Background:Over the past decade, the Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP) has identified childcare as one of the most pressing needs of homeless mothers. Beginning in 1998, HPP resolved to create a childcare center for its clients, and enlisted two teams of MPH students to conduct a needs assessment and develop a program plan. In analyzing the "problem" the childcare center was solving, the team develooped a new construct to describe the phenomenon: The day homelessness of children. Coinage of this new language builds on the theoretical work of the past decade, where in order to understand the current epidemic of homelessness in the U.S., new constructs have been required (e.g., "near homelessness," "homelessness sydrome," and "homelessness as a public health problem").
Purpose: This paper advances and explains the construct: Day Homelessness. Data from a needs assessment are presented, including the findings of focus groups and key informant interviews. The paper suggests that "Day Homelessness" is an overlooked phenomenon, incorporating the myriad needs, problems and conditions which homeless mothers confront in their struggle to survive and move out of homelessness. Adopting the problem definition of "day homelessness of children" has enabled HPP to evision a wide range of possible solutions for its clients, leading to a proposal for establishing a drop-in centre for children.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: -Define "day homelessness" -Identify the health and social needs of day homeless women and their children -Critically analyze the validity and utility of this construct
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The Homeless Pre-Natal Program of San Francisco
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.