Abstract
Since its emergence as a social issue in Hong Kong in the late 70s, the framing of homelessness has shifted from the individual to structural perspectives. There has also been a surge of media and public accounts that are largely framed in punitive terms, describing the containment, criminalisation, and extermination of homeless people in public spaces. While these accounts may not be inaccurate, they point to a research gap in the Hong Kong context. There is little known research, if any, on how homeless people navigate these punitive responses to carve out a place socially and spatially. Using a structurational framework, this study seeks to explore how homeless individuals interact with social structures through exercising agency, and the resilience that emerges from navigating the structures’ inherent barriers and opportunities. Two case studies are used to illustrate the complex interactions between agency and structures, and the dual nature of social structures. Implications on social work are discussed, including a community programme as an example that capitalises on the resilience and lived experience of homeless people.
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Ching, C. (2023). Structurational Perspectives on the Resilience of Homeless People in Hong Kong. In: Mizuuchi, T., Kornatowski, G., Fukumoto, T. (eds) Diversity of Urban Inclusivity. International Perspectives in Geography, vol 20. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8528-7_9
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