“We Don't Live in a Third World Country”: Understanding the Factors Contributing to Homelessness in Orange County, CA

Given the prevalence and recent rise of homelessness in California and Orange County, a study on how homelessness occurs and the factors that lead to homelessness is needed. Using the in-depth interviews of 12 homeless substance-using participants in Santa Ana, California, the study highlights five factors of homelessness: employment, substance use, health, criminal record/incarceration, and family. This study views these factors of homelessness through the lens of Elliott Currie’s theory of market society and explains how these factors emerge, how they impact the lives of the participants, and how they ultimately lead to homelessness