Caroline Hughes, Iolo Madoc-Jones, Odette Parry and Sarah Dubberley
Notwithstanding heightened awareness of the issues faced by homeless people, the notion that homelessness is the result of individual failings and weaknesses persists. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
Notwithstanding heightened awareness of the issues faced by homeless people, the notion that homelessness is the result of individual failings and weaknesses persists. The purpose of this paper is to challenge that perception by giving voice to this marginalised group and exploring the mechanisms through which they made and remade as homeless and may be protected.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews (n=23) were carried out with a sample of homeless people who had accessed a range of homelessness services in the study area.
Findings
It is argued that largely deprived of the private sphere, which arguably renders them in most need of public space, homeless people find themselves most subject to scrutiny, surveillance, social disapprobation and exclusion.
Research limitations/implications
The authors reiterate that rather than simply being associated with rooflessness, homelessness is as a function of ongoing geographical marginalisation and social alienation.
Practical implications
The authors suggest that dedicated spaces for homeless people to occupy during the day continue to be in need of development because, whilst not unproblematic, they can disrupt processes associated with homelessness.
Social implications
Further resources should be directed towards homelessness and the issues that arise during daytime for homeless people.
Originality/value
The paper supports the literature which highlights the spatial practices by which stigmatised groups come to be separated from mainstream society.
Details
Keywords
Iolo Madoc-Jones, Dawn Jones, Odette Parry and Sarah Dubberley
Drawing on the approach of Bourdieu (1977, 1986), and using language as an exemplar, the purpose of this paper is to engage in a “dangerous conversation” to explore how and why…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the approach of Bourdieu (1977, 1986), and using language as an exemplar, the purpose of this paper is to engage in a “dangerous conversation” to explore how and why issues of diversity were mobilised, ignored and leveraged in one particular service context.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative research exploring the language choices of 25 service users who had been processed through the criminal Justice System in Wales in the last five years.
Findings
The argument is made that in some service contexts, a habitus obtains that renders reflexivity about diversity issues problematic and predicates against the critical reflection necessary to promote anti-oppressive practice.
Research limitations/implications
Small sample size, not generalisable.
Practical implications
The authors intend the paper to encourage greater reflection on instances when diversity issues are raised and to render simplistic any attempt to invalidate claims of discrimination.
Social implications
Encourage dialogue about claims of discrimination and greater reflection by service providers about the legitimacy of such claims.
Originality/value
Anti-oppressive theorising has, for the most part, constructed minority group members as passive victims within hierarchical power relationships. While acknowledging how power is unequally distributed, the paper challenges hierarchical models which designate minority group members as bereft of power.