Homelessness and the Politics of Social Exclusion

"Homelessness is not one problem, but many different kinds of problems involving many different kinds of people, each of them homeless for different reasons or who have become homeless in different ways Among the homeless of today are men, women, children, and whole families; victims of domestic violence and male abandonment; young, middle-aged, and elderly; veterans; illegal immigrants; persons of every ethnic description; people who are homeless for strictly economic reasons; others who are homeless because they drink and drug too much; the lucid and the deranged; and on through a long list."                                                   James Wright                                                 University of Central Florida   Bringing together international perspectives from sociology, political science, public policy, criminology, urban studies, adolescent research, and social work, this fascinating April 2005 issue of American Behavioral Scientist (ABS), entitled Homelessness and the Politics of Social Exclusion focuses on pioneering research about how the homeless are marginalized in societies around the world and the consequences of this social exclusion.    Based on presentations at the American Sociological Association's 2003 Annual Meeting, the authors of this unique volume discuss:   Why the characteristics of both Los Angeles and Berlin homeless populations are similar despite different welfare systems and public policies (von Mahs) How staff create, sustain, and escalate conflict in a drop-in center for street kids (Joniak) Structural changes in Japanese...