Homelessness In Rural Places
Homelessness in rural America is generally overlooked and ignored because it does not fit urban based perceptions and definitions. Rural homelessness is tied to worsening rural poverty, and particularly to deterioration of employment, increase in single parent families, and loss of inexpensive housing. In the past, most rural poor people had the security of owning their homes, although for many the housing was sub standard. In some rural areas there are now more poor people, and more of them are renters, but the stock of low cost rental housing has been diminished by development, rural gentrification, and inadequate public investment. One result of the low cost housing shortfall is elevated residential mobility: Some families move frequently within and between communities, often doubling up with relatives between residences. The destabilizing mobility and the frequent doubling up are hidden forms of homelessness. Ill defined and uncounted, however, homeless people in small towns and open countryside remain ineffectively assisted by gov ernment programs. This article is based on field research in scattered rural communities in New York state. Data were collected in interviews with low income