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Changes in the Composition of the Homeless Population: 1992–2002

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

This study examines changes in the characteristics of the homeless population before and after a period of extended economic expansion (1992–2002). Data from other sources suggest that, during this 10-year period, the size of the overall population of homeless persons may have declined slightly, though not significantly, both in the city studied and nationally. In-depth surveys of representative samples of homeless adults (N = 249 in 1992–94; N = 220 in 2000–2002) revealed significant differences in the composition of the homeless population across the time period, consistent with queuing theory. Persons experiencing homelessness after the expansion appeared to be a more “chronic,” less readily employable population than those interviewed at the start of the expansion: Those interviewed after were older, spent more time living on the streets, had more health symptoms, were more likely to have a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and had more restricted social networks and social support. Policy, research, and service provision implications of the findings are discussed.

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Notes

  1. Literal homelessness is the Federal definition of homelessness that includes persons with a “nighttime residence” that is a temporary or emergency shelter or “a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings” (Title 42, Chapter 119, Subchapter I of the United States Code).

  2. Only 7 of the same sites were sampled across both samples (including some of the largest sites in both cases; 32% of the 1992–1994 sample came from these 7 sites and 26% of the 2000–2002 sample came from them). During the 10 years that had elapsed between the two samples, many agencies closed and new agencies began to serve the homeless. A few other agencies grew to have large numbers of the homeless (and so were included in the second sample, but not the first) or reduced in size (and so were included in the first sample, but not the second). The second author served as a consultant to the citywide network of homeless service providers throughout the 10-year period covered by this study. As such, he was familiar with the admission policies of most agencies in the city. Though individual agencies may have, on occasion, changed some aspect of their admission policies, as a whole there were no major shifts is such policies over the decade-long period separating the two samples.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this research came from the City of Detroit, Wayne County, and the Homeless Action Network of Detroit. We wish to thank Michael Bekheet, Amey Dallas, Jason Forney, Marilyn Goldstein, Yakim Israel, Delma Kemp, Laurenn Rowland, and others associated with our Research Group on Homelessness and Poverty who assisted with data collection and analysis. We also thank the many homeless people and the agencies that serve them in Detroit who participated in this research. Further details on this and other projects of our Research Group can be found at http://sun.science.wayne.edu/~ptoro/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RDN Associates, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Nathaniel Israel

  2. Research Group on Homelessness and Poverty, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, 5057 Woodward St., Detroit, MI, 48202, USA

    Paul A. Toro & Nicole Ouellette

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  1. Nathaniel Israel
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  2. Paul A. Toro
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  3. Nicole Ouellette
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Correspondence to Paul A. Toro.

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Israel, N., Toro, P.A. & Ouellette, N. Changes in the Composition of the Homeless Population: 1992–2002. Am J Community Psychol 46, 49–59 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9326-9

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