Types of Homelessness

Chosen- Believe it or not, a person can choose to be homeless. Perhaps it’s a young adult that wants to leave a bad home environment, a drifter, or someone pursuing the life of a gypsy or backpacker.

Forced- Forced homelessness is a large contributor to many health and psychological problems for people. It can cause social problems as well and diminishes severely, satisfaction with their lives. Lack of support systems, both natural and structured, is another reason why many become and remain homeless. Family, friends, loved ones and access to systems of care and assistance are critical resources for all of us in our daily lives. When these systems are lacking, our most vulnerable community members struggle to navigate the challenges of life.

                                   Patterns of Behavior

When doing research on the homeless behavior, there are some trends that are found. Feelings of helplessness and a lack of efficacy can caused by homelessness but it can also be the reverse.

Learned Helplessness:  The pattern of behavior where a person believes that there is no way out of a bad situation and ceases to try to make their situation any better. This is an explanation that is used for homeless people who are marked under a category of “lazy bums” as the stereotype dictates. This is a problem for researchers who try to understand learned helplessness in the homeless population. Is it that people are homeless because they are lazy, or did they become “lazy” (hopeless) after becoming homeless?

Self-efficacy:  A feeling of control or confidence that comes from having skills or characteristics that a person believes will help them succeed. This is closely tied to the idea of learned helplessness. A person who has given up in a bad situation won’t feel the same self-efficacy as a person who owns a home. Researchers who look at the effects of homelessness on the psychology of a person will see a decline in the feeling of efficacy.

    ◦    Not much is known about the workers of homeless shelters. The last time any significant in-depth study or information about the characteristics and needs of these workers conducted was in 1996.
    ◦    Research is also important to find which programs for the homeless will lead to better long-term results for the individual or family.

Authors: Alex Fuentes & Jennifer Abeyta