Changing demography of homeless adult populations

As the demographic characteristics of the US population have changed over the past decade, the characteristics of different homeless populations have changed as well. This study tracked changes in demographic characteristics of homeless adult, veteran, and healthcare service user populations against general adult and veteran populations from 2007-2017. The results showed that changing demographics of homeless populations largely reflected broader trends in the general population, and attention is needed on the clinical needs of aging homeless populations. There may be some unique changes in the demography of some homeless populations, such as younger homeless veterans seeking healthcare services.

From Homeless Teen to Chronically Homeless Adult

In this paper, attention will be paid to the conceptualization of adult homelessness though the lens of chronically homeless adults who became homeless as teens, looking particularly at the impact of adverse childhood events. The study bridges the usual divide between youth and adult homeless populations both as distinct research populations and as populations understood to have distinct causes of homelessness. This examination reveals important ways in which conceptions of homelessness have become decontextualized from the narrative of moving from teen to adult homelessness, from understandings of home and from a subjectivity, which is not determined by housing status. To interrupt the connection between adverse childhood events and adult homelessness, the case will be made that our response to homelessness must include a response to the trauma suffered by persons who were homeless when they were youth.