Conference Presentations by Caitlin A Carey
Housing First: Defining and Analyzing a New Treatment Paradigm for Homelessness in the United States, 2020
As the Housing First approach to homeless service provision has proliferated in the United States... more As the Housing First approach to homeless service provision has proliferated in the United States in recent years, varied understandings of the model have emerged and a wide range of outcomes have been reported. This study seeks to better understand the variation in the implementation of Housing First, to identify outcomes of interest to stakeholders to improve future evaluations of the model, and to compare Housing First in practice to Housing First in theory. In order to achieve these goals, this study utilizes an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design beginning with a qualitative case study of Housing First programs in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts which informed the design of an original survey that was distributed to a national sample of organizations operating Housing First programs (n=283). Qualitative data suggest that the implementation of Housing First is largely determined by the history of the organization, whether the organization chose to transition to Housing First or was compelled to do so by a funder, and the level of staff enthusiasm for the model. Key outcome measures identified by stakeholders include percent of program participants exiting to homelessness, percent of program participants evicted or involuntarily terminated, life satisfaction among program participants, ability of program participants to perform activities of daily living, and program participant progress toward achieving goals beyond attaining and maintaining housing. Quantitative analysis of survey data reveals that in general, practitioners adhere closely to Housing First in theory as it is broadly defined by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. There is also widespread adoption of the narrowly defined Pathways Housing First model, with Housing First practitioners most commonly operating scattered-site permanent supportive housing programs that serve people experiencing chronic homelessness. Regression models show that broadly, fidelity to Housing First in theory, level of staff enthusiasm for Housing First, whether the organization chose to utilize a Housing First approach or was compelled to do so by a funder, and the length of time that an organization has been utilizing a Housing First approach are all significantly correlated with key outcomes.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Hostile architecture involves designing urban spaces in such a way that the space itself discoura... more Hostile architecture involves designing urban spaces in such a way that the space itself discourages certain unwanted behaviors that are often associated with specific groups of people, such as youth, drug users, and people experiencing homelessness. This study aims to better understand the occurrence of hostile architecture aimed at the homeless in the city of Boston, Massachusetts as it relates to a variety of spatial and neighborhood characteristics. Based on the theoretical propositions in David Harvey’s "Right to the City," I predicted that examples of hostile architecture aimed at the homeless were more likely to appear farther away from local homeless shelters, in areas zoned for business rather than residential use, and in areas with higher median incomes. A sample area of ten Census Block Groups was randomly selected for analysis, and all examples of hostile architecture aimed at the homeless within the sample area were photographed and geo-tagged. Analysis of the data revealed that examples of hostile architecture aimed at the homeless were more likely to appear farther away from local homeless shelters, in areas zoned for residential rather than business use, and in areas with lower median incomes.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Anti-homeless ordinances include laws that target behaviors typically associated with homelessnes... more Anti-homeless ordinances include laws that target behaviors typically associated with homelessness, such as panhandling or sleeping on sidewalks. The goal of this study is to better understand the prevalence of anti-homeless ordinances in American cities and the policy context surrounding these ordinances. A sample of nine U.S. cities was selected for analysis, ensuring variation across population size and geographic location. Analysis began with a scan of each city’s municipal code to see if anti-homeless ordinances were present. This was followed by qualitative interviews with one homeless advocate and one member of local government in each city (n=14). Eight out of nine sample cities had at least one anti-homeless ordinance in their municipal code. Interviews revealed that the homeless in these cities have been socially constructed as alcohol or substance users, freeloaders, and criminals. This negative social construction is reflected in anti-homeless ordinances that allocate burdens to this group.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people make up a disproportionately large portion ... more Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people make up a disproportionately large portion of the homeless population in the United States. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) policies regarding the specific treatment of LGBT people in HUD-funded homeless shelters have been incremental. HUD has issued a series of rulings that make only marginal changes to past practices, the aim of which have been to prevent discrimination against LGBT people in HUD-funded programs, but the Department has not taken steps specifically towards ending LGBT homelessness altogether. This is a stark contrast against the rational approach that the Federal Government has taken to prevent and end homelessness in general, as evidenced by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) 2010 report, Opening Doors: Federal and Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, in which setting a path to end all homelessness in the United States is a stated goal.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Papers by Caitlin A Carey
Journal of General Internal Medicine
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
BackgroundHomeless-experienced populations are at increased risk of exposure to SARS CoV-2 due to... more BackgroundHomeless-experienced populations are at increased risk of exposure to SARS CoV-2 due to their living environments and face increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease due to underlying health conditions. Little is known about COVID-19 testing and vaccination acceptability among homeless-experienced populations.ObjectiveTo understand the facilitators and barriers to COVID-19 testing and vaccine acceptability among homeless-experienced adults.DesignWe conducted in-depth interviews with participants from July-October 2020. We purposively recruited participants from 1) a longitudinal cohort of homeless-experienced older adults in Oakland, CA (n=37) and 2) a convenience sample of people (n=57) during a mobile outreach COVID-19 testing event in San Francisco.ParticipantsAdults with current or past experience of homelessness.ApproachWe asked participants about their experiences with and attitudes towards COVID-19 testing and their perceptions of COVID-19 vaccinations. We used parti...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Conference Presentations by Caitlin A Carey
Papers by Caitlin A Carey