Predictors of homelessness among families in New York City: from shelter request to housing stability.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study examined predictors of entry into shelter and subsequent housing stability for a cohort of families receiving public assistance in New York City. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 266 families as they requested shelter and with a comparison sample of 298 families selected at random from the welfare caseload. Respondents were reinterviewed 5 years later. Families with prior history of shelter use were excluded from the follow-up study. RESULTS: Demographic characteristics and housing conditions were the most important risk factors for shelter entry; enduring poverty and disruptive social experiences also contributed. Five years later, four fifths of sheltered families had their own apartment. Receipt of subsidized housing was the primary predictor of housing stability among formerly homeless families (odds ratio [OR] = 20.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 9.9, 42.9). CONCLUSIONS: Housing subsidies are critical to ending homelessness among families.

Promoting Children’s Mental Health in Family Supportive Housing: A Community–University Partnership for Formerly Homeless Children and Families

“…These studies generally provide support for the utility of supportive housing for single mentally ill adults (e.g., Culhane et al 2002;Lipton et al 2000). The use of rental subsidies has been shown to be important for residential stability, across both single adults and families (e.g., Shinn et al 1998). Very little has been published on family supportive housing, although initial reports indicate that family supportive housing may increase residential stability and that adult caregivers report satisfaction with housing (Hanrahan et al 2005;Nolan et al 2005).…”

“…A subset of these children also have experienced out-of-home placement by child protection authorities or through voluntary placement by parents with housed relatives (Shinn et al 2006). Some studies have failed to find individual psychosocial factors that distinguish homeless families in general from poor housed families (e.g., Burt et al 2001;Shinn et al 1998). However, recent prospective longitudinal data indicate that adult caregivers in repeatedly homeless families are significantly more likely to have been exposed to childhood and adulthood traumatic experiences than are caregivers in families characterized by a single episode of homelessness (Bassuk et al 2001).…”

Intimate Partner Violence and Lifetime Trauma

“…While this type of phenomenon cuts across cultures, immigrant women who are isolated and do not speak English are particularly vulnerable to this type of abuse. 41 Acute symptoms of mental illness can also heighten a woman's risk for victimization. 42,36 Although psychiatric crises are often precipitated by recent trauma, for a woman experiencing symptoms of acute psychosis, clinicians may interpret accusations of victimization as delusions, thus leaving her vulnerable to further victimization.…”

Exiting Shelter: An Epidemiological Analysis of Barriers and Facilitators for Families

“…Much of the literature on homeless families focuses on pathways into homelessness, describing the characteristics and needs of these families (Rog et al 1995;Bassuk et al 1996;Shinn et al 1998). In the few studies that examine residential stability, receipt of subsidies emerges as the most common factor in facilitating homeless families' stability (Stretch and Kreuger 1992;Wong, Culhane, and Kuhn 1997;Shinn et al 1998;Rog and Buckner 2007).…”

“…Much of the literature on homeless families focuses on pathways into homelessness, describing the characteristics and needs of these families (Rog et al 1995;Bassuk et al 1996;Shinn et al 1998). In the few studies that examine residential stability, receipt of subsidies emerges as the most common factor in facilitating homeless families' stability (Stretch and Kreuger 1992;Wong, Culhane, and Kuhn 1997;Shinn et al 1998;Rog and Buckner 2007). Most studies find that race, ethnicity (Wong et al 1997), and family structure (i.e., families of young women who recently gave birth; Metraux and Culhane 1999) are correlated with risk for additional homeless episodes, but the results demonstrate mixed support of the relationship of stability with such other individual factors as depression, domestic violence, and substance abuse (Metraux and Culhane 1999;Bassuk, Perloff, and Dawson 2001;Rog and Buckner 2007).…”