ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the intersectionality of gender, race, and class as they impact upon homelessness. Homelessness in the United States has been described as a “national tragedy”. “Homelessness” is defined as “a state of living in which do not rent or own or have customary and regular access to a conventional dwelling”. An increasing trend in contemporary research is to portray homelessness as an experience rather than a personal attribute, condition, or situation. Homelessness is an experience based on exclusion from traditional societal institutions, including family, education, employment, Church, and State and community services. It is difficult to assess accurately the number of homeless people in the United States due to the high level of politicization within social science research on homelessness. Irrespective of the controversy surrounding the definition of homelessness and the size of the homeless population, the presence of adults and children on the streets of the world’s cities remains a critical social problem.
