Health and homelessness: a landscape of living death
Date
2000
Authors
Sansom, Anthony
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Abstract
This thesis reports the results of a research project designed to investigate the health and health care experiences of street people living in Victoria, British Columbia. Previous geographical research has addressed many facts of the street community but the health of this group has received little attention. However, recent directions in medical geography and the geography of homelessness, including the use of structuration theory, provide the framework for exploring how the street community experiences and perceives health in the landscape. The research is based on data collected through semistructured interviews in 1995, street journals and elite interviews in 1999, and document surveys. All data were analysed and five major themes were identified. First, Becoming Homeless includes the causes leading to living on the streets. Second, Existing on the Streets incorporates daily activities and the conditions of street life, and how they relate to health. Third, Street Community Facilities and Services refer to the attitudes of the street people towards these facilities in addition to their function and purpose in the street community. Fourth, Street Health examines the health concerns of this group, along with accessing and utilizing health care. Finally, Personal Empowerment and Getting off the Streets considers the measures needed for street people to improve their health and their lives. It was found that the street community's interpretation and experiences of health were shaped by the landscape. This landscape can best be described as a pathological landscape, in particular, a landscape of living death. Policy recommendations are mentioned, along with suggestions for future research.