Social exclusion and survival for families facing homelessness in rural New England

Abstract

Homelessness in rural communities remains largely hidden. This article draws on ethnographic data to examine the hidden lives of families facing homelessness and its aftermath in rural New England. Our findings highlight how lived experiences of extreme poverty are shaped by the cultural values in this rural setting. We argue that social exclusion is a defining feature of the lived experience of homelessness in this setting in which individualism and self-sufficiency are core cultural values. While certain practice and policy strategies may apply broadly to impoverished families (e.g. affordable housing, service coordination, vocational support), we propose that efforts to support families should be grounded in, and tailored to, the specific setting and cultural values of rural communities.

Keywords:

• Rural
• Poverty
• Social exclusion
• Ethnography

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Kaite Yang, David Strickler, John Torrey, and Miriam Winthrop for research assistance. We are deeply indebted to the families who let us into their lives and for the earnest and generous spirit in which they engaged in the research.

This research has been generously funded by the Columbia University Homelessness Prevention Scholars Program (2009–2010); the Dartmouth College Claire Garber Goodman Fund for the Anthropological Study of Human Culture (2010–2013); and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (1K12HS021695–01) (2013–2015).

Disclaimer statements

Contributors Dr Carpenter-Song was the principal investigator for the study and took the lead in analysis and manuscript preparation. Dr Ferron assisted with thematic analysis of the data. Drs Ferron and Kobylenski both contributed to manuscript preparation, including drafting of text to include social work scholarship and reviewing and commenting on drafts.

Funding This research has been generously funded by the Columbia University Homelessness Prevention Scholars Program (2009-2010); the Dartmouth College Claire Garber Goodman Fund for the Anthropological Study of Human Culture (2010-2013); and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (1K12HS021695-01) (2013-2015).

Conflicts of interest Kaite Yang, David Strickler, John Torrey, and Miriam Winthrop provided research assistance. The authors have no financial conflicts of interest in relation to this research. Ms. Kobylenski is the Executive Director of the Upper Valley Haven, the organization from which participants were recruited for the study.

Ethics approval The research upon which this manuscript is based received ethical approval from the Committee for Protection of Human Subjects at Dartmouth College. All participants gave consent to participate.

Notes on contributor

Correspondence to: Elizabeth Carpenter-Song, Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center. Email: [email protected]

Notes

1 A PubMed literature search conducted in March 2015 yielded 4229 articles with ‘homeless*’ in the title. Of these, only 34 articles had ‘rural’ in the title or abstract.

2 This research has been generously funded by the Columbia University Homelessness Prevention Scholars Program (2009–10); Dartmouth College Claire Garber Goodman Fund for the Anthropological Study of Human Culture (2010–13); and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (1K12HS021695-01) (2013–15).

3 The study employs multiple methods of data collection, including (1) longitudinal participant observation and informal interviews with homeless parents and children, (2) focus groups and semi-structured interviews with homeless parents, and (3) semi-structured interviews with staff members of homeless service and advocacy organizations. This article draws principally from data collected in the context of participant observation, which forms the core of the study.

4 In the original design of the study, we planned to include children's perspectives on homelessness through interviews and participatory activities. However, the convenience sample yielded four families with very young children who were too young to meaningfully participate in interviews or research activities; the school-aged children in one family were taken into State custody shortly after enrollment and thus, were unable to participate.

5 Of these three women, one married and divorced during the study; one had an ‘on-again-off-again’ relationship with her husband and ultimately divorced during the study.

6 This woman became engaged to the ex-husband of another study participant.

7 This figure includes children over 18 years of age who have left the household.

8 Visits occurred at least monthly from 2009 to 2012 and bi-monthly thereafter. Visits often occurred more frequently and all participants maintained regular contact with the anthropologist by text message and telephone throughout the time between visits.

9 This article foregrounds the first-person perspectives of adults who have experienced homelessness. It is worth noting that the individuals with whom participants interacted may understand their actions in very different ways. Refusals to help, for example, may reflect frustration, fatigue, or discomfort rather than an intention to reject the person in need.