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Articles published in 22 counseling journals from 2010–2019 were compared on 26 author and article characteristics. Women now constitute majorities of authorship and counseling journals are publishing larger proportions of research articles, 63% of which used quantitative approaches and about 11% of which studied counseling interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responses to the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale displayed high score reliability (α =.91) and adequate convergent and divergent validity for college undergraduates. The data provided an adequate to excellent fit to the unidimensional model. Measurement invariance was demonstrated for gender and race. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of ‘social control’ interventions in housing and welfare policy often courts intense controversy, and never more so than when attempts are made to bring about change in the conduct of street homeless people. To date, academic scrutiny has focused on the so-called ‘regulation’ or ‘criminalisation’ of rough sleepers occupying public space, but a range of ‘softer’ control mechanisms are also now in evidence within homelessness support services. This paper explicates the relationship between the distinct forms of social control that have been used in this field - force, coercion, bargaining, influence and tolerance - and compares the perspectives of policy makers, frontline practitioners and homeless people regarding the appropriateness of their deployment in England. It emphasizes that the use of every one of these modes of social control, and indeed the absence of such controls, raises moral and practical dilemmas, the nuance of which is often unacknowledged in academic accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Empowerment’ is often said to be a key objective of policies aiming to improve the lives of homeless people and other vulnerable groups. This paper contends that Sen and Nussbaum’s influential ‘capability’ approach provides an appropriate means of operationalising this arguably nebulous concept. Via a critique of work-focused social enterprises in the homelessness field, as promoted by successive UK governments, it seeks to demonstrate the importance of a multi-dimensional approach to enhancing the capabilities of homeless people with complex support needs. Specifically, it argues for attention to be given to four (independently important) empowerment ‘domains’: the bodily domain; the political and economic domain; the social and emotional domain; and the creative, intellectual and self-development domain. This broad-based understanding of empowerment implies that a balance must be struck between specialist provision, such as the bespoke social enterprises focused upon in this paper, and more integrative models which seek to support homeless people in ordinary community and workplace settings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

When first developed in the United States, ‘Housing First’ was highly controversial given its departure from mainstream ‘linear’ service models for homeless people with complex support needs. It has nevertheless since been heralded as presenting a key ‘antidote’ to chronic homelessness and is being replicated across North America and Europe with what might be regarded as ‘evangelical’ fervour. Reception to Housing First has been noticeably more reserved in the UK to date. This paper explores the reasons underpinning many UK stakeholders’ scepticism about the model. It argues that this derives, in part, from the fact that Housing First implementation in the UK would not represent the scale of paradigm shift that it has elsewhere, thus the model is considered far less revolutionary. Furthermore, whilst most stakeholders find aspects of the approach very attractive, ideological and pragmatic reservations dictate that robust evidence derived from pilot projects in Britain will be required – especially as regards outcomes for individuals with active substance misuse problems – before any wholesale ‘conversion’ to Housing First is likely in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the role of community hospitality initiatives among homeless people and marginalised groups. It says that the actions of the church and other community hospitality initiatives act as an important counterweight to homelessness. It states that ordinary people play a crucial role in the mitigation of stigma and reinstallation of self-worth among vulnerable people. It adds that the value of non-interventionist services should never be underestimated.

Within a social justice ethical framework, the use of 'enforcement' measures to prevent people from engaging in 'street activities', such as begging and street drinking, can only be morally justified if such initiatives can be shown to benefit the welfare of the vulnerable 'street users' affected. It may be hypothesized that this is unlikely, and such measures are bound to be regressive in their effects, but in fact evidence from an evaluation conducted in five locations across England suggests otherwise. Drawing on a normative framework which engages with both moral and political philosophy, this paper argues that the motivations and impacts associated with enforcement are more ethically complex, and less punitive, than they may at first appear. It demonstrates that the use of enforcement measures, when accompanied by appropriate support, can in fact lead to beneficial outcomes for some individuals involved in begging or street drinking in some situations. The outcomes for other members of the street population can, however, be very negative, and are highly unpredictable, such that the use of enforcement is always a high-risk strategy, even if ethically justifiable in certain circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on a group largely ignored by both geographers and feminist scholars of homelessness alike - the growing number of 'visibly homeless' women in Britain. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 19 'visibly homeless' women, we delineate between four 'alternative cartographies' of homelessness, each articulating quite different gendered homeless identities. The article suggests that whilst it is important to recognise that women too suffer the exclusions of visible homelessness, it is also clear that the experience of visible homelessness differs for different women. Any attempt to respond to the (immediate) needs of such women necessitates a recognition rather than denial of these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now widely argued that the contemporary city is becoming an increasingly hostile environment for homeless people. As basic street survival strategies are criminalized and public space ‘purified’ of those whose ‘spoiled’ identities threaten to ‘taint’ fellow members of the public, city authorities seem to have turned from a position of ‘malign neglect’ to more obviously punitive measures designed to contain and control homeless people. Less widely acknowledged but equally prevalent, however, is a parallel rise in the ‘urge to care’; evident in the growing number of night shelters, hostels and day centres emerging in recent years to provide shelter and sustenance to homeless people. This paper contributes to a small but growing body of work examining the development of the ‘spaces of care’ springing up in the interstices of a ‘revanchist’ city, by examining the development and internal dynamics of day centres for homeless people in the UK. Drawing upon a national survey of service providers, and a series of interviews and participant observations with day centre staff and users, the paper argues that day centres act as important sources of material resource and refuge for a highly stigmatized group. However, it warns against the romantic tendencies implicit in the notion of ‘spaces of care’, emphasizing that what for one person may operate as a ‘space of care’ might, for another, be experienced as a space of fear. The paper concludes by noting the ambiguity and fragility of such spaces within the wider ‘revanchist’ city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bibliometric review was conducted to assess the available scientific knowledge regarding the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by Individuals Experiencing Homelessness (IEH) and reflect on the existing evidence that ICT use has on their health. A total of 50 published articles were selected after a process of systematic review from five databases containing record of publications up until 2016. All the studies were published in English, half of the works were published in the last three years and 48% of them included the description of ICT use as an objective. Despite the fact that experimental studies were rare, and sample sizes typically small, it was concluded that the studies analyzing the effect of ICT on health display benefits. ndeed, the use of such technology offers promising opportunities to explore new ways of intervention in prevention, harm reduction and health treatment of IEH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]