Women's Shelter System: A Case Study

Mrs. Jones was identified by her full SSN, DOB, as well as ID. She is a 45 year old, married (x5), Caucasian; female with shared custody of a minor child age 17 that lives with his father in Texas. Veteran self-reported height is 5’10 and weigh 180 lb. Veteran presented from the 3K Ward (Mental Health) of the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS), North Little Rock, Arkansas and scheduled for Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Program residential placement.

Although homelessness may be difficult and isolating for anyone who experiences it, there are certain adversities specific to women. Whether cisgender or transgender, those who identify as women often have additional hardships when homeless (Shier, Jones, & Graham, 2011). A society in which women are paid 77 cents to a man’s dollar, it is apparent women are seen as the lesser gender and are subject to different difficulties; this is evidenced in multiple studies concerning women experiencing homelessness (David, Rowe & Ponce, 2015; Sayers, 2012; Shier, Jones, & Graham, 2011; Whitbeck, Armenta, & Gentzler, 2015). David, Rowe, Stacheli and Ponce (2015) surveyed homeless women with both mental illnesses and substance abuse problems and 100 percent reported to be victims of physical or sexual assault. Additionally, Shier, Jones, and Graham (2011) studied homeless women who expressed the lack of shelter space for women, and they found many shelters are catered to men only. Another study on intersectionality of homeless women found women experiencing homelessness are three times more likely to have posttraumatic stress disorder than women in the general population (Whitbeck, Armenta, & Gentzler, 2015). Due to these facts, women experiencing homelessness are clearly subject to unique exploitations and vulnerabilities. It is also important to understand that various intersections of race, culture, sexuality, age, and physical and mental health conditions contribute to the severity

First, a client must show proof of their homelessness. Proof could be a letter from a family member, previous homeless shelter, or an eviction notice stating the client has been evicted. Secondly, a client must have a state issued photo I.D. If the client does not have the proper identification. The shelter will go through the necessary steps to ensure that person receives an ID. Lastly, if a client has children, they must provide the facility with each child’s birth certificate. Once the shelter reteaches its’ maximum limit clients have to go through another procedure to ensure the safety in the facility. Clients have to take a breathalyzer test and blow nothing other than a 0.0. If the client fails the test, they will not be able to stay in the shelter for that night. Clients are then patted down for weapons and their bags are checked. After the safety procedure, clients are assigned a bed. All procedures are done each night to ensure safety and consistency. Once the shelter reaches its maximum intake they provide clients dinner and breakfast the following morning. After breakfast, clients have assigned chores they including cleaning up. When the chores are finished, clients must leave the facility until it time for it to reopen at

“The program was launched in the 1980s to address the issue of homelessness amongst special groups such as the mentally challenged and the HIV/AIDS victims” (Shelton 467). This program, together with the HUD, has managed to prevent the increase in the number of the homeless population through the provision of affordable housing to the target groups.

This assignment at the community middle school has exposed me to the real world of children dwelling in the shelter system. It has provided me with a crash course for learning about all of the family shelter agencies in

We are a shelter program that offers safe housing and support for survivors (and their children) of Domestic Violence and or Sexual Assault. It is our goal of the shelter program to help survivors of domestic violence become independent and able to take care of themselves. With this goal in mind, our program provides counseling services, domestic violence and sexual assault information, legal advocacy and crisis intervention. We also provide referrals and information about legal, medical, housing and other social services issues.

The clients must demonstrate a “need for safe and affordable housing.” Levels of need vary so it is assessed during the application process.1

residents must be willing and able to find and maintain a full time job. The Our House programs,

Thank you, Dr. Lowery. To provide shelter/homes for this population, I will solicit local government to collaborate with Light House homeless shelter in Polk County to help them expand their facility to house as many homeless individuals as possible. This intervention will help me monitor the cost of healthcare compared to those who are left on the streets accurately. I will also solicit government officials to provide a long-term housing solution with the Housing First Programs to help them with housing placement. These programs are transitional to help stabilize the homeless individuals with their families' long-term goals and any subsequent

In our first year we will work to provide shelter and case management for 120 individuals, nightly, through our emergency and transitional shelter. Our goal is decrease this number by ten percent, through our programs and services offered to clients. We hope to provide individuals with the resources they need to find stability in their lives, in order, become independent and self-sustaining. The services provided will include an emergency shelter and transitional shelter. We hope to provide 24,000 nights to individuals in our emergency shelter. Our emergency shelter will house twenty women beds and twenty men’s beds, a total of forty beds for emergency shelter program called Red Shield. Our transitional rooms, will house four people to room

Further findings are seldom reported separately for the subgroup that is female and over 50 plus and experience homelessness for the first time. The three areas of focus are 1. Causes of first-time homelessness, 2. Victimization among this population, and 3. Females experience poverty and homelessness. This research study reflects the emotional impact of homelessness and shelter life and what changes for future shelter developments for this subgroup of consumers 50 years and older would like to see implemented.

Background Homelessness is a societal issues caused from deinstitutionalization, mental illness, changes in the family structure, economics, violence, and personal crisis. Homelessness is not a local problem; it is a national (and international) public health crisis. Most statistics show, in fact, that there are about 8-10,000 individuals living in Seattle (King County) without shelter each and every night. This may, in fact, be a low estimate, since it is based on one night only, and does not county every area of the County (Heim, 2009).

As my shift began, I realized for the most part the shelter was composed of single women, and two families, including the fathers. Most of the people were already resting in bed, therefore there wasn’t as much interaction between the volunteers and the clients. I was able to interact with one of the families because they were out in the hallway with their little boy. From this family, I learned that the father had a job, but he didn’t earn enough to provide housing for his family. The mom didn’t work because she was taking care of her little boy and she was 7 months pregnant. Since the shelter is only provided for overnight stay, the mom and the little boy sometimes stay at the boyfriend’s mother house during the day.

Housing identification; focus of this service is to provide help with finding housing and troubleshoot barriers that prevent access to housing like John’s PTSD.

The researcher has developed the following procedures and methods that will look to gain a more insightful look at understanding and the importance of the research topic. The goal of the method is to gather information that will provide more detailed information and the importance in addition to bringing more awareness of building, rehabilitating and maintaining affordable housing.