Home Sweet Home Or No Sweet Home: Youth Care Worker's Perspective of Youth Homelessness
Description:
The purpose of this research was to study the social construction of youth homelessness from the perspective of those working in agencies providing services to homeless youth. The sample consisted of 14 youth care workers from two distinct communities. Six participants were from a small urban center where there are few services geared towards serving homeless youth and 8 were from a large urban community where there was a multifaceted approach in serving this population of youth. The study was condcuted using elite interviews. Information found within this study brought to light many issues concerning homeless youth. There were some differences and commonalities between the cities and agencies in the definitions of youth and homelessness. Differences within the cities may be attributed largely due to the different agencies in which participants represented. Most participants linked youth homelessness to issues of family violence and neglect, with some references to homelessness being a response of teenage rebeliion. The issues of youth and homelessness were presented by participants as having "blurred" edges, which is reflective of the literature. However, the agency mandates idicate that there is a very distinct and definable group within society that can be said to be youth and in need of services offered by their agencies. (abstract from the document)
Type of Resource:
Book
Publication Date:
1998
Location:
Halifax