Drawing on recent academic studies in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, this book is the first international text on homelessness in rural areas. Consisting of fifteen specially commissioned chapters, International Perspectives on Rural Homelessness provides comparative material on the cultural, political and policy contexts of rural homelessness, examining the nature and scale of the issue and the complex local geographies of rural homelessness.

There have always been homeless people in the United States, but their plight has only recently stirred widespread public reaction and concern. Part of this new recognition stems from the problem's prevalence: the number of homeless individuals, while hard to pin down exactly, is rising. In light of this, Congress asked the Institute of Medicine to find out whether existing health care programs were ignoring the homeless or delivering care to them inefficiently. This book is the report prepared by a committee of experts who examined these problems through visits to city slums and impoverished rural areas, and through an analysis of papers written by leading scholars in the field.

Rural homelessness explores the shifting policy context of homelessness and social exclusion in relation to rural areas in the UK and other countries in the developed world. Drawing on the first comprehensive survey of rural homelessness in the UK, the book positions these findings within a wider international context.

Drawing on recent academic studies in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, this book is the first international text on homelessness in rural areas. Consisting of fifteen specially commissioned chapters, International Perspectives on Rural Homelessness provides comparative material on the cultural, political and policy contexts of rural homelessness, examining the nature and scale of the issue and the complex local geographies of rural homelessness.

Chronic homelessness is a highly complex social problem of national importance. The problem has elicited a variety of societal and public policy responses over the years, concomitant with fluctuations in the economy and changes in the demographics of and attitudes toward poor and disenfranchised citizens. In recent decades, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the philanthropic community have worked hard to develop and implement programs to solve the challenges of homelessness, and progress has been made. However, much more remains to be done. Importantly, the results of various efforts, and especially the efforts to reduce homelessness among veterans in recent years, have shown that the problem of homelessness can be successfully addressed. Although a number of programs have been developed to meet the needs of persons experiencing homelessness, this report focuses on one particular type of intervention: permanent supportive housing (PSH). Permanent Supportive Housing focuses on the impact of PSH on health care outcomes and its cost-effectiveness. The report also addresses policy and program barriers that affect the ability to bring the PSH and other housing models to scale to address housing and health care needs.

A readerʼs guide is provided to assist readers in locating entries on related topics. It classifies entries into 14 general categories: Causes, Cities, Demography and Characteristics, Health issues, History, Housing, Legal issues, Advocacy and policy, Lifestyle issues, Organizations, Perceptions of homelessness, Populations, Research, Service systems and settings, World perspectives and issues.

`This book raises the theoretical level of rural studies to new heights...the Handbook of Rural Studies will likely become a key resource on the bookshelves of the next generation of graduate students...′ - Gary Paul Green, University of Wisconsin-Madison `This Handbook powerfully demonstrates that rural spaces, rural societies and rural natures are at the very forefront of critical social science endeavour. Read this book, become a rural social scientist′ - Henry Buller, University of Exeter `An outstandingly comprehensive review of theory, research and the study of rural questions...an essential reference for students, scholars, politicians, developers and rural activists′ - Imre Kovach, Institute for Political Sciences, Budapest `This collection is an essential addition to any rural scholar′s library and will be a critical resource for both established rural scholars and rising graduate students interested in rural research topics′ - Peter B Nelson, Middlebury College `The Handbook of Rural Studies is a tour de force on changing rural people and places in a rapidly urbanizing global economy -- the most comprehensive interdisciplinary treatment of "rural" available anywhere. This is absolutely must reading for social scientists concerned about finding a prominent place for "rural" in scholarly discourse, institutional analysis, and public policy debates on the political economy of space′ - Daniel T Lichter, Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University The Handbook represents the vitality and theoretical innovation at work in rural studies. It shows how political economy and the ′cultural turn′ have led to very significant new thinking in the cultural representations of: rurality; nature; sustainability; new economies; power and rurality; new consumerism; and exclusion and rurality. It is organized in three sections: approaches to rural studies; rural research: key theoretical co-ordinates and new rural relations. In a rich and textured discussion, the Handbook of Rural Studies explains the key moments in which the theorization of culture, nature, politics, agency, and space in rural contexts have transmitted ideas back into wider social science.

This book presents an unflinching investigation of homelessness in the United States—a problem that has been with us since the arrival of the first English settlers nearly 400 years ago. The terms historically used to describe them include "bums," "hoboes," "migrants," "street people," "transients," "tramps," and "vagrants." Just as varied as the words we have used to describe them are the reasons many people have found themselves living in the land of opportunity without permanent residence. The book considers homelessness and its distinctive character in three periods of American history: the era of tramps and hoboes in the late 1800s–early 1900s, the era of transients and migrants in the 1930s, and the era of homeless and "street" people in the last 40 years. It clarifies the multiple meanings of the word "homeless" today and demonstrates that homelessness is a symptom of more than one problem, leading to confusion about the issue of homelessness and hampering attempts to reduce its occurrence. Author Neil Larry Shumsky, PhD, also postulates that the treatment of homelessness in England before the colonization of North America laid the foundation of pervasive American attitudes and practices.

Homelessness to Hope: Research, Policy and Practices on Global Perspectives brings together stories, observations and critical appraisals that have emerged out of the interdisciplinary studies spanning across the global North and South. It explores how diverse accounts on homelessness and homeless people are situated within the structural-institutional arrangements of the developing and developed worlds. Through its comparative framework, the book offers a broader understanding of the multiple ways in which homelessness is experienced, perceived, and addressed. The book uses cross-cutting theoretical framings (such as resilience, wellbeing, social-ecological systems, sustainability, urban planning, institutions, gender) and emerging discourses on homelessness to complement current empirical findings from around the world. It provides insights on diverse concepts, meanings, perceptions, identities, and values concerning homelessness across rural and urban settings to promote a comprehensive understanding. In doing so, the book critically addresses the limits of contemporary discussions on homelessness, eviction, and poverty. Broadly, the authors explore the causations and processes of homelessness to shed light on physical, social, ontological, territorial, and cognitive facets of homelessness at both local and regional contexts across the world. Furthermore, the book lays a strong focus on viable transitions through identifying, comparing, and advocating for inclusive, collaborative, actionable measures and policies. This volume is a useful guide to the students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers interested in expanding their understanding on homelessness as well as formulating effective pathways for improvements or change. - Features contributions from interdisciplinary researchers involved with ethnographic, historical and sustainability research across the plane of social sciences: sociology, human geography, history, economics, psychology, development studies, population studies, South Asian studies, and political science - Builds upon the current scholarship on homelessness, focusing on high-, medium- and low-income countries of the world, tracing out the commonalities, variabilities and interconnections within the processes and contexts of homelessness across nations - Adheres to a solution-focused approach, emphasizing collaboration among practitioners, activists, grass-roots organizations, and researchers in designing action-oriented pathways