Homelessness Outside the United States
- LAST REVIEWED: 25 June 2013
- LAST MODIFIED: 25 June 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0178
- LAST REVIEWED: 25 June 2013
- LAST MODIFIED: 25 June 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0178
Introduction
Homelessness is a social problem that is not confined to a single country, or even region, of the globe. Nations throughout the world are affected by homelessness, although it takes different forms depending on political, social, economic, and cultural settings. In most developed countries, homelessness is defined as a literal lack of a stable housing arrangement. In many developing nations, however, the line between those living in substandard or inadequate housing and those who are considered homeless is sometimes less clear. Sparse data on homelessness and different operational definitions of homelessness makes it difficult both to estimate the prevalence of homelessness across the globe and to make meaningful cross-national comparisons of the experience of homelessness. Nonetheless, studies conducted in a number of countries have consistently found elevated rates of psychiatric disorders and other disabilities in samples of homeless persons. In addition, homelessness among “street children” is a major problem in the developing world, although youth homelessness looks different and presents a different type of challenge in developed nations. These and other subgroups of the homeless population are sometimes targeted to receive specific types of assistance, but responses to homelessness differ substantially across countries and are often shaped by broader social welfare and housing policies. This article presents an overview on homelessness outside the United States based on a systematic search of the academic and service literature by topics of interest and by region across the globe. The search strategy involved queries of a number of databases (Medline, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, ISI Web of Science) using several different keyword combinations (e.g., “homeless and international,” “homeless and Europe”). The contents of books, monographs, and journals known to publish relevant studies were also scanned, and references were harvested from studies identified through the database searches. By only including works written in English, however, this review may have excluded key studies published in other languages.
Introductory Works
There are a number of works that are useful for placing the problem of homelessness in an international context and providing an overview of the problem in different national and cross-national settings. Glasser 1994 touches on the causes, consequences, and responses to homelessness in every region of the world. Fitzpatrick, et al. 2012; O’Sullivan, et al. 2010; and special issues from three journals (Christian and Anderson 2003, Flick 2007, Toro 2007) offer a comprehensive overview of many pertinent dimensions of homelessness in developed countries. In contrast, a special issue from a fourth journal (Cross, et al. 2010) and Tipple and Speak 2009 are valuable resources for understanding the nature and of the problem of homelessness and responses to it in developing countries.
Christian, Julie, and Isobel Anderson, eds. 2003. Special issue: Homelessness: Integrating international perspectives. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology 13.2.
The eight articles in this special issue provide contrasting perspectives on homelessness from the United States and United Kingdom. Articles examine theoretical and definitional issues that are necessary to untangle for understanding homelessness, causal mechanisms of homelessness, and policy responses to homelessness.
Cross, Catherine, John R. Seager, et al. 2010. Special issue: Street people in South Africa: Studies towards understanding the homeless. Development Southern Africa 27.1.
This special issue is a compendium of ten articles covering multiple aspects of street homelessness in South Africa. Topics covered include the historical origins of homelessness; similarities and differences between South Africa and other countries; the demographic profile of the street homeless population; the multiple risks associated with homelessness; and children on the street and their special needs.
Fitzpatrick, Suzanne, Sarah Johnsen, and Beth Watts. 2012. International homelessness policy review: A report to inform the review of homelessness legislation in Wales. Cardiff, UK: Cardiff University, School of City and Regional Planning.
This report reviews homelessness policy in developed countries and highlights promising approaches to address homelessness. Articles are organized in eight core themes, including legal rights; “staircase,” “housing first,” and “normalizing” approaches; access to housing for homeless people; homeless prevention; family homelessness, single homelessness and rough sleeping; governance and the role of NGOs; policy implementation, evaluation, and monitoring; and costs and benefits.
Flick, Uwe, ed. 2007. Special issue: Homelessness and health: Challenges for health psychology. Journal of Health Psychology 12.5.
Articles in this special issue examine critical challenges presented by homelessness from medical health and mental health perspectives. Countries covered are the United States, Canada, England, Germany, and Ghana. Topics include health risk factors related to homelessness, health service utilization by homeless persons, and interventions to promote positive health outcomes for homeless persons.
Glasser, Irene. 1994. Homelessness in global perspective. New York: G. K. Hall.
This book draws on published research and reports on homelessness collected from countries located in every region of the globe. Chapters examine the causes and consequences of, and policy responses to, homelessness for specific subpopulations including men, women, children, and families. Issues related to the enumeration of the homeless population are addressed.
O’Sullivan, Eoin, Volker Busch-Geertsema, Deborah Quilgars, and Nicholas Pleace, eds. 2010. Homelessness research in Europe: Festschrift for Bill Edgar and Joe Doherty. Brussels: FEANTSA.
This book provides an overview of issues related to homelessness and subpopulations of persons experiencing homelessness in Europe. Topics include defining and measuring homelessness; the relationship between homelessness and welfare states; interventions and policies targeted toward homeless persons; a human rights approach to homelessness; and homelessness among immigrants, youth, and women.
Tipple, Graham, and Suzanne Speak. 2009. The hidden millions: Homelessness in developing countries. New York: Routledge.
This book offers a portrait of homelessness in the developing world. It draws on both quantitative and qualitative data to estimate the scope and nature of homelessness, and discusses the challenges of differentiating between homeless people and those who are inadequately housed. It explores the definition and causes of homelessness, as well as strategies to address homelessness.
Toro, Paul A., ed. 2007. Special issue: Toward an international understanding of homelessness. Journal of Social Issues 63.3.
This special issue provides useful information for understanding homelessness in an international context. It includes review articles that synthesize literature from multiple countries and empirical articles that present findings from comparative studies of homelessness, as well as analyses of homelessness policies, primarily in western Europe.
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Article
- Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work
- Abortion
- Adolescent Depression
- Adolescent Pregnancy
- Adolescents
- Adoption
- Adoption Home Study Assessments
- Adult Protective Services in the United States
- African Americans
- Aging
- Aging out of foster care
- Aging, Physical Health and
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems
- Alcohol and Drug Problems, Prevention of Adolescent and Yo...
- Alcohol Problems: Practice Interventions
- Alcohol Use Disorder
- Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
- Anti-Oppressive Practice
- Asian Americans
- Asian-American Youth
- Assessment
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Baccalaureate Social Workers
- Behavioral Health
- Behavioral Social Work Practice
- Bereavement Practice
- Bisexuality
- Brief Therapies in Social Work: Task-Centered Model and So...
- Bullying and Social Work Intervention
- Canadian Social Welfare, History of
- Case Management in Mental Health in the United States
- Central American Migration to the United States
- Child Maltreatment Prevention
- Child Neglect and Emotional Maltreatment
- Child Poverty
- Child Sexual Abuse
- Child Welfare
- Child Welfare and Child Protection in Europe, History of
- Child Welfare and Parents with Intellectual and/or Develop...
- Child Welfare Effectiveness
- Child Welfare, Immigration and
- Child Welfare Practice with LGBTQ Youth and Families
- Children
- Children of Incarcerated Parents
- Christianity and Social Work
- Chronic Illness
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Adult Lesbians
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Males
- Cognitive Behavior Therapies with Diverse and Stressed Pop...
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Community
- Community Development
- Community Policing
- Community-Based Participatory Research
- Community-Needs Assessment
- Comparative Social Work
- Computational Social Welfare: Applying Data Science in Soc...
- Conflict Resolution
- Council on Social Work Education
- Counseling Female Offenders
- Criminal Justice
- Crisis Interventions
- Cultural Competence and Ethnic Sensitive Practice
- Culture, Ethnicity, Substance Use, and Substance Use Disor...
- Dementia Care
- Dementia Care, Ethical Aspects of
- Depression and Cancer
- Development and Infancy (Birth to Age Three)
- Differential Response in Child Welfare
- Digital Storytelling for Social Work Interventions
- Direct Practice in Social Work
- Disabilities
- Disability and Disability Culture
- Disasters
- Divorce
- Domestic Violence Among Immigrants
- Early Pregnancy and Parenthood Among Child Welfare–Involve...
- Eating Disorders
- Ecological Framework
- Economic Evaluation
- Elder Mistreatment
- End-of-Life Decisions
- Epigenetics for Social Workers
- Ethical Issues in Social Work and Technology
- Ethics and Values in Social Work
- Ethnicity
- European Institutions and Social Work
- European Union, Justice and Home Affairs in the
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Finding Evidence
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Issues, Controversies...
- Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs
- Families
- Families with Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Parents
- Family Caregiving
- Family Group Conferencing
- Family Policy
- Family Services
- Family Therapy
- Family Violence
- Fathering Among Families Served By Child Welfare
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- Field Education
- Financial Literacy and Social Work
- Financing Health-Care Delivery in the United States
- Forensic Social Work
- Foster Care
- Foster care and siblings
- Gay Men
- Gender, Violence, and Trauma in Immigration Detention in t...
- Generalist Practice and Advanced Generalist Practice
- Grounded Theory
- Group Work
- Group Work across Populations, Challenges, and Settings
- Group Work, Research, Best Practices, and Evidence-based
- Harm Reduction
- Health Care Reform
- Health Disparities
- Health Social Work
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1900–1950
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1950-1980
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, pre-1900
- History of Social Work from 1980-2014
- History of Social Work in China
- History of Social Work in Northern Ireland
- History of Social Work in the Republic of Ireland
- History of Social Work in the United Kingdom
- HIV/AIDS
- HIV/AIDS and Children
- HIV/AIDS Prevention with Adolescents
- Homelessness
- Homelessness: Ending Homelessness as a Grand Challenge
- Homelessness Outside the United States
- Housing
- Human Needs
- Human Trafficking, Victims of
- Immigrant Integration in the United States
- Immigrant Policy in the United States
- Immigrants and Refugees
- Immigrants and Refugees: Evidence-based Social Work Practi...
- Immigration and Health Disparities
- Immigration and Intimate Partner Violence
- Immigration and Poverty
- Immigration and Spirituality
- Immigration and Substance Use
- Immigration and Trauma
- Impact of Emerging Technology in Social Work Practice
- Impaired Professionals
- Implementation Science and Practice
- Indigenous Peoples
- Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Supported Employmen...
- In-home Child Welfare Services
- Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment
- International Human Trafficking
- International Social Welfare
- International Social Work
- International Social Work and Education
- International Social Work and Social Welfare in Southern A...
- Internet and Video Game Addiction
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy
- Intervention with Traumatized Populations
- Interviewing
- Intimate-Partner Violence
- Juvenile Justice
- Kinship Care
- Korean Americans
- Latinos and Latinas
- Law, Social Work and the
- LGBTQ Populations and Social Work
- Life Span
- Mainland European Social Work, History of
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Management and Administration in Social Work
- Maternal Mental Health
- Measurement, Scales, and Indices
- Medical Illness
- Men: Health and Mental Health Care
- Mental Health
- Mental Health Diagnosis and the Addictive Substance Disord...
- Mental Health Needs of Older People, Assessing the
- Mental Health Services from 1990 to 2023
- Mental Illness: Children
- Mental Illness: Elders
- Meta-analysis
- Microskills
- Middle East and North Africa, International Social Work an...
- Military Social Work
- Mixed Methods Research
- Moral distress and injury in social work
- Motivational Interviewing
- Multiculturalism
- Native Americans
- Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
- Neighborhood Social Cohesion
- Neuroscience and Social Work
- Nicotine Dependence
- Occupational Social Work
- Organizational Development and Change
- Pain Management
- Palliative Care
- Palliative Care: Evolution and Scope of Practice
- Pandemics and Social Work
- Parent Training
- Participatory Community Based Research
- Personalization
- Person-in-Environment
- Philosophy of Science and Social Work
- Physical Disabilities
- Podcasts and Social Work
- Police Social Work
- Political Social Work in the United States
- Positive Youth Development
- Postmodernism and Social Work
- Postsecondary Education Experiences and Attainment Among Y...
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Poverty
- Practice Interventions and Aging
- Practice Interventions with Adolescents
- Practice Research
- Primary Prevention in the 21st Century
- Productive Engagement of Older Adults
- Profession, Social Work
- Program Development and Grant Writing
- Promoting Smart Decarceration as a Grand Challenge
- Psychiatric Rehabilitation
- Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Theory
- Psychoeducation
- Psychometrics
- Psychopathology and Social Work Practice
- Psychopharmacology and Social Work Practice
- Psychosocial Framework
- Psychosocial Intervention with Women
- Psychotherapy and Social Work
- Qualitative Research
- Race and Racism
- Readmission Policies in Europe
- Redefining Police Interactions with People Experiencing Me...
- Refugee Children, Unaccompanied Immigrant and
- Rehabilitation
- Religiously Affiliated Agencies
- Reproductive Health
- Research
- Research Ethics
- Restorative Justice
- Risk Assessment in Child Protection Services
- Risk Management in Social Work
- Rural Social Work in China
- Rural Social Work Practice
- School Social Work
- School Violence
- School-Based Delinquency Prevention
- Services and Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Youth
- Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: Adults
- Sexual and Gender Minority Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylu...
- Sexual Assault
- Single-System Research Designs
- Social and Economic Impact of US Immigration Policies on U...
- Social Development
- Social Insurance and Social Justice
- Social Intervention Research
- Social Justice and Social Work
- Social Movements
- Social Planning
- Social Policy
- Social Policy in Denmark
- Social Security in the United States (OASDHI)
- Social Work and Islam
- Social Work and Social Welfare in East, West, and Central ...
- Social Work and Social Welfare in Europe
- Social Work Education and Research
- Social Work Leadership
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Contributing to the Cla...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries contributing to the fou...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Who Contributed to Soci...
- Social Work Practice, Rare and Orphan Diseases and
- Social Work Regulation
- Social Work Research Methods
- Social Work Theory
- Social Work with Interpreters
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Strategic Planning
- Strengths Perspective
- Strengths-Based Models in Social Work
- Suicide
- Supplemental Security Income
- Survey Research
- Sustainability: Creating Social Responses to a Changing En...
- Syrian Refugees in Turkey
- Systematic Review Methods
- Task-Centered Practice
- Technology Adoption in Social Work Education
- Technology for Social Work Interventions
- Technology, Human Relationships, and Human Interaction
- Technology in Social Work
- Terminal Illness
- Terrorism
- The Impact of Systemic Racism on Latinxs’ Experiences with...
- Transdisciplinary Science
- Translational Science and Social Work
- Transnational Perspectives in Social Work
- Transtheoretical Model of Change
- Trauma
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Triangulation
- Tribal child welfare practice in the United States
- Unions
- United States, History of Social Welfare in the
- Universal Basic Income
- Veteran Services
- Vicarious Trauma and Resilience in Social Work Practice wi...
- Vicarious Trauma Redefining PTSD
- Victim Services
- Violence
- Virtual Reality and Social Work
- Welfare State Reform in France
- Welfare State Theory
- Women and Macro Social Work Practice
- Women's Health Care
- Work and Family in the German Welfare State
- Workfare
- Workforce Development of Social Workers Pre- and Post-Empl...
- Working with Non-Voluntary and Mandated Clients
- Young and Adolescent Lesbians
- Youth at Risk
- Youth Services