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THE CULTURE of HOMELESSNESS: an Ethnographic Study THE CULTURE OF HOMELESSNESS: An ethnographic study Megan Honor Ravenhill London School of Economics PhD in Social Policy UMI Number: U615614 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615614 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 I V|£:S H S f <§195 I O I S S 4 -7 ABSTRACT The thesis argues that homelessness is complex and synergical in nature. It discusses the life events and processes that often trigger, protect against and predict the likelihood of someone becoming homeless (and/or roofless). It argues, that people’s routes into homelessness are complex, multiple and interlinked and are the result of biographical, structural and behavioural factors. This complexity increases with the age of the individual and the duration of their rooflessness. The thesis explores the homeless culture as a counter-culture created through people being pushed out of mainstream society. It argues, that what happened to people in the past, created the nature of the homeless culture. Furthermore it is argued that any serious attempt at resettling long-term rough sleepers needs to consider what it is that the homeless culture offers and whether or how this can be replicated within housed society. The thesis goes on to demonstrate that there are immense, complex, multi-dimensional difficulties to be faced by those exiting rooflessness. These difficulties arise from complex structural, behavioural and emotional factors that are inextricably entwined within people’s lives and, at times, negate positive influences or exacerbate existing problems. It is argued that the current system inadvertently actively discourages and/or prevents people from leaving homelessness and fully re-integrating back into housed society. Radical changes are needed in the way we perceive and tackle rooflessness. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the types of policies and interventions that could prevent rooflessness from occurring or would actively promote meaningful re­ integration back into housed society. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to Sally Sainsbury for her assistance, encouragement and supervision. Without her guidance, patience and understanding, this work might not have been completed. I thank the Titmus-Meindhardt scholarship fund for the part-time fees only scholarship awarded between 1998-2001. Without this it would not have been possible to conduct this research. I would also like to thank all those people who gave their time to be interviewed, to discuss the research and to offer their comments. The research would not exist without their contributions and is the richer for their participation. Last, but by no means least, I would like to thank Charles and Daniel Ravenhill (my husband and son), for their support, encouragement and patience throughout the work. I am grateful that they sacrificed family time, so that the thesis could be completed. I would like to thank Charles in particular for his proof reading and comments on the written thesis, they were both valuable and stimulating. 3 CONTENTS Page Abstract 2 Acknowledgments 3 Contents 4 List of Tables and Diagrams 6 List of Route-maps 6 Chapter 1 Introduction 7 Chapter 2 Defining homelessness 11 2.1 The Definitions Used 13 2.1.1 Home 14 2.1.2 Homelessness 15 2.1.3 Homeless Community 16 2.1.4 Street Users 17 2.1.5 Homeless Industry 17 2.2 Role of the Homeless Industry 17 2.2.1 Imports and Exports 20 2.2.2 Control of Knowledge 21 2.2.3 Use of Stereotypes 24 Chapter 3 Homelessness: Theoretical Perspectives 28 3.1 Power and Pathos 28 3.2 Functionalism 30 3.3 Structuralism 31 3.4 Deviancy 32 3.5 Symbolic Interaction 33 3.5.1 Social Psychology 33 3.5.2 Labelling Theory 34 3.5.3 Victim-blaming 36 3.5.4 Normalisation 36 3.5.5 Constructivist Theory 37 3.5.6. Agency 38 3.6 Structuration 39 3.7 Risk Society 40 3.8 Conclusion 42 Chapter 4 Homelessness: Policy Overview 43 4.1 Welfare state 43 4.2 Housing Policy 44 4.3 Economic Structure 50 4.4 Employment Structure 51 4.5 Dependency Culture 53 4.6 Social Exclusion 56 4.7 Homelessness Policy 57 4.8 Conclusion 69 Chapter 5 Methodology 70 5.1 Research Questions 73 5.2 Methods Chosen 74 5.3 Justification of Methods Chosen 75 5.3.1 Life-story interviews 75 5.3.2 Interviews 79 5.3.3 Observation and Participant Observation 80 5.3.4 Documentary Analysis 82 5.4 Practical Issues 83 4 5.4.1 Data Sources and Gatekeepers 83 5.4.2 Personal Safety in the Field 84 5.4.3 Researcher Effect 85 5.4.4 Use of Photography 86 5.5 Ethical Considerations 86 5.6 Method of Analysis 87 Chapter 6 Routes into homelessness 90 6.1 Adult Routes into Homelessness 113 6.2 Conclusion 129 Chapter 7 Homeless Culture 130 7.1 Descriptions of dominant subcultures 132 7.1.1 The Street Drinking Culture 132 7.1.2 The Drug Addicted Culture 134 7.1.3 Daycentre/Hostel Groupies 134 7.1.4 Precariously Housed 136 7.1.5 Intermittent Participants 136 7.1.6 Homeless advocate or activists 138 7.1.7 Homeless at heart 138 7.2 Learning to be Homeless 140 7.2.1 Culture Shock 141 7.2.2 Fitting-in 143 7.3 The Culture 145 7.3.1 Strong Intense Friendship 145 7.3.2 Informal Counselling and Support System 146 7.3.3 Hierarchies and Pecking orders 149 7.3.4 A violent culture 151 7.3.5 Women within the homeless culture 154 7.3.6 Having fun! 155 . 7.3.7 Homeless people and their children 156 7.3.8 Death on the street 158 7.3.9 Homeless industry 160 7.3.10 Constructions and space 160 7.4 Conclusions 162 Chapter 8 Exit routes from homelessness 164 8.1 Catalysts 166 8.2 Access Problems 168 8.3 Benefit Problems 175 8.4 Standards of Accommodation 178 8.5 The Resettlement Process 183 8.6 Moving in and Budgeting 192 8.7 Hopes and Dreams for the Future 197 8.8 Conclusion 198 Chapter 9 Conclusions and Recommendations: 199 Prevention and Intervention 9.1 Prevention 200 9.2 Intervention 210 9.3 Conclusion 217 References 219 Appendix 234 5 LIST OF TABLES AND DIAGRAMS Page Table 1 The Function of a Home 30 Diagrami 2 Model of the Positive and Negative Influences on Homelessness 67 Table 3 Coding System 88 Table 4 Triggers of Homelessness Before, During and After Time Spent127 in Institutions Table 5 The Purpose of Humour and Camaraderie 156 Table 6 Pull Factors Attracting People into the Homeless Culture 162 Table 7 Roofless People’s Views on What Would Prevent Rooflessness 202 Table 8 Summary of Resettlement Triggers, Obstacles During 207 the First Phase of Resettlement Table 9 Summary of Resettlement Triggers, Obstacles During 208 the Second Phase of Resettlement Table 10 People in a Position to Spot the Predictors of Rooflessness 212 Table 11 Gender Breakdown 235 Table 12 Racial Mix 235 Table 13 Age Range 235 Table 14 Stage Along Homeless Process 235 Table 15 Research Timetable 236 Table 16 48 Life-story Interviews with Roofless and Ex-Roofless People237 Table 17 Formal Depth Interviews 238 Table 18 Telephone Interviews 238 Table 19 Informal Interviews/Long Conversations 238 Table 20 Observation: Number of Hours 239 Table 21 Participant Observations: Number of Hours 239 Table 22 Interview Guide 240 List of Route-maps Page Melanie’s Route-map 93 Tessa’s Route-map 94 Ian’s Route-map 100 Foxy’s Route-map 102 Anita’s Route-map 107 Mary’s Route-map 115 Valerie’s Route-map 119 Gary’s Route-map 184 6 1. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this small scale ethnographic study was to explore why it is that despite the fact that previous research appears to have established the causes of homelessness and formulated solutions to it, which have been implemented, homelessness still persists. To this end, the research looks anew at the causes or triggers of homelessness, the process of becoming homeless, the existence of homeless subcultures and their impact on long-term homelessness plus the process of leaving homelessness and reintegration into housed society. The research looks in detail at the synergical and complex nature of homelessness and the interaction of this complexity with the structures in place within society that are designed to prevent or alleviate homelessness. Among the questions that the research investigates are the following: How do childhood experiences and life events affect people who become homeless? Do they contribute to the cause of their homelessness? What are the causal and exit trajectories of homelessness? Is there a homeless culture, which acts as an umbilical cord that prevents some people from exiting homelessness? Are there specific coping mechanisms or strategies that mean some people are more likely to succeed in exiting homelessness than others? With this in mind, the research begins by examining the various definitions of homelessness, their impact on our knowledge and the construction of homelessness (Chapter 2).
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