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Resiliency: Homelessness

This LibGuide provides materials about homelessness.

Navigating this LibGuide

This LibGuide features materials related to homelessness. Please see below for instructions on how to navigate this guide:

  • To the left, you will find your main menu, which includes three sections: ProQuest Materials / NC Live Materials / Additional Resources
  • You will find many materials about each topic on their subject page. Each item will have a link that will take you to NC Live or ProQuest.
  • To access the ProQuest Materials, you can either:
    • Type in the e-ISBN in the search bar on your university library's webpage OR
    • Click the title to follow the link directly to the ProQuest Webpage for this item. Use your university single sign on credentials to access the materials.
  • To access Additional Resources:
    • Click on the title/name of the item to load it
  • To Access the NC Live Materials:
    • Go directly to the NC Live website and enter the information on the search bar OR
    • Click the title to follow the link directly to the NC Live Webpage for this item. NC Live will ask you the name of your institution through a drop-down menu. Scroll through the menu until you locate the name of your library. Select the name of your library to to log into NC Live. 

How do we define 'homelessness'?

Oxford Learner's Dictionary (2024) defines 'homelessness' as (noun), "the state of having no home". This is a very broad definition; just as homelessness look different to each individual it can also look different in every community. Homelessness does not only affect older adults; it can also affect families, children, teenagers, working adults, and college students. While this LibGuide will provide materials about general homelessness, it will also feature items specific to college students and homelessness.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), homelessness is separated into four categories: 

Individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, meaning:

  1. Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not meant for human habitation; or
  2. Is living in a publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state and local government programs); or
  3. Is exiting an institution where (s)he has resided for 90 days or less and who resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately before entering that institution.

An individual or family who will imminently lose their primary nighttime residence, provided that:

  1. Residence will be lost within 14 days of the date of application for homeless assistance;
  2. No subsequent residence has been identified; and
  3. The individual or family lacks the resources or support networks needed to obtain other permanent housing.

Note: Includes individuals and families who are within 14 days of losing their housing, including housing they own, rent, are sharing with others, or are living in without paying rent.

Unaccompanied youth under 25 years of age, or families with Category 3 children and youth, who do not otherwise qualify as homeless under this definition, but who:

  1. Are defined as homeless under the other listed federal statutes;
  2. Have not had a lease, ownership interest in permanent housing during the 60 days prior to the homeless assistance application;
  3. Have experienced persistent instability as measured by two moves or more during in the preceding 60 days; and
  4. Can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period of time due to special needs or barriers

Any individual or family who:

  1. Is fleeing, or is attempting to flee, domestic violence;
  2. Has no other residence; and
  3. Lacks the resources or support networks to obtain other permanent housing

Note: For the purposes of this binder, “Domestic Violence” includes dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other dangerous or life-threatening conditions that relate to violence against the individual or family member that either takes place in, or him or her afraid to return to, their primary nighttime residence (including human trafficking).

Sources:

Oxford Learner's Dictionary. (2024). Homelessness. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/homelessness

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2024). Four categories of homelessness definition. https://www.hudexchange.info/homelessness-assistance/coc-esg-virtual-binders/coc-esg-homeless-eligibility/four-categories/

Looking for more information on your campus?

Use the following search terms:

  • homelessness
  • college students AND homelessness
  • Homelessness AND North Carolina
  • definition of homelessness