Life goals and gender differences among chronically homeless individuals entering permanent supportive housing

ABSTRACT

This research seeks to understand goals and the gender differences in goals among men and women who are transitioning into permanent supportive housing. Men and women experience homelessness differently. Data collected for this study come from a longitudinal investigation of HIV risk behavior and social networks among women and men transitioning from homelessness to permanent supportive housing. As part of this study, 421 baseline interviews were conducted in English with homeless adults scheduled to move into permanent supportive housing; participants were recruited between September 2014 and October 2015. This paper uses goals data from the 418 male-or female-identified respondents in this study. Results identified goal differences in education and general health between men and women that should be taken into account when service providers, policy makers, and advocates are addressing the needs of homeless women.

KEYWORDS:

• Chronically homeless
• ontological security
• gender differences
• life goals
• permanent supportive housing

Acknowledgement

We thank Beth Shinn, PhD, Professor, Vanderbilt University, for encouraging us to investigate life goals among homeless persons entering permanent supportive housing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Melissa Bird, MSW is a passionate feminist whose education in social work has led to a career advocating for children, women, and their families. She is a fierce believer in social justice advocacy and preparing women for leadership roles in politics. She has a wealth of experience working with policy makers, community leaders, and other stakeholders to improve access to reproductive health care for women, men and teens.

Harmony Rhoades, PhD, holds an M.S. in Epidemiology and a Ph.D. in Sociology from UCLA, and is a Research Assistant Professor at the USC School of Social Work. Her research focuses on understanding behavioral health and social integration outcomes and the impact of the built environment and service utilization among vulnerable populations, including socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, persons experiencing homelessness, sexual and gender minority populations, those living with HIV/AIDS, and those with serious mental illness.

John A. Lahey, MSW, is a Research Project Coordinator at the USC Suzanne-Dworak Peck School of Social Work. His research primarily uses qualitative methodology and focuses on exploring the health, mental health, and social integration outcomes of highly vulnerable adult and older adult populations with special focus on those who are currently exploring or have previously experienced homelessness or involved with the criminal justice system.

Julie A. Cederbaum, PhD, MSW, MPH is an Associate Professor in the Department of Children, Youth, and Families at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Her expertise lies in the design and utilization of mixed methods in research, particularly on the topics of family process and risk prevention with vulnerable populations. Substantively, she has used both Social Work and Public Health perspectives in investigating processes that influence health and wellness, with a focus of primary and secondary prevention of adverse outcomes.

Suzanne L. Wenzel, PhD, is the Richard M. and Ann L. Thor Professor in Urban Social Development and serves as Chair of the Department of Adult Mental Health and Wellness at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. She has been principal investigator on multiple National Institutes of Health projects focusing on the needs of homeless and other vulnerable populations, has served on national and international scientific review panels, and is a fellow in the Association for Psychological Science.

Additional information

Funding

This was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse [NIDA R01DA036345].