Homelessness Among Youths in Prince George’s County,Maryland Research Project

Introduction

In actuality, the humanitarian aspect of homelessness is the main reason for scholarly attention to it. Homelessness is seen first and foremost as the violation of human rights. According to the UN, there are about 100 million homeless people and about 1 billion people living in inadequate conditions (Hombs, 2011). Homelessness is perceived acutely not only in developing countries but also in economically developed countries. For example, in the US there are 3 million homeless people and 5 million at risk of homelessness, especially in the rural areas (Duncan & Blackwell, 2015).

Today, homelessness as a social phenomenon is embodied in the complex of economic, socio-political, civil and cultural-psychological conflicts, by virtue of which a significant portion of the population in modern society is systematically deprived of necessary living conditions, recognized an integral part of a civilized society and social policy in the modern legal states. Mirroring the global and national context, the problem of homelessness in Prince George’s County, Maryland is also a serious challenge to the community well-being and requires immediate response. Therefore, homelessness is a serious challenge to society, policy makers, and scientists, who should unite their efforts to prevent many homeless people from life in poverty beyond margins of the mainstream society.

Problem Statement

In actuality, the growth of the share of the homeless people, especially among the youth, is the major challenge to the social stability in the US (Beardslee, et al., 2011). Today, adolescents and young people aged 12-21 comprise a large share of the total homeless population as many single parent families remain homeless, when single mothers have to support one, two or even more children being homeless. Meanwhile, young generations traditionally make the core of the future economic development of the community, but vast homelessness among this layer virtually tears youths from the social structure and leads to their marginalization. Marginalization of youths causes serious challenges and problems, including growing crime rates, deterioration of the public health and other issues.

Homelessness among youths in Prince George’s County can bring considerable social and economic changes and have a negative impact on the further development of the local community as well as on the position of a large share of the local population, which remains homeless. In fact, the problem of homelessness among youths in Prince George’s County, Maryland, stands acute because this issue affects the quality of life of not only homeless people but also the entire population of the county, who suffer from negative effects of homelessness, such as growing crime rates, deteriorating public health, and other issues. Thus, as Rossi (2012) points out, homelessness among youths leads to the consistent deterioration of their health. Homeless people cannot receive basic health care services. This is why they tend to develop chronic health problems and increase the risk of the spread of epidemics in the local community. Furthermore, homelessness raises the problem of the deterioration of the economic development of the local community because homeless youths do not have jobs and rely on the social support of the local community members and government agencies. In addition, being deprived of dwelling and means for living, homeless youths easily slip into criminal activities, especially property crimes that deteriorate the overall situation within the community.

Therefore, the problem of homelessness among youths in Prince George’s County needs fast and effective resolution that will require mutual efforts of community members, government agencies, and other stakeholders. The study on homeless citizens’ conditions and motivations can become a valuable resource for developing larger opportunities for young people not only to have a permanent shelter but also reintegrate into the community and start a normal, social life instead of marginalized one.

Literature Review

Researchers (Link, et al., 1995) insist that homelessness is the common problem for virtually all states of the US. This means that trends that take place at the federal level also occur at the state and local level. In this regard, Maryland and its Prince George’s County face similar challenges as other states nationwide. In this regard, researchers (Holt, Buckley, & Whelan, 2008) reveal the disturbing trend to the fast growth of the number of homeless people, especially among the youth which has started since the 2010s. For example, some researchers point out that the number of homeless people almost doubled within the last five years (Bassuk, et al., 2014), while many of them do not have a shelter at all (Bassuk, et al., 2014). In actuality, the average federal rate is 65% for those homeless, who have a shelter, while 35% do not have any shelter (Bassuk, et al., 2014). The similar trend can be traced in Prince George’s County, where the proportion of the homeless population without shelter is similar to that of the national level (Bassuk, et al., 2014). Moreover, researchers (Kim-Spoon, et al., 2012) insist that the share of youths among the homeless population of the county grows fast.

At this point, many researchers (Rossi, 2012) attempt to identify the major causes that skyrocketed the growth of the number of homeless people in the US and Prince George’s County. Major causes of homelessness for children in the US include: (1) the nation’s high poverty rate; (2) lack of affordable housing across the nation; (3) continuing impacts of the Great Recession; (4) racial disparities; (5) the challenges of single parenting; and (6) the ways in which traumatic experiences, especially domestic violence, precede and prolong homelessness for children and families (Caton, et al., 2005). These reasons have a considerable impact on the position of people and trigger homelessness nationwide as well as in Prince George’s County.

Some researchers (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2013) add that Prince George’s County faces the problem of the growing homelessness, especially among youth is the result of the military experience, when young vets return back home and cannot re-integrate into their community. They slip to drug or alcohol abuse, change their lifestyle, face unsurpassable financial and mental health problems and eventually slip to homelessness.

Another reason for homelessness among the youth is the illegal immigration, which though is not such a grave problem in Prince George’s County as it is in Southern states (Wasserman & Clair, 2010). Nevertheless, illegal immigrants often have no means for living but they have children, often they have two or more children, whom they cannot afford. As a result, they remain homeless and the share of homeless youths grows substantially.

At this point, many researchers (Rossi, 2012) point out the problem of the poor birth control among the poor and homeless that aggravates the problem of homelessness and increases the young homeless population of Prince George’s County.  The poor birth control generates the growth of the number of homeless people in the county. Hence, the problem aggravates more and more.

Negative effects of homelessness among youths in Prince George’s County have a negative impact not only on homeless youths but also on the entire community (Wasserman & Clair, 2010). Researchers (Bassuk, et al., 2014) distinguish multiple negative effects of homelessness on the youth. To put it more precisely, up to 25% of homeless pre-school children have mental health problems requiring clinical evaluation; this increases to 40% among homeless school-age children (Collins, Howard, & Miraflor, 2009). The impacts of homelessness on the children, especially young children, may lead to changes in brain architecture that can interfere with learning, emotional self-regulation, cognitive skills, and social relationships (Kim-Spoon, et al., 2012). The unrelenting stress experienced by the parents may contribute to residential instability, unemployment, ineffective parenting, and poor health (Kim-Spoon, et al., 2012).

At the same time, it is not only homeless people, who suffer from homelessness, but also the entire community because community members have to deal with such negative effects of homelessness as the ongoing deterioration of the public health, the growing risk of increasing crime rates, and other issues. In such a situation, Prince George’s County may face considerable socioeconomic difficulties, if the share of homeless young people keeps growing. As they grow older, they face the problem of the lack of employment opportunities because they have limited access to education. In the course of time, their health deteriorates but they cannot afford health care services. They cannot establish stable family relations and overall they have the destructive impact on the community development.

In response to the problem of homelessness among youths, researchers (Bassuk, et al., 2014) suggest different approaches. Basically, effective responses to child homelessness must include: Safe, affordable housing; Comprehensive needs assessments of all family members; Family-oriented services that incorporate trauma-informed care; Identification, prevention, and treatment of major depression in mothers; Parenting supports for mothers; Education and employment opportunities for parents; Further research to identify evidence-based programs and services for children and families (Bassuk, et al., 2014). However, these are just general approaches to the resolution of the problem of homelessness among youths.

Moreover, homelessness as a social phenomenon is still determined mainly from formal legal positions. The questions of the number of homeless, rates of reproduction and the main categories of the group are controversial, while the problems of different spheres of life of the homeless is not enough described and analyzed, including their health, livelihoods, social relations in connection with homelessness, development of social approaches. A rarity are also multidisciplinary research that would not only describe the situation of the homeless and the associated mechanisms of adaptation to the situation of homelessness, legal and social insecurity and discrimination, indifferent and aggressive social environment, but would reveal the causal relationships and mechanisms of development of the phenomena associated with homelessness.

Such studies could provide governments, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and interested community with important information on the scale and severity of the problem of homelessness, the mechanisms of formation and reproduction of homelessness, on the degree of institutional perfection of the social system and its compliance with the realities, on the legal and other problems whose solution could provide a significant effect in the various spheres of social life (e.g., narrowing of the corruption field, reduction of the shadow economy, increase of the availability of social services for vulnerable groups, improvement of legal protection of the poor, etc.). In such a context, policy makers should change the situation for better. In terms of the current study, it is possible approach to addressing these issues in an alternative research plan.

Data Collection Plan

Current research plan is focused on a set of social factors, effects and features of reproduction of homelessness in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in which we aim at conducting a sociological analysis of the factors of reproduction of homelessness, its state and social consequences on the basis of mixed methods, including qualitative and quantitative methods. In particular, the research design involves carrying out a standardized survey of the population (quantitative data), as well as in-depth interviews (qualitative data), and the analysis of existing expert interviews and statistics of homelessness in Prince George’s County (secondary data).

The hypothesis of the study suggests that the quantitative dynamics and social consequences of homelessness in the modern urban communities are conditioned by the crisis in the major social institutions, dysfunction in law, family, social protection, and health care. The current study will focus specifically on the correlation between the impact of the family background on homelessness. To put it more precisely, the study will analyze the family background of homeless people, including such facts and issues as the number of parents (two-parents or single-parent families), a divorce of parents, number of siblings, cases of domestic violence, and the level of family income. The study of these issues will help to find out whether the family background can trigger the problem of homelessness; whether the level of family income can influence homelessness; etc.

The purpose and the hypothesis of the study allowed formulation of its objectives:

  1. Evaluate approaches to defining criteria of homelessness as a social phenomenon and summarize methodologically important groundings of the sociological study of homelessness.
  2. Examine the social (national, historical, political, legal, economic and cultural) determinants of features of homelessness and its consequences in the local community.
  3. Analyze the perception of the problem of homelessness and the image of the homeless in the public mind as a prerequisite for the social construction of solutions to the problem of homelessness in the community.

The methodology of the study involves the study of causes of homelessness to determine possible strategies and policies that can help to reduce homelessness. The qualitative methods will help to determine the key risk factors of homelessness in terms of the family background of homeless people. The quantitative methods will help to determine the scope of the impact of each factor related to the family background of homeless people on the problem of homelessness. For example, the study will help to determine whether the level of income is a risk factor or not and how much homeless people are vulnerable to the impact of this factor at average.

In particular, standardized surveys can be seen above all as the method of obtaining primary information, giving first of all an overview of the problem in study. The survey is characterized by speed, simplicity and efficiency. In addition, the method of questioning enables at the lowest cost to get the highest level of large-scale involvement in the study in the short term. In addition, this method allows most rigidly following the plan of the research, since the procedure of “question-answer” is strictly regulated (Greene & Caracelli, 2003). In particular, the survey will be mainly comprised of closed (structured) questions involving multiple choice of a response from the list. Closed questions can be dichotomous (yes/no) or multiple choice, that is, provide more than two options. By subject content, questions will relate to the facts, knowledge, opinions, attitudes, motives of behavior regarding homelessness. In open questions, there is no list of suggested answers. Obviously, open issues to a greater extent take into account the opinion of the respondent on the problem, but it also makes it difficult to process the obtained quantitative material. Instead, the qualitative component will be reached through conducting in-depth interviews.

In-depth interviews give the interviewer the possibility to establish a trustful relationship with the interviewee, which brings the prospect of obtaining unique information that would be almost impossible to get through other methods (Given, 2008; Greene & Caracelli, 2003). In addition, as Legard et al. (2003) rightfully points out, in-depth interviews, as opposed to focus groups (groups of respondents consisting of 8-10 people), are always held face to face, and this means that you can eliminate the influence of opinions of others on the individual respondent’s opinion. This method is also particularly suitable for the study of this problem, as it is required to examine the opinion of such hard-accessible categories of people as homeless and in those situations where a respondent may experience discomfort during the group discussion. In general, using in-depth interviews, we can determine the needs and motives that underlie the behavior of homeless people aged 12-21, obtain data on the strategies of their behavior and the principles that guide their choice, as well as the mechanisms that shape decision-making of officials, and opinions on possible methods for overcoming the problem by organizations, expectations, values of the homeless, etc.

Thus, the collection of data is scheduled in April-June 2015, in Prince George’s County through standardized survey of respondents in four categories: 1) homeless, 2) non-homeless, 3) law enforcement officers, 4) employees at serving institutions (mostly health and social workers). The results of the standardized survey are planned to be complemented with about 30 in-depth interviews with homeless people aged 12-21.

The search for homeless respondents (with N=20) is to be conducted in centers, where homeless people receive the aid from non-government organizations, public organizations, and other organizations. For example, the research may be conducted in shelters for homeless people and agreed with the administration of the shelters. Homeless people in the shelters may be interviewed after they provide their consent to participate in the study. Before they give their consent, they will receive the detailed explanation of the purpose of the study and their role and participation in the study. The study will be conducted anonymously to secure the privacy of participants of the study.

With a focus on census data characterizing the makeup of the Prince George’s County, a randomized selection of non-homeless respondents will be held. Polls among the non-homeless respondents (N = 20) are planned to take place in the following locations: 1) social institutions of different legal forms and religious organizations providing accommodation and other assistance to the homeless; 2) medical institutions; 3) near the points where clothing, food and medical assistance is provided to those in need, for example, near the “night bus”; 4) on the streets near commercial enterprises and residential areas; 5) in public places (train stations, subways and metro stations, etc.); 6) households belonging to other citizens where homeless people stayed with the consent of the owners; 8) points of legal advice. Selection and a survey of law enforcement officers (N = 10) and serving organizations employees (N = 10) will be conducted in a similar manner.

In their turn, 20 participants of the in-depth interviewing will be selected during the process of standardized procedure based on their desire to assist and the research. At the same time, the premise of in-depth interview is not a selective technique, and thus the results obtained in its course cannot be definitely projected on a large group of people who did not participate in in-depth interview. In addition, the information obtained through the in-depth interviews cannot be analyzed by complex mathematical methods like, for example, in case with the survey or questionnaire. In-depth interviews cannot show the statistics, however, may indicate a trend to the researcher. In order to facilitate subsequent decoding and analysis of information, as well as to avoid loss of data, in-depth interview should be recorded on audio or video medium.

In general, the data analysis will be based on a multivariate model. Multivariate analysis allows creating a complete picture of the state of the system under study, without a large number of observations: the incompleteness of individual observations in many cases is compensated by studying the materials of internal connections between several varying characteristics. For this, heterogeneous groups of isolated data about the behavior of the variables are combined in a multivariate combination set of one or another qualitative structure with account for the goals and features of the objects of the study. The solution to this problem also requires knowledge of qualitative characteristics of the specific factors that can be obtained from in-depth interviews.

Statistical processing of the analyzed materials is produced by the dispersion and correlation methods. The dispersion method is used to select study and evaluate the truthfulness of the impact on the processes studied not only on the part of individual factors, but also their entirety in various combinations, and the correlation method is used to measure the degree of influence of specific factors on the overall result (Webber & Marwan, 2014).

Indeed, despite the fact that using single-factor analysis, we can obtain important information (about the signs of the target groups, change of their needs, etc.), only the simultaneous analysis of the relationship between two or more variables allows getting answers to many of our questions. The spectrum of methods may include cross-tabulation and contingency analysis. Cross-tabulation is the easiest way to analyze dependencies (Webber & Marwan, 2014). This method provides for a division of variables into separate subgroups (e.g., gender, place of residence, etc.), while rank and metric data (age, income, etc.) should be divided into categories (Webber & Marwan, 2014). Thus, cross-tabulation is intended to establish the extent to which groups differ from each other in terms of criterion variables. For this purpose, in each category absolute or relative frequencies in percentage are determined. For example, if we assume that in a sample of N=500 was defined both the period of homelessness and experience of domestic violence, we can try to determine whether there is a relationship between these variables. Scaling of criterion variables is used to classify the methods for analyzing dependencies.

The results of interviews will be recorded (based on the use of audio recording of interviews) and processed by me. First, similarities in answers of participants will be identified. They will reveal the key trends and facts that do matter for homeless people and homelessness. The difference in responses will also be identified to determine factors that may affect the problem of homelessness. The most similar responses will indicate to the most probable cause of homelessness. For example, if the majority of homeless participants of the study cite the low income of their families as one of the major reason for their homelessness, then the low level of income is an important factor that may cause homelessness and the elimination of this risk factor will help to address the problem of homelessness successfully.

Conclusion

Today, homelessness has become a particularly noticeable phenomenon due to urbanization, concentration of population and overcrowding. In general scientific terms, homelessness as a social phenomenon is rooted in the institutional crisis covering vital subsystems of society, above all, social production, law and family. Bursts of homelessness accompany structural crises of the economy, transition periods in the legal systems and family structures. The problem of homelessness among youths in Prince George’s County, Maryland, bears a deteriorating character and requires immediate united efforts.

The proposed research design is aimed at obtaining actual insight data that could be applied to create a more complete picture of the problem and mechanisms of its reproduction, and thus could serve as a basis for the development of effective social programs and measures preventing homelessness. The principal feature of this kind of research should consist in the revelation of the major causes of homelessness to give insights to policy makers, social workers, and other stakeholders to identify priorities in current programs and policies aiming at the elimination of homelessness. The “inside” knowledge acquired in this way could be helpful for increasing the degree of adequacy in current social policies in Maryland. On a whole, the results of the study are expected to provide solutions for addressing the causes of homelessness rather than simply show alternatives for fighting its consequences, in particular through better understanding of poverty, family abuse and social stigmatization factors.

 

References:

Bassuk, E. L., et al. (2014). The effectiveness of housing interventions and housing and service interventions on ending family homelessness: A systematic review. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(5), 457–474.

Beardslee, W. R., et al. (2011). Adaptation of a preventive intervention approach to strengthen families facing adversities, especially depression. Costa Rica: Initial systems approaches and a case example. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 13(2), 5–13.

Caton, C. L. M., et al. (2005). Risk factors for long-term homelessness: Findings from a longitudinal study of first time homeless single adults. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 1753–1759.

Collins, L., Howard, F., & Miraflor, A. (January 2009). Addressing the needs of the homeless: A San Jose Library partnership approach. The Reference Librarian, 50(1), 109-116.

Duncan, C.M., & Blackwell, A. (2015). Worlds Apart: Poverty and Politics in Rural America. 2nd ed. Yale University Press.

Given, L. M. (2008). The Sage encyclopedia of qualitative research methods. Los Angeles, Calif.: Sage Publications.

Greene, J. C.,  Caracelli, V. J. (2003). Making paradigmatic sense of mixed methods practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Holt, S., Buckley, H., & Whelan, S. (2008). The impact of exposure to violence on children and young people: A review of the literature. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 797–810.

Hombs, M.E. (2011). Modern Homelessness. NY: ABC-CLIO.

Kim-Spoon, J., et al. (2012). Longitudinal study of self-regulation, positive parenting, and adjustment problems among physically abused children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 36(2), 95–107.

Legard R, Keegan J, Ward K. (2003). In-depth interviews. Qualitative research practice: a guide for social science students and researchers. London: Sage Publications.

Link, B.G., et al. (August 1995). “Public knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about homeless people: evidence for compassion fatigue”. Am J Community Psychol 23 (4): 533–55.

Rossi, P. H. (2012). Down and Out in America: The Origins of Homelessness, University of Chicago Press.

Tsai, J. and Rosenheck, R. A. (2013). Homeless veterans in supported housing: Exploring the impact of criminal history. Psychological Services 10 (4): 452–8.

Wasserman, J. A., & Clair, J. M. (2010). At Home On The Street . Boulder, Colorado: Lyne Rienner Publishers, Inc.

Webber, C.L. Jr., & Marwan, N. (2014). Recurrence Quantification Analysis: Theory and Best Practices. Springer.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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