Intimate Relationships as Routes into and out of Homelessness: Insights from a Canadian City

Abstract

The literature on homelessness tends to focus on risk factors in people's social and personal lives that contribute to their situation of being without a permanent home. Alternatively, the following describes innate factors of intimate relationships that contribute to a situation of homelessness for men and women. We conducted interviews with 61 people experiencing homelessness in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We were particularly interested in documenting with greater specificity their perceptions of their individual pathways to and from homelessness. Three themes emerged from the data describing the intersection between respondents' intimate relationships and their situation of homelessness: (1) relationship breakdown; (2) the role and impact of having intimate partners during a period of homelessness; and (3) the nature of the intimate relationship and its impact on housing. The data suggest that aspects of intimate relationships should be considered by social service agencies when addressing a person's situation of homelessness.

Social networks of unaccompanied women experiencing homelessness

“…Through high levels of self‐awareness, they also recognized the negative effects of homelessness for their mental health and self‐esteem. Complimenting Jones et al.’s () findings, women in this study clearly recognized and articulated that network absence can lead to distress and negative coping strategies.…”

Towards a Relationally and Action‐orientated Social Psychology of Homelessness

“…A focus on such diverse relationships allows us to span the local and the extra‐local influences on incidences of homelessness. Additionally, “When we begin to consider the nature of relationships and their influence on homelessness we move discussions beyond a focus on risk factors” (Jones et al, , p. 113). We can reconsider rehousing responses because, despite the hardships of street life, many drifters feel more at home on the streets.…”

Financial constituents of family bereavement

“…There is evidence, however, that in other circumstances, loss of a spouse or partner can trigger behaviors that lead to a housing crisis. A recent Canadian study shows how death of a spouse, and inadequate support and resources to deal with grief, became a downward spiral for some men, that led to homelessness (Jones, Shier, & Graham, 2012).…”