Homelessness and Domestic Violence: Examining Patterns of Shelter Use and Barriers to Permanent Housing

Author: Kristie A. Thomas

Dissertation School: University of Pennsylvania

Abstract:

It is well known that domestic violence (DV) is a primary risk factor for homelessness, forcing thousands of women and children to seek refuge in DV shelters and homeless shelters every year. Despite this awareness, existing research on the intersection of homelessness and DV is insufficient, largely because it is divided into two distinct literatures—one focused on women who use DV shelters and the other focused on women who use homeless shelters. This fissure stems from logistical and conceptual barriers. Logistically, data from DV shelters are often unavailable for empirical examination due to client safety considerations, thereby making it impossible to examine cross-system shelter use. Conceptually, DV shelters and homeless shelters are seen as having different target populations and different missions, and hence, are often studied separately. These barriers have prevented a comprehensive examination of DV victims’ patterns of shelter use across these two systems, thereby leading to a very shortsighted view of how these vulnerable women make use of system resources in total.

Given these gaps in the literature, the purpose of this dissertation is to: examine the magnitude of and patterns of shelter use—within and across DV and homeless shelters—by women victims of DV; uncover the individual- and system-level barriers that prevent these women from achieving independent, permanent housing after exiting a shelter; and identify ways in which service providers and policymakers can assist this vulnerable population in reducing their reliance on shelters and achieving independence via safe and permanent housing.

To achieve these aims, the proposed dissertation will use a mixed method research design. The quantitative component involves the examination of a unique, integrated dataset that contains comprehensive shelter records from domestic violence (DV), single-women emergency homeless, and family emergency homeless shelters for the city of Columbus, Ohio. This dataset allows DV victims to be longitudinally tracked within and across shelter systems, and contains individual and system-level information that can provide a better understanding of repeat shelter use. The qualitative component will be used to more fully understand the results of the quantitative analyses. In-depth interviews with case managers and administrators at DV shelters and homeless shelters will be conducted to capture a systems perspective. Focus groups with DV victims who have stayed in a homeless shelter, a DV shelter, or both will be used to gather an individual perspective.

This dissertation is one of the first studies of its kind to be able to examine homeless, shelter using DV victims as a unified group and to track these women across two usually separate systems. Thus, it has far-reaching implications for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers interested in this topic. By detailing the scale of shelter use by DV victims and the barriers that interfere with securing permanent housing, the findings have the potential to: highlight the importance of increased communication and collaboration between DV and homeless shelter systems; demonstrate the need for more supportive and affordable housing; and inform the development of programs and policies specifically tailored to the needs of this vulnerable population in order to ensure that their transition from shelter to housing stability is a success.

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