Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #108716

Bart W. Miles, PhD, School of Social Work, Wayne State University, 4756 Cass Avenue Rm 311, Detroit, MI 48202, (313) 577-4434, bmiles@wayne.edu

Since the 1990s, local government policies regarding the homeless have drastically changed from policies to addressing homelessness as a social problem, to policies that treat homeless people as the problem. There are several suggested reasons for these changes, such as global economic growth, downtown redevelopment, and compassion fatigue. These trends in local homeless policies can be divided into three areas: privatization of space, criminalization of homeless activities, and relocation of homeless services. Recently, economic redevelopment has become the mantra of city politics, with an emphasis on targeting mobile capital. Homelessness and the services associated with it are a drain on present capital and a threat to attracting mobile capital. These issues of urban redevelopment and anti-homeless policies are inevitably linked. This trend in homeless policies has become prevalent in a Southwestern suburban city. This city has between 500-750 homeless, depending on the reports. Yet, the city has no shelters, soup kitchens, or daily shower facilities. This city has several anti-homeless laws and large areas privatized space. This city was used as a case study of how local homeless policies impact on the everyday lives of homeless individuals. This was done through phenomenological interviews. The interviewees identified a feeling of being marginalized. This marginalization was attached to city policies. These policies were enforced by private security and the police. These interactions created a stigma on the homeless as a group, which later became internalized into the identity of the individual homeless persons.

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