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Alternative Models for Sheltering Homeless Families
Author(s) -
Shinn Marybeth,
Knickman James R.,
Ward David,
Petrovic Nancy Lynn,
Muth Barbara J.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1990.tb01805.x
Subject(s) - welfare , business , stock (firearms) , demographic economics , socioeconomics , geography , economics , market economy , archaeology
This study assessed costs, quality of life, services, length of stay, and clienteles in 9 nonprofit shelters for families in New York City. It compared different types of nonprofit shelters and used published data to compare the nonprofits as a class to welfare hotels and city‐operated congregate shelters. The nonprofit models provided a reasonable quality of life, and both more and better coordinated services than the welfare hotels at a slightly lower cost. Projected costs for expanding these models were slightly higher than costs projected by the city for welfare hotels, but substantially lower than for the congregate shelters. The average length of stay in particular shelters was affected by family size, advocacy efforts, and regulations, but only an increase in the stock of permanent housing was judged likely to change the average length of stay in the full shelter system.