142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Health and Hearth: Formerly Homeless Youths' Experiences of Transition into Permanent Supportive Housing

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Jessica Lin, MPH , School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Deborah Karasek, MPH , School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley
Jeffrey Schonberg, PhD , School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Richmond, CA
Colette Auerswald, MD, MS , U.C. Berkeley School of Public Health, UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program, Berkeley, CA
Sarah Brothers , Sociology, Yale University, San Francisco, CA
Homeless youth suffer from disproportionate rates of morbidity and mortality that are largely related to elevated HIV-risk behaviors and substance use. A growing body of research indicates that providing permanent supportive housing (PSH) to homeless adults within a Housing First approach can reduce their HIV-risk and substance use behaviors; however, the effects of PSH for youth have been understudied. Research further suggests that changes in the social networks of homeless youth may reduce engagement in risk behaviors. Interventions to mitigate homelessness may have a high impact on HIV risk, substance abuse, and overall stress in this population.

In January of 2014 the first city-funded permanent supportive housing building exclusively designated for transition-aged youth (ages 18-24) was opened in San Francisco. We are conducting an ongoing mixed epidemiological ethnographic assessment of the trajectories of 44 youth entering into permanent supportive housing. Using participant observation, in-depth individual interviews, and survey data, we will document the experiences of youth entering into permanent supportive housing and describe the impact of housing on health-related behaviors.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice

Learning Objectives:
Describe the experiences of homeless youth entering into permanent supportive housing. Identify housing-related factors that impact youths’ health behaviors.

Keyword(s): Homelessness, Youth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am one of the two principal ethnographers on this project. I am a first year Sociology PhD student at Yale. My interests are health disparities, stigma, and marginality. I am also an ethnographer on another UC Berkeley project and the principal investigator on my own CPHS/IRB approved study on injection drug users.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3192.0: Caucus on Homelessness Poster Session 2