SOWK 603 A Comparative Analysis of Research on Black Experiences of Homelessness
SOWK 603 A Comparative Analysis of Research on Black Experiences of Homelessness
A Comparative Study of the Black Homelessness Research.
To comprehensively comprehend homelessness within the Black community, one has to take a particular glance at the social systems, the practices within institutions, and the racial hurdles that define everyday life. Carroll, Flanagan, and Gutierrez (2022) and Edwards’ (2020) studies provide an effective perspective on how help-seeking among black adults and students is affected by policing, racism, and school environments. Through this comparison of their approaches and conclusions, this paper will examine how the idea of diversity, economic pressures, ethics and social work theories can be used to inform best practices and enhance our comprehension of urban homelessness and its practical contexts.
Comparison of Research Methods.
The study by Carroll et al. (2022) is a mixed-method study that incorporated 57 interviews and a remote survey of 244 adults who experienced homelessness. This research was performed in San Diego at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when there were restrictions on shelter-in-place, and people were more concerned about their health. To frame Black experiences in terms of policing and access to services, the authors have purposely oversampled Black participants who made up almost half of the survey respondents. The research collected the samples of police contact, service offers, shelter use, and demographics in the shape of surveys, which were supplemented by phone and email interviews. These techniques provided flexibility to the participants but occasionally caused short responses in emails. Remote recruitment also implied that only people who have access to phones or the internet could participate, which influenced the sample. Although the non-probability sampling constrained the representativeness, the amalgamation of both qualitative and quantitative data enhanced the detail, balance, and interpretive depth of the study.
Edwards (2020) applied a three-step coding methodology, which included in-vivo, descriptive, and thematic, to decode the interviews of eight Black youths in Los Angeles County who had experienced homelessness and, nevertheless, graduated high school. The face-to-face long interviews provided abundant narratives of how they managed to navigate hostile school settings, how they managed to protect themselves through selective disclosure, and how they were forced to confront structural barriers. Even though the small, deliberately chosen sample restricts statistical extrapolation, the research draws larger systemic trends that apply to analogous situations.
Comparing the two studies, it is evident that they complement each other in significant aspects. Carroll et al. (2022) offer a general perception of the relationship of Black adults with social constructs, whereas Edwards (2020) pays much attention to young people in schools. The quantitative data collected by Carroll et al. enable the identification of broad trends, such as the low proportion of police interactions which lead to service offers, whereas the qualitative data analysis of Edwards further expands the knowledge of how racism in schools affects decision-making in the institutions. Combined, these studies can provide a more comprehensive picture of how the experiences of Black people are influenced by racialized institutional practices at various life stages and service systems.
Findings and Interpretation.
According to the study by Carroll et al. (2022), police interaction within the sample was common but seldom useful. The authors state that despite police being a frequent contact point among unsheltered people, only 13% of those who met with police received services. Most respondents talked about police interactions as unfriendly, stern, or disrespectful, and Black respondents specifically stated that they had encountered racism, intimidation, and ignorance. Rather than promoting stability, such encounters led to what the authors refer to as system avoidance, whereby people tend to avoid organizations or services associated with police monitoring or disciplinary action. Though this reaction is rational, considering the negative experiences, it also restricts access to shelter, health services, and support networks that homeless people might require to leave homelessness. Carroll et al. claim that the results show a mismatch between policing and care because frontline responses based on law enforcement contribute to mistrust and lower the chances of using helpful services.
Edwards (2020) discovered that Black youth who had gone through homelessness tended to conceal their unstable housing situation because of the fear of being punished, stigmatized, and becoming the subjects of racialized treatment in schools. Respondents reported a school environment characterized by racial hostility, disproportionate discipline, and poor performance expectations by teachers and administrators. Such an environment aggravated the fears of students who were afraid of being singled out and judged or sent to Child Protective Services in case they reported homelessness. Consequently, most of them tended to evade school personnel in seeking their help despite having access to the supports as stipulated by the McKinney-Vento Act. Rather, students depended on the informal networks like extended family, church members or friends. The findings made by Edwards demonstrate how structural racism and unfavorable school conditions restrict access to educational support for homeless Black students and, eventually, make their academic achievements more challenging.
Combined, the results of the two studies show that mistrust of the institutions is not a one-time phenomenon but a result of recurrent racialized experiences. Racialized policing among adults deters help-seeking, and among the youth, it is the school environment that is racially charged, which restricts disclosure and academic support access. These results add to the significance of perceiving homelessness as an issue that is not merely influenced by economic disadvantage but also by institutional action, structural injustice, and racial discrimination.
Diversity, Social, Economic and Environmental Issues.
The two research works take care of diversity and structural factors meaningfully. Carroll et al. (2022) emphasize the influence of race, gender and sexuality on the interactions between unsheltered people and police. In their results, they highlight the fact that black adults experience more surveillance, worse treatment and more obstacles to help seeking. The paper also relates policing to greater systems of poverty governance, noting how economic marginalization, redlining, and increased cost of living negatively affect Black people disproportionately. The context of the study also had environmental risks, with homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic exposing people to public health risks because of poor access to sanitation, healthcare, and protection.
The same case is with Edwards (2020), who also focuses on diversity and structural inequality. His paper demonstrates the impact of historical and continuing school segregation, the use of race-based disciplinary measures, and implicit bias on the lives of homeless Black youth in school. Institutional racism added to the social and economic instability of these students by providing an environment which seemed unsafe to report homelessness. The issues of transportation, financial instability, and inadequate parental support also featured in the stories of participants. Both papers demonstrate how racism crosses with economic and environmental vulnerability to set up conditions in which Black people are forced to negotiate both the realities of homelessness and systems that reinforce the conditions.
Social Work Values and Ethical Dilemmas.
There are also ethical issues that both studies bring up for social workers. Carroll et al. (2022) highlight a key ethical issue, namely the dependence on the police as the first responders to homelessness. Since the interaction with the police during their experiences was intuitively traumatic or harmful, requiring people to interact with a system that has previously abused them appears to be counterproductive to the ethical principle of ensuring the dignity and safety of clients. The research questions the morality of the social work agencies to collaborate with institutions which are likely to cause harm, particularly in the presence of non-police options.
Another ethical issue that Edwards (2020) brings up is mandatory reporting in schools. Young people were afraid of revealing their homelessness because they believed it would lead to disciplinary intervention or child welfare. In the case of social workers in schools, this gives them a dilemma between legal requirements and establishing a trusting and encouraging atmosphere. Both articles emphasize the significance of cultural humility, trauma-informed care and anti-racist practice in social work. They also support the concept of systemic advocacy, because individual-level intervention might not be enough when institutions themselves reproduce harm.
Field Practice: Theoretical Frameworks and their Fit.
The works by Carroll et al. (2022) rely on theories of racialized methods of poverty governance, criminalization, and critical race viewpoints to construct a conceptual framework on system avoidance. Their conceptual discussion explains the institutional reaction to homelessness, how it is enshrined in systems of racial control and surveillance. This model is especially applicable in social work practice in urban settings, where the client may be exposed to multiple systems, such as police, medical personnel, and outreach teams. Knowledge of system avoidance can assist practitioners in developing strategies that respect mistrust and focus on safety and autonomy.
Edwards (2020) relies on the structural racism theory as his theoretical framework. This lens helps him describe the way school policies, disciplinary practices, and institutional norms come up with a racialized barrier. In this context, social workers who work in schools or work with youth cannot do without this framework in the interpretation of how structural factors influence student behavior and access to resources. It also prompts practitioners to take a closer look at their own role in perpetuating or undermining inequitable systems.
The two frameworks add to the knowledge of social work as they present a different but complementary description of how racism influences homelessness throughout the life cycle.
Best Practice Models
Though neither of the studies specifies a traditional, named best-practice model, both have clear implications about how to enhance practice. Carroll et al. (2022) explicitly suggest considering the transition of homelessness response to non-police-led interventions that are based on trauma-informed and culturally responsive models of outreach. These models are more care-oriented than law-oriented and focus on establishing trust with the unsheltered. The recommendation is an evidence-based best practice response, especially in an urban setting where police are usually deployed as the first responders.
Practice improvements suggested by Edwards (2020) can be interpreted as a model of a best practice to support homeless Black students. He points out the necessity of race-sensitive interpretations of the McKinney-Vento Act, more culturally responsive homeless liaisons, and school settings in which disclosure is not stigmatized. This practice will push practitioners to take the initiative to mitigate barriers and develop a learning environment in which students can experience support but not judgment.
The model that is proposed by Carroll et al., perhaps, can be more directly relevant to urban social work practice when it comes to considering unsheltered adult people who come in contact with social service systems. Nevertheless, the revelations made by Edwards can still be useful in the case of social workers in education or youth service positions, especially in urban areas where the racial gap in schooling is still a major problem.
Statistical Insight into the Problem.
Carroll et al. (2022) provide us with numbers to demonstrate the extent of failure of systems. When there is hardly any assistance provided during the police encounters at all (only 13 percent), it is evident how frequently the real help is lacking. Edwards (2020) puts the larger trend of student homelessness and its effects on graduation into context by citing statistics on the national level. Combined, both studies demonstrate that race and institutions influence homelessness, and policing and schools are significant in determining whether individuals actually get support.
Conclusion
Carroll et al. (2022) and Edwards (2020) provide insights into the experience of Black people being homeless and the role of institutions in influencing access to assistance. Both articles demonstrate that severe police interactions and a racially strained school environment push individuals out of support-seeking, adults retreat, and youths remain silent. These trends are hints at the necessity of the employment of trauma-sensitive, anti-racist, and culturally grounded practice. In the case of social workers, this implies not only providing services but also attacking the systems that establish marginalization, thus making support effective and humane.
References
Carroll, M. W., Flanigan, S. T., & Gutierrez, N. (2022). Black Lives Experiencing Homelessness Matter: A Critical Conceptual Framework for Understanding How Policing Drives System Avoidance among Vulnerable Populations. Public Integrity, 25(3), 285–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2022.2090779
Edwards, E. J. (2020). Young, Black, successful, and homeless: examining the unique academic challenges of Black students who experienced homelessness. Journal of Children and Poverty, 26(2), 125–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/10796126.2020.1776688
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SOWK 603 A Comparative Analysis of Research on Black Experiences of Homelessness
