Circumstantial Disconnection: Homelessness and Parental Relationships with Children

This article looks at homeless individuals to see how they think their residential situation affects their relationship with their non-homeless children. Using a survey of 75 homeless parents in Houston, Texas this analysis finds that homeless parents of non-homeless children believe that their living situation has a detrimental impact on their relationship with their children. While many respondents felt that they had a good relationship with their children the chances of maintaining a good relationship were less for respondents with adult children than minor children. While a majority of respondents with children felt that finding housing stability would help their relationship with their children, those with minority children were more optimistic that finding a permanent home would help them improve their parent-child relationship than those with older children.