Cycle of Perpetual Vulnerability for Women Facing Homelessness near an Urban Library in a Major U.S. Metropolitan Area

Abstract

Background: Homelessness among women and the multiple vulnerabilities they endure (sexual exploitation/human trafficking, violence, and mental health issues) is a perpetually unresolved issue in the U.S. and globally. Methods: This study is based on qualitative in-depth interviews accompanied by brief socio-demographic surveys conducted among 32 total participants, consisting of cisgender females (n = 17) and cisgender males (n = 15) experiencing homelessness at a large public library. Results: Of the women, 35% were White, 35% Latina, 18% African American/Black, and 18% LGBT. Half of all participants said in qualitative interviews that they witnessed violence against women, and/or experienced unwanted harassment/sexual exploitation; one in three described suspected human trafficking. Of the women interviewed, half struggled with mental health symptoms, feelings of hopelessness, and nearly all reported isolation; approximately one-third had substance use issues. Many described an inadequate number of emergency and long-term shelters available for women facing homelessness; many had to wait or saw other women waiting to get into shelters and faced abuse on the streets in the meantime. Conclusion: The emergent themes showed that women face a “cycle of perpetual vulnerability” with three relational pathways: iterated trauma from chronic abuse/violence inflicted on them, a state of paralysis due to inadequate availability of supportive services, shelters, and mental health resources to cover all women living on the streets, leaving women susceptible to being a target phenotype for predators.

“I don’t think of it as a shelter. I say I’m going home”: a qualitative evaluation of a low-threshold shelter for women who use drugs

“…Previous research on the Mass and Cass encampment found that women reported high rates of survival sex and sexual assaults [ 39 , 40 ]. Consistent with literature on homeless individuals’ experiences of safety, participants in this study felt safer in this shelter than in encampments or other local shelters, reporting freedom from coercion and less interpersonal conflict when their basic material needs were met [ 38 , 41 ]. This safety was cultivated by the gender-specific setting, the staff’s ability to support women with complex mental health and trauma histories, and the low-conflict, nurturing environment [ 11 , 41 , 42 ].…”

Homelessness at the San Diego Central Library: Assessing the Potential Role of Social Workers

“…Library patrons who face mental health crises, violence, human trafficking, and sexual assault on the street need more targeted interventions [ 28 ]. For example, studies show that those who are unstably housed and use opioids, fentanyl, and methamphetamines, benefit from “housing first” models for recovery [ 29 , 30 ].…”

Conceptualizing an Interdisciplinary Collective Impact Approach to Examine and Intervene in the Chronic Cycle of Homelessness

“…Social workers, alongside community partners with lived experiences of homelessness, respond to the needs of people experiencing homelessness via outreach and crisis intervention in spaces where others may not go (e.g., street outreach, public libraries) [ 37 , 38 , 39 ], or in alternative approaches to ones that have not been successful for preventing or effectively mitigating homelessness or its associated harms. For example, police-led Homeless Outreach Teams have become a common feature in city police departments across the US.…”