Date of Conferral
2023
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Advisor
Diane Williams
Abstract
Homelessness continues to be a serious social problem in the United States. Despite the public and private resources expended to address homelessness, the crisis still exists. This phenomenological study was framed in Maslow’s human needs approach. Maslow created a list of basic five human needs to gain a better understanding of human behavior and motivation. The human behavior theory can also be applied to homelessness to provide a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. The research question addressed the strongest factors that counseling professionals consider to be related with chronic homelessness in Southeast Florida. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews of 10 counseling professionals representing homeless shelters in Southeast Florida. Data analysis exposed three themes: mental health, substance use and affordable housing; administrative and systems challenges; and the participants expressed a need for robust resources to combat chronic homelessness. This transcendental phenomenological study contains knowledge for organizations seeking to embrace evidence-based practices, improve administrative systems, develop workshops and training, evaluate, and improve current policies, and increase funding for long-term case management leading to positive social change
Recommended Citation
Jackson, Tonia, "An Examination of Chronic Homelessness from the Perspective of Counseling Professionals in Southeast Florida" (2023). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 14210.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/14210
