Canadian Observatory on Homelessness
The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is the largest national research institute devoted to homelessness in Canada. The COH is the curator of the Homeless Hub.
- About Homelessness
- Doing Research
- Community Profiles
- Solutions
- Blog
- About Us
The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is the largest national research institute devoted to homelessness in Canada. The COH is the curator of the Homeless Hub.
Canadian Observatory on Homelessness- Search
- Our Work
- Search Library
Search Library
Author(s): Diane Santa Maria, Paula Cuccaro, Kimberly Bender, Stanley Cron, Micki Fine, Erica Sibinga
Publication Date: 2019
Evidence of the acceptability and potential efficacy of mindfulness strategies with at-risk youth is mounting. Yet only a few studies have assessed these strategies among youth experiencing homelessness (YEH).
We conducted a mixed methods feasibility study of an adapted mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) with sheltered YEH. The MBI consisted of five 1.5-h sessions delivered at a youth homeless shelter over 2.5 weeks. A one-group pre/post-test d...
Author(s): Samantha M. Brown, Kimberly Bender
Publisher: Canadian Observatory on Homelessness Press
Publication Date: 2018
Mindfulness involves bringing attention to what is happening within us and around us in moment-to-moment experiences, without labelling experiences as good versus bad, and refraining from reviewing the past or planning for the future (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). Mindfulness practice is found to be an effective approach for improving well-being among adults, with increasing support for its use in enhancing regulatory capacities among vulnerable youth popul...
Author(s): Kimberly Bender, Anamika Barman-Adhikari, Jonah DeChants, Badiah Haffejee, Yolanda Anyon, Stephanie Begun, Andrea Portillo, Kaite Dunn
Publication Date: 2017
Photovoice is a participatory action research method that empowers participants to photograph their everyday lives as a means of documenting and advocating for their needs; it has rarely been utilized with young people experiencing homelessness. The current study examined the feasibility, accessibility, and preliminary outcomes associated with participation in Asking for Change, a manualized Photovoice intervention, among youth (ages 18–21) stayi...
Author(s): Yeonwoo Kim, Kimberly Bender, Kristin M. Ferguson, Stephanie Begun, Diana M. DiNitto
Publication Date: 2017
Homelessness itself is traumatic, and more than half of homeless young adults have also experienced abuse as children and/or victimization while homeless. These experiences increase the likelihood of developing trauma-related symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Few studies have, however, examined correlates of trauma and PTSD to identify targets for prevention and intervention. We used multinomial logistic regression to assess whet...
Author(s): Sanna J. Thompson, Stephanie Begun, Kimberly Bender
Publication Date: 2017
Homeless youth face numerous challenging life circumstances, both prior to leaving home and while homeless. Examples of such difficult experiences include exceptionally high rates of pregnancy and early parenthood, particularly in comparison to their housed peers. This chapter reviews the complexity of causes, risk factors, and adverse outcomes associated with homeless youth pregnancy and early parenthood. Homeless youth pregnancy and early paren...
Author(s): Kimberly Bender, Samantha M. Brown, Stephanie Begun, Anamika Barman-Adhikari, Kristin Ferguson
Publication Date: 2016
Homeless youth experience elevated rates of victimization, yet few studies have identified malleable intervention targets that could mitigate risk for such adverse experiences. Building on a prior study that used latent class analysis to identify 3 victimization profiles among homeless youth (low-victimization class, high-victimization class, and witness class), we investigate how different coping styles (active, avoidant, and social coping) were...
A Social Capital Approach to Identifying Correlates of Perceived Social Support Among Homeless Youth
Author(s): Anamika Barman-Adhikari, Elizabeth Bowen, Kimberly Bender, Samantha Brown, Eric Rice
Publication Date: 2016
Background: The ability of homeless youth to accumulate resources through their personal relationships with others (i.e. social capital) is often associated with improved outcomes across multiple domains. Despite growing evidence documenting the heterogeneity of homeless youths’ relationships, many youth still experience adversities or lack access to resources. Thus, a more comprehensive investigation of homeless youths’ sources of social capital...
Author(s): Kimberly Bender, Jessica Yang, Kristin Ferguson, Sanna Thompson
Publication Date: 2015
Youth exiting the foster care system through emancipation are at an increased risk for homelessness and adverse social, health, and financial outcomes. However, because youth exiting foster care are difficult to locate once homeless, few studies have examined their needs and experiences on the streets. Quantitative interviews were conducted in a large multi-site pilot study of youth (N=601) seeking homeless services in Denver (n= 201), Austin (n=...
Author(s): Sanna J. Thompson, Kimberly Bender, Kristin M. Ferguson, Yeonwoo Kim
Publication Date: 2015
This study aimed to identify homeless youths’ lifestyle and trauma-related risk factors as well as protective factors associated with alcohol use disorder or no disorder and drug use disorder or no disorder. Youth receiving homeless services in Denver (n = 201), Austin (n = 200), and Los Angeles (n = 200; N = 601) completed quantitative interviews assessing demographic information, alcohol and drug use, homeless lifestyle risk factors, trauma-rel...
Author(s): Kimberly Bender, Nicholas Schau, Stephanie Begun, Badiah Haffejee, Anamika Barman-Adhikari, Jessica Hathaway
Publication Date: 2015
Case management, a widely practiced form of service brokerage, is associated with a variety of positive outcomes for homeless youth, but it may be difficult to implement, as youth face logistical barriers to attending in-person meetings. As part of a larger clinical trial, the current study investigates the feasibility of providing electronic case management (ECM) to homeless youth, using cell-phones, texts, email, and Facebook. Youth were given...
Author(s): Kimberly Bender, Samantha M. Brown, Sanna J. Thompson, Kristin M. Ferguson, Lisa Langenderfer
Publication Date: 2015
Exposure to multiple forms of maltreatment during childhood is associated with serious mental health consequences among youth in the general population, but limited empirical attention has focused on homeless youth—a population with markedly high rates of childhood maltreatment followed by elevated rates of street victimization. This study investigated the rates of multiple childhood abuses (physical, sexual, and emotional abuse) and multiple str...
Author(s): Kimberly Bender, Stephanie Begun, Anne DePrince, Badiah Haffejee, Sarah Kaufmann
Publication Date: 2014
Little information exists on the use of audio-based activities in groups as a means to engage young people’s strengths. This article presents findings from a study that employed a coconstructed audio documentary group to explore homeless youths’ experiences in a music studio, their attached meaning, and whether studio and group involvement engaged youths’ strengths. Four young people and the author met over the course of 12 sessions to collaborat...
Author(s): Jamie Rae Yoder, Kimberly Bender, Sanna J. Thompson, Kristin M. Ferguson, Badiah Haffejee
Publication Date: 2014
Homeless youth are at increased risk for involvement in the criminal justice system. This study investigated childhood trauma as a risk factor for arrest or jail among a sample of youth seeking services at drop in, shelter, and transitional housing settings, while controlling for more established risk factors including: substance use, peer deviance, and engagement in survival behaviors. Standardized and researcher developed measures collected qua...
Author(s): Kimberly Bender, Sanna Thompson, Kristin Ferguson, Lisa Langenderfer
Publication Date: 2014
Although a substantial body of literature demonstrates high prevalence of street victimization among homeless youth, few studies have investigated the existence of victimization classes that differ on the type and frequency of victimization experienced. Nor do we know how substance use patterns relate to victimization classes. Using latent class analysis (LCA), we examined the existence of victimization classes of homeless youth and investigated...
Author(s): Sanna J. Thompson, Kimberly Bender, Jihye Kim
Publication Date: 2011
This study investigates family environments associated with depressive symptoms among male and female runaway adolescents. Data were collected on 197 participants recruited from a runaway youth shelter in the southwest. Regression analyses showed that females’ depressive symptoms were predominately related to interpersonal relationships, such as family communication, conflict, and worry about these relationships. Male participants were particular...
Author(s): Kristin M. Ferguson, Kimberly Bender, Sanna J. Thompson
Publication Date: 2013
This study identified predictors of transience among homeless emerging adults in three cities. A total of 601 homeless emerging adults from Los Angeles, Austin, and Denver were recruited using purposive sampling. Ordinary least squares regression results revealed that significant predictors of greater transience include White ethnicity, high school degree or equivalent, homeless residence in the 6 months prior to the study, longer period of homel...
Author(s): David E. Pollio, D. Scott Batey, Kimberly Bender, Kristin Ferguson, Sanna Thompson
Publication Date: 2013
Researchers have shown increasing interest in technology use among youths and emerging adults (Bleakley, Merzel, VanDevanter, & Messeri, 2004; Redpath et al., 2006; Valentine & Bernhisel, 2008). However, no research to date examines this issue among emerging adult homeless. As these young people are more difficult to engage in services (Ensign & Bell, 2004; Hudson, Nyamathi, & Sweat, 2008) and have higher rates of...
Author(s): Sanna J. Thompson, Tiffany N. Ryan, Katherine L. Montgomery, Angie Del Prado Lippman, Kimberly Bender, Kristin Ferguson
Publication Date: 2013
This study explored the perceptions of resilience and coping among homeless young adults, a focus that differs from previous research by considering the unconventional resilience and coping of this high-risk population. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with 45 homeless young adults. Individual interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by coders using an iterative process of content analysis. Findings revealed f...
Author(s): Kristin M. Ferguson, Kimberly Bender, Sanna J. Thompson, Bin Xie, David Pollio
Publication Date: 2012
Research suggests that in comparison with their housed peers, homeless young adults have disproportionately greater involvement in criminal activity, including theft, property offenses, and illicit substance use (Baer, Peterson, & Wells, 2004; Thompson, Jun, Bender, Ferguson, & Pollio, 2010). Because 20% to 30% of the nearly 2 million homeless young people have arrest histories (O'Grady & Gaetz, 2004; Whitbeck, 2009), a co...
Author(s): Kimberly Bender, Kristin Ferguson, Sanna Thompson, Chelsea Komlo, David E. Pollio
Publication Date: 2010
This article discusses the prevalence of trauma and related disorders within the homeless youth population specifically in the rural united states (midwest).
Homeless youth experience disproportionately high rates of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study examined correlates of trauma and PTSD among homeless youth with a focus on the impact of homeless culture, substance addiction, and mental health challenges. Homeless youth...