Homes of the Homeless: On Studying Crisis Situations

This book examines the image of home as experienced and expressed by the men and women who are affected by the crisis of homelessness and live in specialized institutions. The author presents her own experience in carrying out research in total institutions and, above all, she focuses on describing and interpreting the stories of people from homeless centers who speak about the ups and downs of their lives. The researcher draws her attention to the stereotypically idealized image of home, which shows its real face when it is seen as a social construct, taking into account the gender perspective as well as other cultural and individual contexts. The book is addressed to people who have a social sensibility; to people working with and for the men and the women who are affected by the homelessness crisis; who work and/or managed the aid centers and who are also the volunteers in different types of instutitons and associations addressed to the people in need; and to students of social science.