A Qualitative Research Study to Explore the Lived Experiences of Females who are Homeless and Living in Shelters

Homelessness could affect all persons at some point in life regardless of age, gender, race and class if a person falls prey to certain risk factors such as chronic mental illness, addiction, family disruptions, and sudden or protracted unemployment. The female population is at a greater disadvantage of falling prey to becoming homeless by virtue of their gender and implicit and explicit gender inequality principles woven in society's structural system. The researcher focuses on the female homeless population in order to understand and explore the unique challenges they encounter that have led them to experience homelessness. In addition, the researcher specifically questions why homelessness continues to be a problem because social service programs are often available for persons in need before they become homeless. Themes that emerged from the study were better understood utilizing three counseling theories: Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT), Psychodynamic Theory and Narrative Theory. RCT posits that human beings grow through and toward connection. Human beings need connections to flourish, and stay alive. Psychodynamic Theory takes a developmental approach to examine early childhood experiences, whether they be positive or negative, and how such experiences and life events may affect a person's adult life. Finally, Narrative Theory takes into consideration a persons' story, and how this population makes meaning from their experiences. The narratives of this specific population is imperative to give a voice to those who don't have a voice, in particular giving a voice to the female homeless population who are doubly invisible in today's society. It is also necessary to examine such narratives for problem laden or solution focused language; Narrative Theory therefore, offers insight into the power of the word of mouth, tales, stories, accounts, descriptions and what individuals choose to retain or forget during traumatic experiences. To this effect, the researcher will conduct a qualitative study by interviewing females who are homeless and residing in shelters in order to understand their unique experiences of homelessness and to deduce how they structured meaning from their circumstances. To enhance the questionings surrounding this dilemma, females residing in shelters in the upper Midwest region were interviewed