“No brokers to move out of here”: A mixed method analysis of the impact of homelessness policy and shelter governance on families residing in NYC shelters

ABSTRACT

Homelessness in the United States (US) has been increasing at an exponential rate over the past three decades, and the US has not experienced the current level of homelessness since the Great Depression of the 1930s. In addition, regulations and policies governing shelters have also increased. Given the historic levels of homelessness and increased bureaucracy, this paper aims to expand on the current literature related to governance of shelters by examining: (1) how families residing in the shelters are impacted by policies related to homelessness and governance within shelters (i.e. shelter rules), and (2) potential points of intervention to improve policy, programming, and shelter governance that better address the growing needs of homeless families. Using a convergent parallel design, we conducted a mixed methods study with caregiver residents and their children (ages 13–17 years), as well as staff, from two family shelters located in a large city in the northeastern US. Findings from the study revealed that policies and programs aimed at assisting homeless families often did not adequately respond to the needs of families (e.g. finding permanent housing), and residents found shelter rules to be overly restrictive. Policy and programming recommendations are provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Homelessness
• families
• policy
• governance

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Hadiza Osuji and Kerby Jean for their assistance in data collection and analysis in preparation for this manuscript. We would also like to gratefully acknowledge the families and shelter staff who participated in the study and bravely shared their stories with us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was also supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse under the Behavioral Sciences Training in Drug Abuse Research at the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing (T32DA007233), and the Center for Drug Use and HIV Research (P30DA011041).

Notes on contributors

Nisha Beharie

Nisha Beharie received her master’s degree in public health from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and her doctorate in public health from the CUNY Graduate Center. Dr. Beharie has over a decade of experience conducting research focused on homeless families, mental health, and substance use. Dr. Beharie’s expertise is in mixed-methods and qualitative research. After completing her doctoral studies, she was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship through the Behavioral Science Training in Drug Abuse Research at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. During this time, she was also accepted into the Comparative Effectiveness and Implementation Research Training Program at NYU Medical Center, Department of Population Health, where she was trained in meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness methods. She has also received funding through the Center for Drug Use and HIV Research (CDUHR) to conduct a mixed-methods study with homeless families to assess the how residents were being impacted by the experience of homelessness and the shelter environment. At present Dr. Beharie is Senior Research Associate at the New York City Department of Health where she is focused on conducting largely qualitative research to improve treatment access for people who use drugs and address the opioid epidemic in the New York City area.

Noelle R. Leonard

Noelle Leonard is a Senior Research Scientist at the NYU Silver School of Social Work and an Associate Director in the Transdisciplinary Research Methods (TRM) Core. Her expertise is in designing, implementing, evaluating, and disseminating behavioral interventions for highly vulnerable adults, adolescents, and families including those who are infected with, or at-risk for, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as those at risk for or dealing with issues related to substance use, and other mental health and behavioral problems. She has been a principal investigator or co-investigator on NIH-funded research studies using a variety of intervention strategies including mobile health, ambulatory assessment of physiological states, and mindfulness meditation. These studies have involved incarcerated youth, young men who have sex with men (YMSM), runaway/homeless youth, high-risk and HIV-infected adults, and at-risk adolescent mothers. In her role on the TRM core, she assists CDUHR affiliated investigators who are planning or conducting intervention studies and participates in several activities of the Pilot Projects and Mentoring core including serving as a mentor for junior investigators who are developing and conducting CDUHR-funded pilot projects. She developed the CDUHR assessment measures database and is the point person for investigators who are searching for appropriate measures for developing grant proposals and conducting funded projects.

Marya Gwadz

Marya Gwadz is Associate Dean for Research and a Professor of Social Work. She also serves as an Associate Director in the Transdisciplinary Research Methods Core in the NIDA-funded Center for Drug Use and HIV Research at the NYU College of Global Public Health. A licensed clinical psychologist, she earned her PhD and MA in clinical psychology from NYU and her BA in psychology from the University of Rochester. The main focus of Dr. Gwadz's research is the development and evaluation of potent, innovative, and culturally salient social/behavioral interventions to address racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender disparities in health. Her work with vulnerable adolescent and adult populations spans three decades and focuses on populations such as persons with substance use problems, men who have sex with men (MSM), high-risk heterosexuals, populations with high rates of criminal justice involvement, runaway/homeless youth, and low-income people of color living with HIV. She specializes in a range of sampling methods, including those to access hidden and vulnerable adolescent and adult populations. Further, she has expertise in mixed methods research approaches. Dr. Gwadz's program of research has been funded by the NIH since 2000.