"A roof over my head" : homeless women and the shelter industry / Jean Calterone Williams.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Williams, Jean Calterone, 1966-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Homeless women--Services for--United States.

Homeless women.

Single mothers--Services for--United States.

Single mothers.

Single mothers--Services for.

Homeless women--Services for.

United States.

Physical Description:

x, 212 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Boulder, Colo. : University Press of Colorado, [2003]

Summary:

Based upon extensive ethnographic data, "A Roof Over My Head" examines the lives of homeless women--many with children--who live in small shelters and transitional living centers. Previous literature on homelessness has focused on those living literally on the streets or in large armory-style shelters, and such studies have often overlooked those women who are the subject of Williams's research. The author draws upon interviews with homeless women, interviews with housed people, and, finally, evaluations of shelter services, philosophies, and policies to get at the causes and social construction of homelessness. "A Roof Over My Head" is a ground-breaking study that unveils the centrality of abuse and poverty in homeless women's lives and outlines ways in which societal responses can and should be more effective.

Contents:

1 Causes of Homelessness: Homeless Women Speak 19

2 Geography of the Homeless Shelter 57

3 Meanings and Myths of Homelessness: Housed People Speak 97

4 Meanings and Myths of Homelessness: Homeless Women Speak 133

5 Homeless and Battered Women: Parallel Stories, Opposing Identities 151.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [197]-204) and index.

ISBN:

0870817310

OCLC:

51274371