ignored.…”

Studying and Addressing Homelessness in Urban Communities

“…(p. 105) Homelessness is not well defined and categorized both in the literature and in society. Finley and Diversi (2010) stressed the fuzziness of how homelessness is defined, especially from policymakers' perspectives because homelessness is seen as a much smaller epidemic than it actually is and consequently resources to assist individuals can be limited. They found that the numbers of homeless individuals have been distorted, leading those in society to believe the fallacy that the homelessness situation is not as bad as it seems.…”