Why are People Facing Homelessness on the Streets?
1.0 Introduction
Our team was tasked with understanding why the homeless prefer to stay on the streets than go into homeless shelters. Homelessness has become a big issue around the globe as 2% of the world’s population are facing homelessness and barely anything has been done to fix this statistic. People facing homelessness are subjected to go into homeless shelters but what good does it do? Over the past year we have been doing said research and have used many sources from articles and personal experience to conclude that people facing homelessness prefer to stay on the streets because of the aspects of a homeless shelter. We examined both the benefits of the shelter system and our team has received information on just how bad these conditions are in these shelters. The questions we had going into this project were Why don’t the homeless want to stay in these shelters. Are they worse than the streets? In the paper you’ll venture on our journey to find the answer to these questions and find a solution to these corporate shelters and advocate for reform. The factors that revolve around the answer are divided into two: danger and inaccessibility (not the people’s choice). Danger consists of violence, theft, right violation, and substance use. While, inaccessibility consists of identification documents, waiting as part of the process, complex healthcare, pet prohibition, and common problems.
1.1 Violence
Homelessness renders many in a bad emotional state that brings the worst out of them; anger and rage plague their minds. These individuals tend to lash out on the outside world making it dangerous for both them and those around them. To avoid experiencing this, many homeless choose the sidewalk as a safer alternative to a shelter bed. Joe Tacopino published in the NYP, in 2015, there were 416 reports of domestic violence incidents that took place within NYC shelters in addition to 153 assaults and 90 sexual assaults. Forty people died inside NYC shelters. Women and children, have it worse than men, men using victimize those vulnerable residents of the shelters.
Although violence has an instantaneous tendency to occur whenever a situation calls for more than an exchange of words; the recommended solution minimizes the chances either individual will take the opportunity to escalate their situation. To eliminate as much violence in homeless shelters as possible, we must remove the people who are known to have violent tendencies. What does that look like? Completing speedy background checks as people are admitted into the shelter system so we can properly place those who are likely to cause trouble. Also, since people change, shelters share their own incident reports with one another making it hard for troublemakers to interact with the general population. This way individuals with violent tendencies and those who develop them are all accounted for and a safe environment can be maintained for all.
1.2 Theft
Theft is a huge issue that residents of homeless shelters must deal with every day. Within the shelter system many common items become more valuable and make them a target for theft. Resident’s sentimental objects, clothing, accessories, and money must always be in their line of sight to prevent theft. Kayla Robbins published an article in Invisible People where Derrick, a homeless man, admits that his shelter experience was filled with theft of personal belongings even under supervision of video cameras and shelter staff. Theft is equally as bad in shelters as it is on the streets, but in combination with the other negative factors found in shelters it increases the likelihood someone chooses to sleep on a bench instead of a bed.
In many shelters city-wide, a nonchalant guard and a security camera are the only two lines of defense against theft for its residence. The recommended solution is rather simple but takes a bit more effort. When a resident is accused of theft and found guilty, they are exposed to the entire residence and then removed for good. Doing so will minimize the likelihood theft would occur for two reasons: the humiliation faced and the loss of shelter. Afterwards, they are placed in an incident database that can be accessible by shelters city-wide to avoid admitting those who tend to steal.
1.3 Right Violation
The primary function of a homeless shelter is to shelter the homeless from the dangers of the outside world. This is seemingly the complete opposite as the struggle of getting into “safety” and staying safe within it has become greater risk than staying outside of it. Homeless individuals face many obstacles and the idea of shelters being one of those obstacles is absurd. Getting into a shelter is not the most feasible thing to do and even when it’s achieved the individuals have a new set of problems to face such as their basic human rights being violated. Within the homeless shelter system, there is a process that needs to be done in order to be admitted. In order to be admitted in certain shelters the individuals, “must have identification and birth certificates for every person in their family and proof of their housing history, like leases and utility bills, for the past two years. Over a ten-day period, the city reviews the documents, reaches out to old landlords and even interviews relatives to see if they possibly have extra space.” (Stewart 2018). To expect such documents to allow access and rejecting if they don’t have these documents accessible is a violation to the right to shelters in the U.S. The U.S gives the right to all who are legally called “homeless” the right to go into shelters. How is it possible for the homeless to be admitted in such a home with such conditions need to be met? Now even if these documents are given in, the person’s mental state is also taken into consideration. Though a valid thing to do, if an individual has a mental illness that “could” make them a danger to the state of the shelter they are denied entry. The workers who do these decisions are seemingly not trained enough to distinguish what’s a threat or not and it’s not their fault. It’s the lack of resources they have been given. Also, within the shelters, there are high amounts of bias. According to the National Coalition Homeless, “LGBT individuals experiencing homelessness are often at a heightened risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation compared with their heterosexual peers. Transgender people are particularly at physical risk due to a lack of acceptance and are often turned away from shelters”. Examining the National coalition for the homeless’ findings further exemplifies why the homeless rights being violated within shelters. An individual will be highly discriminated just because of their preferences and the fear of this draws homeless away from shelters. This bias also goes hand and hand with the shelter check-in system. The shelter check-in system is supposed to be an opportunity for the shelter to check up on the individual but instead, this process has said to be very invasive. According to homeless activist Kylassa Shay in her article “Why don’t homeless people use shelters” she states that “On more than one occasion, I was asked questions such as, “Do you have any sexual partners you could stay with?”. as well as other questions about my sex life…Keep in mind that I, like most women homeless more than a few weeks, had already been the victim of sexual assault. It made me feel horrible like I was less than a person and had nothing else to offer anyone.” (Shay, 2017) The shelter intruding on an individual’s privacy is morally wrong and should not be done. Not only this, once the miracle of being enrolled in the shelter, life becomes even more complicated. Once in, their basic human rights are seemingly taken away by all the rules that are there. “That’s more than a year of having to check-in and check-out and complying with curfews. For families living in hotels, they are unable to cook and have to eat what the city serves them.” (Stewart 2018). Shelters should be a place where the homeless can go and feel safe in all aspects of their life; not scared that they are going to be violated and live in conditions that no one should live in. Shelters cannot expect individuals who live on the streets to carry such documents. Besides the violations of privacy and troubles of trying to get into the shelters, the homeless also have a challenge with the cleanliness of the shelters. The shelters are said to be filthy and the lack of space does not make this any better. Due to these conditions, many diseases are contracted very rapidly. According to Gorman’s article Infectious diseases resurging, particularly among homeless, “different infections occur in shelters, including tuberculosis, a disease that spreads through the air and typically infects the lungs” (Gorman 2012). Diseases such as Tuberculosis and many others that are frighteningly common within shelters and are easily contractible. Many of these diseases are found from the outside but are brought into the shelters. “Diseases spread easily in close quarters. There’s always at least one person with a cough. One reason it’s hard to fall asleep in a shelter is the almost endless coughing. Many of those with coughs have chronic illnesses or transmissible diseases.” These are just some of the violations/ dangers that the homeless must face within shelters. These don’t even include the high amounts of violence, theft, separation of families and pets, etc. And for these understandable reasons, the homeless would rather be on the streets as they would rather risk their lives in order to keep what’s left of their basic human rights.
(Sol.) Our team found a couple solutions to fix the homeless right violations within the shelters. Our team has found that instead of these shelters having such intrusive and difficult scaling, they should lower the requirements to enter their shelters. Lowering the requirements to get into a shelter can be a huge difference maker when it comes to the percentage of homeless people in the world. A basic social security check and a mentality observation are all that is necessary to see the capacity of an individual and make it even easier for someone to be admitted and get them off the streets. The government should also fix the shelter follow up system. Having workers asking such intrusive questions towards the homeless is very immoral and needs to stop. With a new improved follow up system worker can follow up with the sheltered in order to see how their life has progressed since joining the shelter. Lastly, the shelter system needs to lower their restrictions on the homeless. When accepted into these homeless shelters, it’s like the homeless must give up their rights of humanity as they have to follow all the restrictive rules of the shelter. We believe that shelters being able to control their control their daily lives and violating their rights are immoral and should not be allowed. Lastly, the cleanliness and sickness within these shelters need to be strengthened and noticed as there are too many individuals getting sick because they are stuck in these small quarters where sickness fumes the air of the shelters. We believe that not only the cleanliness of the shelters needs to be revamped but the space within them. Increasing the spacing of these shelters will greatly disease the contractions of diseases and with a stronger medical care will ultimately reduce the numbers of sickness in shelters. To summarize, the shelter system should be revamped. The addition of more educated individuals should be allowed to handle the homeless. Less restrictive rules. Our team has found the greatest way to fix all these problems is to reform the whole shelter system. The government should also take involvement and reinforce these laws and make new ones that limit the control these shelters have on the homeless.
1.4 Substance Use
Homelessness and substance use work hand and hand unfortunately. For some the battle with addiction renders them homeless, and the hardships that come with that push them closer to the drugs. Dr Guy Johnson published in Australian Social Work, that 43% of their sample population had substance use problems. One-third of them had substance use problems before they became homeless and two-thirds developed these problems after they became homeless. Young people were more at risk of developing substance use problems after becoming homeless than older people and that most people with substance use issues remain homeless for 12 months or longer.
Recently there has been an increase in the percentage of homelessness amongst society’s youth. Trouble in the household leads many teens to the streets for relief and depending on how severe it is some stay there. These young people don’t really mind not having places to sleep at night and roaming the streets. Later, to cope with the hardships that come with homelessness, many adolescents turn to drugs and alcohol. Kurt Johnson published in SAGE journals, that about two-thirds of homeless adolescents met “lifetime” criteria for at least one substance disorder and about half met “12-month” criteria for at least one substance disorder. Shelters, due to security and other supervision, make drugs basically unavailable to residents so some choose to live on the streets for instantaneous access to drugs and areas for discreet usage.
The organizations that run shelters have taken great strides in helping their residents beat addiction. They have programs available to those who seek help and support them step by step along the way. Residents greatly appreciate this, and some have even completed programs and don’t take a second look at the drugs that put them in a hole originally. This solution is especially effective because through genuine guidance and consistent support addiction is overcome and the strength to stay clean is built into the person because they believe in themselves more.
2.0 It’s the Shelter, not the People
Despite the possibilities of violence, some of the homeless people try signing into the homeless shelters for the sake of their well-being: healthcare or medication, a place to stay, or even food. However, not all homeless people are allowed into the shelter. Based on a qualitative study by New York University Silver School of Social Work, the most common problems found in signing into shelters are “obtaining required identification documents, waiting as part of the process, complex healthcare needs, and exclusion of pets from shelters and housing options.” (Wusinich, Christina, et al) The problems that the homeless people face when signing into the homeless shelter show that not all homeless people have the choice to stay in a homeless shelter.
2.1 Identification Documents
Before signing into a shelter, homeless shelters require some sort of documentation to confirm the people’s identity. The documents required are listed below at Table 1.
Table 1. Required Identification Documents
All families and individuals applying for shelter must have valid original identification, such as:
|
If clients do not have a picture ID to prove their identities, documents that may generally be used include:
|
In addition, all applicants should also bring documents that demonstrate proof of their recent places of residence, such as:
|
(“Frequently Asked Questions – DHS”, 2019)
On the first sentence of the table, found in the official New York City website, the description mentions how the documents must be an original document. Being original means that the documents may not be photocopied and must be official. However, as a homeless person, it is hard to imagine them in the streets with all their stuff, especially their identification. Because since some of them live on the streets, they are most likely to lose their documents (either by theft or misplacement). If an applicant does not have one of each of the documents, the applicant is not allowed to be in the homeless shelter, especially if the applicant is not from New York, as mentioned by an interviewee (Wusinich, Christina, et al). Additionally, as a homeless person, acquire these documents is a problem as they need to either make phone calls, search the internet, or pay fees. One of the participants points out the fact that the hospital she was born in was shut down, and she was unable to obtain her own birth certificates. While another participant, who spent time gathering his documents, mentions that all he was able to get were copies. Instantly, he was told to get out of there, and he never came back. Problems to consider regarding the identification documents are the shut-down places, copies, and access to such documents.
In Wusinich’s study, they suggested that it will be easier for people applying to receive help from trained outreach workers to help in finding documents.
2.2 Waiting as Part of the Process
After showing all the documents, the homeless people wait for the shelter team to reach out for them. The problem lies in the waiting time. The waiting time is long, considering they need a place to stay. This part of the process is to ensure that the individual applying for the shelter is indeed homeless. However, the urgency slides in when they stay on the streets, since no one would expect to live their unless planned. As many of the participants in Wunisich, Christine, et al’s study emphasizes the quick demand of a place to stay, similar ideas are expressed through Brown’s study. Lipsky argues that the idea of declining people who do not need the shelter or are not following procedures is unnecessary. Because those people “may not have the time for [such] procedures”, it shows that homeless shelters are inconvenient despite the benefits of the procedures (as cited in Brown et al., 2017, page 847).
The tables below highlight the benefits and problems with shelters around the Northeastern City in America. Prominent benefits include “rapid access to shelter” and “helpfulness to a subset of the homeless community.” (Brown et al.) While prominent problems include, “Wait time,” “difficulty in communicating shelter staff,” “lack of communication about status/process,” and “unclear calling procedures.” (Brown et al.) To avoid personal bias, subthemes with lots of votes were chosen as prominent.
Table 2. Themes Indicating the Benefits of the Shelter Procedures
| Groups endorsing subtheme | |||||
| Superordinate theme | Subtheme | Examples | BW n (%) | LW n (%) | NSW n (%) |
| Procedural benefits | Rapid access to shelter | “Out of all the shelters, [shelter] contacted me first. Even with the wait, I got in here the fastest.” | 5 (21.7) | 3 (13.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Helpfulness to a subset of the homeless community | “You have to call to get in, so people staying here are better than people at [other shelter] who have been there for years.” | 4 (17.4) | 6 (26.1) | 0 (0.0) |
Note. BW = Brief Wait group; LW = Long Wait group; NSW = No Shelter Waitlist group
Table 3. Themes Indicating the Challenges Associated With the Shelter Procedures
| Groups endorsing subtheme | |||||
| Superordinate theme | Subtheme | Examples | BW n (%) | LW n (%) | NSW n (%) |
| Procedural challenges | Wait time | “The wait list was long. It’s not fair. When you have nowhere to go and the shelter is full, where are you supposed to go?” | 3 (13.0) | 9 (39.1) | 4 (30.7) |
| Communication challenges | Difficulty contacting shelter staff | “Called every day. Not talking to anybody personally was a barrier. Have to talk to an answering machine and I don’t know if anybody got my call.” | 1 (4.3) | 4 (17.4) | 7 (53.8) |
| Lack of communication about status/process | “Mostly trying to leave voicemails and you don’t find out what number you are on the list at all.” | 0 (0.0) | 3 (13.0) | 3 (23.1) | |
| Unclear calling procedures | “It’s strange that you have to make a referral and then call each day.” | 4 (17.4) | 5 (21.7) | 2 (15.4) |
Note. BW = Brief Wait group; LW = Long Wait group; NSW = No Shelter Waitlist group
(Brown et al., 2017)
Once you’re in, you’re in. Despite the wait, individuals who are entering the shelter is relieved once they have been contacted by the shelter. Since after the procedure, the individuals can instantaneously enter the homeless shelter and receive their needs. For the other branch of the benefit, it is about choosing the right individuals to receive help. If individuals were to have an addiction (alcohol or substance use), it would make the shelter disturbing for other individuals.
For the problems in the homeless shelter, they are primarily about the wait list and communicational problems. Based on the data in Brown’s study, 82.8% of the participants interviewed has problems with the wait time. It shows how individuals has to think about where they have to stay during the wait time, making it harder for them as they need to be close to the phone to check in with the shelter.
For communicational problems, individuals had to call every day just to check in with the wait list, whether the individuals will be able to enter the shelter. The problem does not lie in calling the shelter but the calling procedure in the shelter. To look deeper into the problem, the procedure of the phone calls made by participants is the fact the phone call procedure. As mentioned in Brown’s study, the hotline for the shelter leads to unanswered calls/voicemail, which makes it impossible for individuals to say how much they need the shelter. After all, sometimes, knowing where we stand in the waiting line comforts us in being able to expect when we are next.
Problems that may be considered for improvement is a 24/7 hotline for the shelters such as those in customer service hotlines. So, it is for people applying for homeless shelters to talk to people, especially since it becomes lonely for people facing homelessness.
Overall for this part, the shelter improves their communication and background check for the ones in waitlists (Brown et al., 2017)
A solution suggested by the Ward Family Foundation, Inc is to transform shelter to become smaller shelters or safe havens for people facing homelessness could use, providing privacy and helping the people into having houses (as cited in Wusinich et al., 2019).
2.3 Complex Healthcare
In Wusinich’s study, another factor for the inaccessibility of shelters are the complex health care needs. As most shelters are not “wheelchair-accessible,” it becomes a problem for disabled people, especially when it comes to travelling from one place to another with public transportation in New York. Another example from Wusinich’s study is a man who has Crohn’s disease who can’t always eat what the food given by soup kitchens. And another is the money needed for diabetes medications as the participant in Wusinich’s study had said that he “had to pay cash for co-pay,” despite having Medicaid.
However, the problem does not only concern people’s accessibility but also their healthcare needs. A paper about cancer-screening in shelter-based discusses about the people facing homeless feel about cancer in New York. (Asgary et al.) Although the answer is a mix between being worried and being indifferent, all of them agreed that it would be great to have more information about cancer. Some even suggested making a pamphlet so that they know how to stay healthy.
The problem for this factor is solely by the quality of healthcare in shelters and making healthcare accessible for homeless people.
The solution mentioned in Asgary’s study is that the people facing homeless need to be informed about possible health issues such as cancer and bring awareness to problems as such. Basically, the solution to complex healthcare is to make healthcare in homeless shelters to be as good as those in hospitals: screening, appointments, and information.
2.4 Pet Prohibition
As some of the homeless people have pets, they may not enter homeless shelters with a no pet policy. One thing the articles about homeless people and pets mention that pets help people cope with homelessness. According to qualitative study by Dr. Lynn Rew who is a professor in the School of Nursing in the University of Texas, Austin, pets provide “unconditional love, reduces feelings of loneliness, and improves their health status.” To further confirm the benefit that a pet brings to a homeless person, a study by Dr. Harmony Rhoades, a research associate professor in the Department of Adult Mental Health and Wellness, strengthens the fact that homeless people receives benefits by having a dog.
Table 2. Dimensions of pet ownership among homeless youth utilizing drop-in centers in Los Angeles (N = 332)
| Dimension | % Agreeing |
| My pet keeps me company | 84.48 |
| My pet makes me feel loved | 79.31 |
| My pet helps me feel safe | 72.88 |
| My pet gives me someone to love | 70.69 |
| My pet protects me | 64.29 |
| My pet eats before I do | 59.82 |
| My pet makes it harder for me to stay in a shelter | 49.15 |
| My pet makes it easier to ask for money | 45.76 |
| My pet makes it easier to make friends | 42.37 |
| My pet makes it harder to get housing | 15.79 |
| My pet makes it harder to go to the doctor | 11.32 |
(Rhoades)
From the table above, it shows that there are benefits to having a dog and taking care of one is not difficult. However, when it comes to getting into homeless shelters with pet prohibition, it becomes a problem. Due to their benefits in terms of a mental well-being, it is understandable to see why they would rather choose to stay outside with their pets. As participants in Wusinich, Christina, et al’s study mentions how they are unwilling to let their pets go for their own benefits of staying in a homeless shelter. The problem to consider here is the pet prohibition and a lack of study of what lets the homeless people cope with homelessness.
The Downtown Emergency Service Center suggests turning shelters into Navigation Centers such as those in Seattle, which is known to be pet-friendly and accessible (as cited in Wusinich et al., 2019).
2.5 Common Problems
Some problems were not mentioned in papers. However, logically speaking, as a person in a homeless shelter with other people, it is uncomfortable to be with people you do not know. The people might have an ideology that goes against others, which may cause an unfriendly environment if they encounter/interact with each other. Additionally, privacy and rules are a common factor. Privacy in homeless shelters are almost impossible to have because of the presence of other people. While rules could be strict and curfews may be present, reducing the freedom of the people in homeless shelters.
In the end, the solution to all these problems is ending homelessness as a problem. The proposed solution has been used in the past to drastically decrease chronic homelessness, also known as Housing First. Padgett states that housing first not only help end homelessness but also reduces the cost for temporary housing (as cited in Wusinich et al., 2019).
However, since the government in New York do not see it as a solution, or else they would have used this program, there are other solutions to make homeless shelters accessible. Enhancing policies and rules for shelters in order to break the barriers down for the people facing homelessness can also help. Enforcing such policies would force shelters to either spend more money for improvement or shut down (Wusinich et al., 2019). When shut down, the government could use that land to build a better homeless shelter or building for permanent housing.
3.0 Conclusion
Homeless shelters need to be reformed as it is unsafe, unprotected, and inaccessible. Either the shelters need to be upgraded so that it may be a great temporary housing space or demolished to become a government program for permanent housing. Altogether, homeless shelters need to improve in these terms: security, accessibility, healthcare, and comfort. Without these improvements, people facing homelessness are more likely to be in the streets. And as the rate for homelessness increase, more people will be staying around the busy streets of New York.
4.0 Recommendation
The best possible solution is revolutionizing the approach to housing the homeless entirely. Increase funding, working with organizations around the city, and staying open to suggestions. Increasing funding is the gateway to solving this issue; paying to build better facilities, hiring better employees and providing high quality living necessities. Being in bigger nicer spaces, interacting with genuine people, having better security protecting people, and providing simple material things can change the emotional state of many residences. Something as simple as this, can minimize and possibly eliminate the negative emotions and thoughts that influence the negative factors that drive residence out and wards them away from homeless shelters. However, more studies need to be to observe the people facing homelessness in New York, perhaps undercover clients that would check the quality of shelters. With approximately 5 studies in New York, it is impossible to point out all the reasons why the people prefer the streets.
Appendix:
Table 1. Required Identification Documents
All families and individuals applying for shelter must have valid original identification, such as:
|
If clients do not have a picture ID to prove their identities, documents that may generally be used include:
|
In addition, all applicants should also bring documents that demonstrate proof of their recent places of residence, such as:
|
(“Frequently Asked Questions – DHS”, 2019)
Table 2. Themes Indicating the Benefits of the Shelter Procedures
| Groups endorsing subtheme | |||||
| Superordinate theme | Subtheme | Examples | BW n (%) | LW n (%) | NSW n (%) |
| Procedural benefits | Rapid access to shelter | “Out of all the shelters, [shelter] contacted me first. Even with the wait, I got in here the fastest.” | 5 (21.7) | 3 (13.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Helpfulness to a subset of the homeless community | “You have to call to get in, so people staying here are better than people at [other shelter] who have been there for years.” | 4 (17.4) | 6 (26.1) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Cleanliness | “[It is] better because have same people in the same beds. There aren’t as many bugs and lice, and if there is, it’s easier to find out who it was. It’s cleaner.” | 1 (4.3) | 1 (4.3) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Improved knowledge of clientele | “I hope it helps the shelter know more about the people that they are helping. I’d like to think the shelter is more discriminating about the people and their problems so the shelter can be safer for all involved.” | 1 (4.3) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (7.7) | |
| Benefits of certainty about length of stay | Planning | “It’s better than lottery. I get to know I’m here for 90 days. I like knowing I have a place to stay every night.” | 2 (8.7) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Goal orientation | “Overall effective. Helping the people who are willing to make a change in their lives.” | 0 (0.0) | 2 (8.7) | 0 (0.0) |
Note. BW = Brief Wait group; LW = Long Wait group; NSW = No Shelter Waitlist group.
Table 4. Themes Indicating the Challenges Associated With the Shelter Procedures
| Groups endorsing subtheme | |||||
| Superordinate theme | Subtheme | Examples | BW n (%) | LW n (%) | NSW n (%) |
| Procedural challenges | Wait time | “The wait list was long. It’s not fair. When you have nowhere to go and the shelter is full, where are you supposed to go?” | 3 (13.0) | 9 (39.1) | 4 (30.7) |
| Uncertainty | “Not knowing when a bed would be available.” | 0 (0.0) | 2 (8.7) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Lack of resources to call | “Not having a telephone was a barrier….” | 0 (0.0) | 1 (4.3) | 2 (15.4) | |
| Organizational concerns | “They need to be more connected as a team. It seemed like everyone was not on the same page….” | 0 (0.0) | 1 (4.3) | 1 (7.7) | |
| Lack of fit with individual needs | “It’s hard having health issues and being homeless and hungry. Refer to shelters that fits the purpose for that person needs to get that help in a month time.” | 0 (0.0) | 1 (4.3) | 3 (23.1) | |
| Communication challenges | Difficulty contacting shelter staff | “Called every day. Not talking to anybody personally was a barrier. Have to talk to an answering machine and I don’t know if anybody got my call.” | 1 (4.3) | 4 (17.4) | 7 (53.8) |
| Lack of communication about status/process | “Mostly trying to leave voicemails and you don’t find out what number you are on the list at all.” | 0 (0.0) | 3 (13.0) | 3 (23.1) | |
| Unclear calling procedures | “It’s strange that you have to make a referral and then call each day.” | 4 (17.4) | 5 (21.7) | 2 (15.4) |
Note. BW = Brief Wait group; LW = Long Wait group; NSW = No Shelter Waitlist group.
(Brown et al., 2017)
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