Health, homelessness and access to health care services in London

Longitudinal predictors of homelessness: findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-97

“…For example, family structures are often disrupted among homeless youth with many youth coming from single parent and/or step families (Greenblatt & Robertson, 1993; Hobcraft, J., 1998; Robertson & Toro, 1999), as well as coming from low-income and working class families (McCaskill, Toro, & Wolfe, 1998). Family socioeconomic status appears to be especially influential in the UK with some noting that the majority of homeless youth come from disadvantaged homes (Pleace et al, 2008; Quiligars et al, 2008). Furthermore, homeless youth often report the experience of abuse or neglect prior to leaving home (Robertson & Toro, 1999; Ryan, Kilmer, Cauce, Watanabe, & Hoyt, 2000).…”

“…Furthermore, homeless youth often report the experience of abuse or neglect prior to leaving home (Robertson & Toro, 1999; Ryan, Kilmer, Cauce, Watanabe, & Hoyt, 2000). Pleace and colleagues (2008) found that 70 percent of youth cited relationship problems with their parent/step-parent as the reason for their homelessness. The two prospective studies that examined youth homelessness found that poor quality family relationships during adolescence predicted homelessness as a young adult (18-28) (Shelton et al, 2009; Van den Bree et al, 2009).…”

On the ''Physiological Dope'' Problematic in Housing and Illness Research: Towards a critical realism of home and health

“…ª Making sureº strategies Contrary to Pleace and Quilgars' (1997) claim that the problems involved in verifying the housing and illness hypothesis result from "relatively poor academic standards" 5 , an ever-increasing amount of methodological (and analytical) sophistication has been brought to bear on researching the subject as the twentieth century has worn on. Yet despite this, the housing and illness research programme has been constantly plagued by mixed, contradictory and often inauspicious ndings.…”

“…Given, then, that the empirical relationship is not regular or predictable, the implication that the reader is left to unearth for themselves is that "bad housing, in some instances, may not be associated with poor health" and that some people who live in "bad" housing conditions do not, as predicted by the hypothesis, suffer from more illnesses than people living in "good" housing conditions. However, while this stretching of the housing and illness hypothesis is surreptitious (and therefore lies dormant and unquestioned) in most of the literature, Pleace and Quilgars (1997) explicitly acknowledge that, on the basis of the available empirical evidence, they have been forced to problematize the hypothesis:…”

Responding to homelessness: an overview of US and UK policy interventions

“…Zero-tolerance initiatives and the increasing perception in the US that substance abusers are undeserving poor, adds to the complexity of the issue and the difficulty in securing expanded treatment resources. In the UK, there has been a growing emphasis on the development of treatment and support services for drug users, but the interface between these programmes and homelessness services remains underdeveloped (Pleace & Quilgars, 1997). Homeless people with both a substance abuse disorder and a mental health problem (dually diagnosed) face even more pronounced difficulties as they must access two, usually distinct service systems.…”