homelessness

Editorial: Studies towards understanding the homeless in South Africa

Cross and Seager offer insight on homelessness in South Africa. They cover the historical origins of homelessness, the way homelessness in other countries compares with South Africa’s, who the homeless are, where they come from, what makes them leave home, and what role their families and personal histories play, the threats to their well-being and…

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Social floor and a decent standard of living

Kok et al provide a demographic analysis of the Human Sciences Research Council homelessness survey. They offer a sketch the population dynamics of child and adult homelessness. The paper reviews research methodology, looks at the age, gender and employment status of the respondents, and identifies the foreign-born and citizen population elements. The data suggest that…

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Social floor and a decent standard of living

Homelessness on the streets has been of concern to governments and civil society for hundreds of years, and the number of homeless tends to rise when economic conditions take an adverse turn. Laying stress on questions of access to housing, livelihoods and services, this paper compares the historical causes of homelessness in Britain and Europe,…

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Skeletons at the Feast? A review of the Homelessness Question in SA and Other World Regions.

Homelessness on the streets has been of concern to governments and civil society for hundreds of years, and the number of homeless tends to rise when economic conditions take an adverse turn. Laying stress on questions of access to housing, livelihoods and services, this paper compares the historical causes of homelessness in Britain and Europe,…

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Towards identifying the causes of South Africa’s street homelessness: Some policy recommendations

The Human Sciences Research Council’s four-year study of street homelessness in South Africa highlights the way unemployment stresses poor households and sets in motion processes of exclusion, and suggests that the social wage safety net is not protecting the street homeless. Although subsidised housing and social grants seem to head off homelessness in many cases,…

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