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Stigma and Prejudice pp 85–101Cite as

Stigma and Prejudice Against Individuals Experiencing Homelessness

Part of the Current Clinical Psychiatry book series (CCPSY)

Abstract

More than two million people experience homelessness annually in the United States, with point-in-time estimates indicating the presence of greater than 500,000 homeless individuals nationwide in a single night in January 2014. Despite these numbers, homeless individuals struggle every day under the weight of anti-homeless stigma and oppression that render them seemingly invisible yet vulnerable to acts of violence, restrictions on the activities related to homelessness, sexual assault, exploitation, and human trafficking. This stigma, reflected in general society, city legislation, law enforcement, and even the health care system, dramatically decreases the quality of life of homeless individuals and further marginalizes a population that already struggles with meeting the basic human needs of food, clothing, and shelter. These anti-homeless sentiments date back centuries in America to before the birth of the nation, and vestiges of historical anti-homeless ideologies dating back to colonial times can be found in modern iterations of legislation and societal attitudes toward individuals experiencing homelessness today. Individuals experiencing homelessness are three to four times more likely to die prematurely than the general population, reflecting marked disparities in health outcomes for this population compared to the general population. Eliminating stigmatization of homeless individuals will require multi-disciplinary, concerted efforts involving the legislative, social services, law enforcement, and health care fields.

Keywords

  • Homelessness
  • Stigma
  • Prejudice
  • Discrimination
  • Health care

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, 780 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA

    Denise De Las Nueces MD, MPH

  2. Department of Medicine, Boston University Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Denise De Las Nueces MD, MPH

Authors
  1. Denise De Las Nueces MD, MPH
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Correspondence to Denise De Las Nueces MD, MPH .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Ranna Parekh

  2. Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Ed W. Childs

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De Las Nueces, D. (2016). Stigma and Prejudice Against Individuals Experiencing Homelessness. In: Parekh, R., Childs, E. (eds) Stigma and Prejudice. Current Clinical Psychiatry. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27580-2_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27580-2_5

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-27578-9

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