A Roof Over My Head, Second Edition
A Roof Over My Head, Second Edition
Homeless Women and the Shelter Industry
Based upon extensive ethnographic data, “A Roof Over My Head” examines the lives of homeless women who cope with domestic violence, low-income housing shortages, and poverty. The author draws upon interviews with homeless women, interviews with housed people, and, finally, evaluations of shelter services, philosophies, and policies to get at the causes and social constructions of homelessness. “A Roof Over My Head” is a groundbreaking study that unveils the centrality of abuse and poverty in homeless women’s lives and outlines ways in which societal responses can and should be more effective.
The second edition explores recent attempts to integrate homeless and battered women’s shelters and recent research on domestic violence as a cause of homelessness. It contains a new introduction that analyzes the most recent homeless policy developments and paints a picture of the homeless population today. With updated statistics and policy information throughout, the second edition of “A Roof Over My Head” illustrates why ending homelessness in the United States continues to present a thorny and complex challenge.
...absolutely compelling and convincing...It deserves to be read at all levels of society - from the grass roots to the highest levels of policy-making. It might even make a difference in the ways American society views and treats some of its most vulnerable citizens.'
—Ruth Sidel, author of Keeping Women and Children Last: The Plight of Poor Women in Affluent America
