Mobile Lifelines in the Lives of People Who Are Homeless

Humphry, Justine

doi:10.1007/978-981-19-3838-2_2

Cited by 8 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…For the first category of women, who left their homes behind due to this scrutiny and surveillance teamed with the prospect of a forced marital union against their choice, the sense of "homelessness within a home" takes shape, which is akin to what women facing violence have described in research literature (Wardhaugh, 1999). Humphry (2014), adopting the Australian Bureau of Statistics' definition, talks about how a dwelling that does not allow a person control over or a space for their social relations does not really qualify as a home.…”

Section: Surveillance Of Social Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding a home in or through mobile phones: Access and usage patterns among homeless women in shelter-homes of India

Chakraborty,

Garg

2023

Mobile Media & Communication

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With the number of mobile phone subscribers increasing across all sections of society, this paper aims to understand if homeless women in shelter-homes of India have access to mobile phones and, if so, what are their usage patterns. Facilitated by issues ranging from domestic violence to lack of employment to forced migration and even to human trafficking and rape, women residing in the shelter-homes of India have a myriad of stories to tell. Not all of them have been on streets forever and many have the basic literacy to understand how to use a mobile phone. For the purposes of the study, the researchers engaged with women above 18 years of age up to the age of 45 in a series of open-ended interviews to understand their access to mobile phones and contextualize their homelessness within an affordances-based framework for mobile phone access. This paper takes into account the dual barriers of gender and the lack of a home to study the digital divide experienced by homeless women in India, expanding on how both these factors shape their access and usage, eventually bridging the digital divide, and whether mobile phones are required/desired by the women themselves. The study found that the women staying in shelter-homes see a window of hope in their use of mobile phones in the form of an independent financial future or an independent marital life, but the biased perception of using a mobile phone among women hinders women’s access to and use of these devices, which ultimately results in the loss of any kind of opportunity before it has even been explored, perhaps leading to the loss of a chance at a bright future.

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Section: Surveillance Of Social Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding a home in or through mobile phones: Access and usage patterns among homeless women in shelter-homes of India

Chakraborty,

Garg

2023

Mobile Media & Communication

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“…Galperin et al (2021) further emphasize the dynamic points of technology access that encapsulate quality, reliability, and stability of a connection, complicating the picture of progress in research on mobile adoption among the unstably housed. Slow connections, unreliable service, and limited data plans are among the barriers to steady access that housing-insecure individuals face (Humphry, 2014a(Humphry, , 2014bRhinesmith, 2012).…”

Section: Homelessness Mobile Phone Usage and Digital Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lily's story highlights the importance of mobile phones and stable cellular and Internet service for vehicle residents, who rely on this digital connectivity to eke out a living. Whereas previous studies have examined homelessness and mobile phone usage (Gonzales, 2014;Humphry, 2014a;Marler, 2018), this study investigates another category of housing instability to understand how vehicle residency and mobile phone connectivity co-construct access to essential informational resources. Vehicle residents, I find, experience a form of access instability (Galperin et al, 2021;Humphry, 2014aHumphry, , 2014bHumphry, , 2021Marler, 2018Marler, , 2022 structured by the geographic mobility of their lifestyle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whereas previous studies have examined homelessness and mobile phone usage (Gonzales, 2014;Humphry, 2014a;Marler, 2018), this study investigates another category of housing instability to understand how vehicle residency and mobile phone connectivity co-construct access to essential informational resources. Vehicle residents, I find, experience a form of access instability (Galperin et al, 2021;Humphry, 2014aHumphry, , 2014bHumphry, , 2021Marler, 2018Marler, , 2022 structured by the geographic mobility of their lifestyle. By moving in and out of cellular and Wi-Fi range, the digital access of vehicle residents varies, impacting whether their informational and social needs can be met.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What happens next? The ever-dreaded “knock” and mobile access instability for vehicle residents

Montague

2023

Mobile Media & Communication

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This high-exposure study explores information-seeking via mobile phone usage among a specific unstably housed population. There exists a population referred to as “vehicle residents” who are people earning wages, who have chosen to move into their vehicles as a survival strategy during a time when housing expenses account for more than half of lower-income Americans’ monthly income, and whose situation varies from traditional homelessness in that they sustain some stability in maintaining ownership of the vehicle in which they are residing. Building on previous studies of homeless people and their mobile phone usage, while using mobilism as the frame, this study investigates the ways that access instability, an underexamined facet of digital inequality, impacts vehicle residents’ ability to search for information via their mobile phones to support their daily lives. This study is based on two rounds of semi-structured interviews with the same participants, complemented by a virtual guided tour of participant's vehicles. Among the key findings is that mobility creates and resolves access instability for vehicle residents, introducing the concept of mobile access instability. Overall, understanding the unique features and information needs of this particular group results in a more thorough comprehension of the contemporary housing crisis, which is necessary to improve policy by developing mitigation strategies and resolutions.

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“…Existing research outlines some of the challenges experienced by this group of users that include: (i) lack of a necessary device or motivation to access information online; (ii) they are faced with information overload and new technology may, therefore, pose the risk to contribute to their confusion; and (iii) the incompatibility with existing service provider protocols they often use. 2–13 Developers need to be aware of and consider these challenges in technology design.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology for societal change: Evaluating a mobile app addressing the emotional needs of people experiencing homelessness

Burrows¹,

Mendoza

Pedell

et al. 2022

Health Informatics J

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New technology that aims to tackle the systemic and societal problems face challenges bringing together diverse stakeholder perspectives effectively. We evaluate how an emotion-led approach, with a Living Lab process may be effective in these situations. We discuss findings and their implications for this in the context of the development and ongoing maintenance of a web app called “Ask Izzy”. Ask Izzy supports people who are homeless or are otherwise disadvantaged by providing information and consequently improving their everyday life and wellbeing. We present a mixed-method evaluation of the web app: firstly, we evaluate impact of key design decisions upon engagement. Secondly, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 participants who are either homeless, ex-homeless or service providers and used content analysis. Then we demonstrate that our emotion-led approach brings a novel perspective on concerns from key actors influencing the refinement of the app. The results section outlines emotional goals such as a feeling of control that were important to consider in order to meet the needs of both end users and the wider service provision network. Our study provides recommendations and an approach that may inform others in developing and delivering similar health care and related systems and services.

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Mobile Lifelines in the Lives of People Who Are Homeless

Cited by 8 publications

References 49 publications

Finding a home in or through mobile phones: Access and usage patterns among homeless women in shelter-homes of India

Finding a home in or through mobile phones: Access and usage patterns among homeless women in shelter-homes of India

What happens next? The ever-dreaded “knock” and mobile access instability for vehicle residents

Technology for societal change: Evaluating a mobile app addressing the emotional needs of people experiencing homelessness

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