Rowe and Wolch 1990 Social Networks in Time and Space

Social Networks in Time and Space: Homeless Women in Skid Row, Los AngelesAuthor(s): Stacy Rowe and Jennifer WolchReviewed work(s):Source: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 80, No. 2 (Jun., 1990), pp.184-204Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Association of American GeographersStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563511 .Accessed: 05/03/2012 21:34

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Social Networks in Time and Space: Homeless Women in Skid Row, Los Angeles

Stacy Rowe* and Jennifer Wolch**

*Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0042

**School of Urban & Regional Planning, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0042

Abstract. Social networks operate within a specific time-space fabric. This paper devel- ops a theoretical framework for understanding the role of social networks among the homeless. The concept of time-space discontinuity is offered as a way to conceptualize the impacts of homelessness on social network formation, daily paths, life paths, personal identity and self-esteem. Ethnographic research among homeless women in Skid Row, Los Angeles is used to illustrate the theoretical framework. Results indicate that homeless women develop both peer and "homed" social networks as a means of coping with their circumstances and reestablishing time-space continuity. Network relationships can also serve as substitutes for place-based stations in the daily path such as home and work. The characteristics of social networks and daily time-space paths appear to have affected the identities and self-esteem of the homeless women.

Key Words: Homelessness, social networks, daily/ life paths, time-space discontinuity, peer networks, homed networks, ethnography, homeless women, Skid Row.

OMELESSNESS in America is widely acknowledged to be a national dis- grace, one that will not go away. The

rising numbers of homeless men, women and children have prompted social scientists to in- vestigate the dimensions of the problem, the complex nature of its causality, and its geographic dimensions (Baxter and Hopper 1982; Lamb 1984; Bassuk 1984; Robertson et al. 1985; Erickson and Wilhelm 1986; Bingham et al. 1987; Dear and Wolch 1987; Morrow-Jones and van Vliet 1989). This body of research suggests that

Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 80(2), 1990, pp. 184-204 a Copyright 1990 by Association of American Geographers

there may be up to 3 million homeless persons in the country, concentrated in large cities but also scattered throughout smaller towns and rural areas. Many of these individuals suffer from mental disorders, physical handicaps, and substance abuse problems which contributed to the onset of homelessness.

In addition, economic circumstances have led to the growing numbers of homeless (Robert- son et al. 1985). For most, homelessness is the end stage in a process of increasing marginal- ization driven by larger structural forces, in- cluding deindustrialization, plant closings, and the rise of low-wage service jobs; deinstitutionalization and a restructuring of the Amer- ican welfare state; sociodemographic shifts re- sulting in greater numbers of female-headed households; and in many cities, skyrocketing home prices and rents (Bluestone and Harrison 1982; Baer 1986; Wolch et al. 1988). This political-economic context has increased the chances that economically marginal and dependent people will face job loss, eviction, domestic violence, loss of welfare benefits, or failure to gain access to appropriate community-based support services.

Despite a significant research effort, there are serious deficiencies in our geographic knowledge and understanding of homeless people. For example, little analysis of homeless social networks or their spatial context has been forthcoming (for exceptions, see Mitchell 1987; Glasser 1988; Cohen and Sokolovsky 1989). It is well-recognized that normal social networks constitute a source of security, health, and well- being (Cohen and Sokolovsky 1989; Sarason and Sarason 1985; Whittaker and Gabarino 1983). They also provide a wide range of material resources (from friends, relatives, employers) which can sustain most people facing adverse

Homeless Women in Los Angeles 185

circumstances (e.g., job loss, eviction, violence, or loss of welfare support; Sinclair et al. 1984; Wenger 1984). Investigators have found that the deterioration of supportive networks, due to the combined and prolonged pressures of poverty and personal problems, can contribute to homelessness (McChesney 1986).

How do homeless individuals cope with this breakdown in their traditional social networks and the disruption in their daily lives it entails? How do they rebuild their social networks to obtain necessary support in the new social and geographical context of homelessness? How do these new networks and living places affect personal identity and self-esteem? To date, most homelessness research has focused on quan- titative indicators and cross-sectional analysis, rather than the fine-grained, qualitative evi- dence about the daily life experiences of the homeless necessary to answer these questions (Koegel 1990). Thus, neither the ways in which homeless people seek to reconstitute social ties (and thus gain access to associated emotional and material resources), nor the geographical dimensions or context of such networks, have received much scrutiny.

In this paper, we begin to address this gap in the homelessness literature. Specifically, we propose a conceptual framework for understanding homeless social networks in time and space, using ethnographic analyses of homeless women in Los Angeles's Skid Row area to illustrate our model. First, we provide an over- view of the geography of service resources in our study area, Skid Row, and detail our field methods. We then present a model of homeless social networks, using illustrations from the ethnographic research. This model emphasizes the role of social networks in meeting basic needs and delineates the ways in which time and space shape the social networks of homeless individuals. It also stresses that for the av- erage "homed" or stably domiciled individual, social networks and daily paths create a pow- erful sense of time-space continuity, which in turn molds individual identity and self-esteem. Homelessness, in contrast, creates time-space discontinuity-the lack of locationally-fixed stations in the daily path. Our examples show how time-space discontinuity, and the struggle of homeless women to survive in a degraded and threatening environment, can alter personal identity and have impact on self-esteem. The examples also illustrate how homeless

women rebuild their social networks and in so doing, try to reestablish time-space continuity and a valued individual identity, both of which are essential in coping with and recovering from homelessness.

Our conceptual model and findings based on ethnographic research provide other scholars with testable hypotheses about social networks of homeless people. They may also assist the helping professions understand how social networks can be rebuilt and how they might facilitate the re-entry of homeless people into the mainstream of American society.

Investigating Social Networks among the Urban Homeless

Our ethnographic research on homeless women was carried out over a two-year period in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles. First, in order to provide a geographical context for our findings, we briefly characterize the structure of the Skid Row district and describe its spatial organization and resources. Next, we outline the ethnographic methods employed in the field.

Geographical Context: Skid Row, Los Angeles

Skid Row is a dingy, deteriorated area located in the classic zone of transition east of the Cen- tral Business District. The historical locus of transient worker housing in Los Angeles, Skid Row's housing stock consists primarily of residential hotels, rooming houses, and low-rent apartments. The 1970s marked the beginning of a major increase in the number and types of private social service agencies and shelter providers in the area. This increase, which continued throughout the 1980s, reflects a shift in the number and needs of the residents of the district. Estimates of the current population of Skid Row fluctuate from 6000 to 30,000. The population for the two census tracts which account for most of the district was placed at 8979 in 1980. There is a consensus that the population has continued to grow and change at a rapid pace (Hamilton et al. 1987). Prior to 1980, the population was comprised mainly of older white men, many of whom were alcoholics or dis- abled, and who lived on public assistance. Now, however, the population is generally younger

186 Rowe and Wolch

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Figure 1. Distribution of services in Skid Row, Los Angeles.

and more diverse. It includes many blacks and Hispanics, single women, and families with children (Robertson et al. 1985; Hamilton et al. 1987).

The growth of shelter and service resources has transformed Skid Row into the largest "service hub" in the city (Fig. 1). Some of these resources are outside the official boundaries of the neighborhood, as defined by the City, but are heavily used by Skid Row residents. Cur- rently, there are approximately 2000 shelter

beds in Skid Row. Half that number are available to women and just over 100 beds are ex- clusively for women. Longer-term housing is available in the area's SRO (Single Room Oc- cupancy) hotels (counting the hotels one block beyond official Skid Row boundaries, approximately 6700 units; Hamilton et al. 1987). Some of these hotels accept short-term housing vouchers from the welfare department and are thus similar to emergency shelters in function. In addition to the shelter facilities, there is a


public welfare office, and more than 50 programs are provided out of the social service agencies, missions and shelters. These programs include meals, clothing, advocacy and legal assistance, alcohol and substance detoxi- fication and counseling, health and mental health care, family assistance, outreach, employment placement and special services for Native Americans. Two vestpocket parks, man- aged by the Single Room Occupancy Housing, Inc. (an SRO rehabilitation agency) provide green space for socializing and recreational uses. Charitable groups from outside the area (particularly churches) regularly come into Skid Row to serve meals to homeless and other needy Skid Row residents; San Julian Park and Towne Avenue are the common sites.

The rise in the number of social service and shelter providers since the 1970s has benefited the residents of the area and has drawn homeless people from service-poor parts of the city (e.g., South Central Los Angeles). The expan- sion of resources, however, has not kept pace with the rapidly increasing need for services. Compounding this is the fact that since the 1970s, there has been almost no new housing construction in Skid Row, only demolitions which have reduced the supply of SRO housing (by more than 2000 units between 1969 and 1986; Hamilton et al. 1987). As a result, an es- timated 500 to 4000 Skid Row residents may be without shelter on any given night and thou- sands of others are temporarily and/or margin- ally housed (Hamilton et al. 1987). Those without shelter often sleep on the public sidewalks adjacent to missions, or in nearby parks or vacant lots and buildings.

Ethnographic Analysis

The data collected and analyzed for this paper are based on ethnographic research conducted in and around Skid Row. The study en- tailed two phases. The first phase involved a lengthy period of participant-observation in two homeless street communities in or near the Skid Row district. This was followed by a small number of formal and lengthy key informant interviews, the first of which were conducted with homeless women who participated in these communities or who lived in a nearby shelter.

The participant-observation phase began in January 1986. Initial contact with the homeless

was limited to "Justiceville," a street community with a semiformal organization. The group was a non-profit corporation under the name Home for the Homeless and exhibited a hier- archical structure. Ted Hayes, a grassroots homeless activist and former minister, was the recognized leader of the group, and a core group functioned as his assistants. These individuals exercised limited authority over the fluctuating population that comprised the re- mainder of the community. No formal field notes were recorded during this period, nor were formal interviews conducted. Presence in the community was sporadic but on-going and participation included casual conversations and the occasional provision of transportation and food. Documentation of the community through still photography was initiated in Jan- uary 1987 and continued throughout the research.

The primary location of the informal participant-observation and photographic documentation shifted in Spring of 1987 to the Love Camp on Fourth Street and Towne Avenue in downtown Los Angeles. The Love Camp, another informal street community, had a more stable population and location than justiceville, as most of the members had tents or dwellings constructed of wooden palettes and card- board. Also the organizational structure of the Love Camp was less rigid than that of justiceville. Leadership was informally shared by David Bryant and Adam Binion, but not all camp members recognized their authority, nor was this a criterion for residency. Casual conversation with camp members, photography and the provision of transportation and small amounts of cash continued until the dispersal of the camp.

In the wake of mounting pressure by the local Skid Row business community, Love Camp was dispersed by City of Los Angeles authorities in June 1987, coincident with the opening of a fenced outdoor campground for the homeless on the banks of the Los Angeles River. Many Love Camp residents entered the campground as did members of Justiceville. The outdoor campground itself was closed within a few months, dispersing homeless people to other parts of the city. The migration paths were not fully documented for members of either group; some Justiceville members stayed together and moved to Venice Beach until they were once again dispersed by City authorities.

188 Rowe and Wolch

A transitional residence for homeless and battered women and their families in the downtown area was a third site of participant- observation and photographic documentation. Participation as a volunteer and founding member of the sponsoring organization included direct involvement in the day-to-day opera- tions of the shelter, talking with the women, playing with their children, and providing services such as transportation, advice, encouragement, and crisis intervention. Formal, tape- recorded interviews were conducted at this shelter in the fall of 1987. Two other interviews with women who were former members of Jus- ticeville were conducted in the same fall. All interviews conducted in 1987 focused on the women's experiences with the Los Angeles County Department of Public and Social Ser- vices (DPSS), but a wide range of topics con- nected with Skid Row survival strategies and social ties was also discussed.

Clifton's Cafeteria, a popular restaurant in the downtown area frequented by the homeless community, was chosen as a site for further participant-observation in January 1988. Con- tact was also reestablished with former members of Justiceville and the Love Camp. Two women who had lived in the Love Camp were located and interviewed in this phase of the research. These interviews were broad in scope and the topics of discussion were initiated by the women, as well as by the researcher. In addition, formal observations were made at a new encampment at First and Broadway streets in downtown Los Angeles. Fieldnotes regard- ing these observations and the contexts of the interviews were recorded and many still photographs documented the site and residents.

In accordance with standard ethnographic methods (Werner and Schoepfle 1987; Sprad- ley 1979), careful attention was devoted to ac- curately transcribing the taped interviews in order to preserve the grammar, structure, and flow of the conversation as it was converted to written language with punctuation. However, subtlety of inflection, the length of a pause, laughter, facial expression, and body gestures (which often communicate meaning) have not been captured. Since quotations are removed from the context of the conversation, these excerpts from the transcripts are subject to some degree of misinterpretation (both by reader and authors). All interviews were conducted with the express knowledge and con-

sent of the women, but all names have been changed except for those of public figures, such as the recognized leaders of the various homeless communities. Also permission was ob- tained for all photography and in most in- stances the subjects received a copy of the print.

Photography, and the distribution of prints to members of the various informal communities, was an integral part of the process of rapport-building throughout the research period (Fig. 2).1 It provided a role in the community for the investigator, who was often re- ferred to and introduced as "the camp photographer." Also the process of taking photographs, and photography in general, often provided an initial topic of conversation with unfamiliar individuals. When prints were brought back to Skid Row and distributed, a relationship of trust and reciprocity was estab- lished. Photographs were also used in informal, untaped interviews documented in the fieldnotes, which aided in the data analysis. (See Collier and Collier 1986, and Wagner 1979 for expanded discussions of the role of still photography in social science research). Thus photography, and the long duration of time spent becoming acquainted with the homeless individuals and their lifestyle, allowed for a depth of mutual revelation and understanding between field researcher and informants that would have been difficult to achieve through other means.

Homeless Social Networks in Time and Space: a Conceptual Model

Any individual's social interactions involve a finite set of people, defined as their social network. Simply stated, social networks are com- posed of those individuals whom one knows, and from whom one obtains material, emotional and/or logistical support, e.g., kin, friends, work associates, neighbors, and service providers (Bott 1957; Mitchell 1969; Fischer 1982). A social network can also be regarded as a time- space map of repeated social interactions (Will- mott 1986; Fischer et al. 1977). These repeated interactions occur in the course of an individual's daily path through time and space, which both shapes and is shaped by the social network. For the majority of individuals, the piv-


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190 Rowe and Wolch

otal stations in a daily path are the home and workplace-points of constant return, essential functions (eating, sleeping, personal protection, storing goods, communications), and in- tense social interaction.

Together, the daily path and social network constitute an individual's locale. The locale contains both the physical space defined by the daily path and its social context. It thus includes environmental features, social institutions and individuals present in the space. Locales are symbolic of individual experiences and aspi- rations (Tuan 1977), and serve as the "focus of meanings or intention, either culturally or in- dividually defined" (Relph 1976, 55). Psycho- logical attachments to the locale are significant in the construction of personal identity (Searles 1960; Godkin 1980). Further, control of the locale indexes one's social status and relative power within the community (Dear and Wolch 1989). The qualitative aspects of locales also influence individual self-esteem (Godkin 1980). Thus, if locales occupied during the course of the daily path (e.g., the home, workplace, school) are perceived as falling beneath culturally-derived norms accepted by the individual, then self-esteem can drop. The relative ho- mogeneity of the locale, or the perception of sameness among proximate individuals, can also affect individual self-esteem and social networks (Smith 1981).

Over time, daily paths accumulate to form an individual's life path. Daily paths and life paths interact, each forming and reforming the other. This daily/life path dialectic provides a cumu- lative experiential basis for identity and influences self-esteem (Pred 1985). This implies that time-space continuity, or the degree to which successive daily paths resemble one another and occur in the same locale, shapes personal identity and its subjective connotation.2 The longer the duration of similar daily routines, the greater the authority exerted by those routines in the definition of self.

Homelessness can be characterized as the lack of time-space continuity or simply time-space discontinuity. Time-space discontinuity has important ramifications for the development of social networks in time and space. In particular, the absence of a home base restricts the homeless individual's access to family and friends, and vice versa. The workplace, another source of social contacts, may no longer be relevant. This breakdown of traditional social networks

and changes in daily/life paths leads homeless people to develop ways to acquire resources which do not depend on either a spatially-fixed home base or a job site. Alternative means of support include public and private social welfare institutions, panhandling, collecting re- cyclable materials, day labor and illegal activities (e.g., drug dealing, thievery and prostitution). In light of this, the social networks formed within the homeless community differ in both composition and spatial organization from those formed within the homed community.

We characterize homeless social networks as having two basic components: peer networks and homed networks (Fig. 3). Peer networks include homeless friends and family, homeless lovers/spouses, informal homeless communities based in street encampments (like the Love Camp), and members of homeless political organizations (such as Justiceville). Homed networks refer to social ties between the homeless individual and members of the homed community. These latter include remnants of the homeless individual's prior social network; panhandling "clients" or donors; workmates in casual labor; social workers and other service providers (and, for a small minority, homed researchers and advocates). The composition of both peer and homed networks, as well as the places where social interactions occur, can be unstable and fluctuate over time, given the transiency of the homeless population. Never- theless, for homeless people, these social network relationships, which can occur at variable points in urban space, appear to replace the role of locationally-fixed stations in the daily path in creating time-space continuity and providing material, emotional and logistical support.

The hardships and time-space discontinuity associated with homelessness, and the devalued locales which most homeless people are forced to occupy (e.g., Skid Row), influence the daily path/life path dialectic. Not surprisingly, social networks and daily routines of homeless people are used to meet their immediate survival needs. As a result, long-range life goals are of necessity relegated to a low priority. Skid Row environments, while often relatively rich in formal services, may be perceived as unsat- isfactory in comparison with prior residential settings and carry the stigma associated with places of social marginality and last resort. Moreover, Skid Row zones are typically phys-


PEER NETWORK HOMED NETWORK

Spouse / Lover / Family Remnants of Former Network

Homeless Friends OMELE Panhandling Clients

Members of Informal INDIVIDUAL Social Workers Homeless Community Formal Service Providers

Members of Political Researchers / Advocates Organizations

Figure 3. Homeless social networks.

ically degraded, and expose the newly homeless to an alien social context of extreme poverty, crime and substance abuse. Often, a result is lowered self-esteem, and a shift in personal identity. The preeminence of short-term needs and a devalued locale can lead to an altered as- sessment of life plans and priorities, and a transformed sense of self.

In this context, supportive homeless social networks are particularly vital to the restoration of a positive and valued personal identity. In the sections that follow, we draw on results of the ethnographic analysis to illustrate our conceptual model of homeless social networks and its implications. We concentrate on lover/ spouse relationships and street encampments, as these types of peer linkages appear to be central to the homeless women in our sample. Since remaining ties to the prior traditional social network are minimal for these women, and links to researchers/advocates relatively un- usual and/or sporadic, our examination of homed networks focuses on the role of panhandling clients and formal service providers.

Home Is Where the Homeless Are: Peer Networks

Homeless people share their locales with other homeless individuals, facilitating the formation of peer networks within the homeless population. Peer networks are comprised of homeless acquaintances, friends, family, lovers, and spouses; some peers will live in informal street communities or encampments of the

homeless which often arise in vacant lots, parks and sidewalks in Skid Row. In many ways these peer networks replace the function of the home-base in the maintenance of time-space continuity, identity and self-esteem for the general homeless population. The formation, utilization and importance of peer networks appear to vary between homeless men and women.

Lover/Spouse Relationships

Women seem to be much more likely than men to enter into a lover/spouse relationship. This difference may simply reflect the demo- graphic composition of the area. Estimates of the female population residing in Skid Row range from 6.5 (McChesney 1987) to 23 percent (Robertson et al. 1985). Even the most generous estimate of the female population indicates that males far outnumber females. Thus, even men who wish to enter into a lover/spouse relationship are constrained by a relatively small pool of available female peers.

But the gender imbalance in demography also points to another factor which may motivate women to seek a lover/spouse relationship: vulnerability to physical attack. Many homed individuals also report feeling physically vul- nerable in their communities; however, homeless women may be at an increased risk of attack because of their residence in Skid Row. Many women must sleep on the street if they do not have the money for a hotel, since the shelter resources for women in the Skid Row area are inadequate. As a result, homeless women may

192 Rowe and Woich

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enter into relationships with men to satisfy immediate needs for protection. In this way, the lover/spouse relationship functions in the manner of a home-base.

The location of one's partner serves addi- tional home-base functions. For example, the lover/spouse is a person to whom belongings and messages can be entrusted. The relationship allows for a pooling of resources and a "domestic" division of labor (Fig. 4). Also sig- nificantly, the lover/spouse, to whom one re- turns each day, creates some degree of time- space continuity in the daily path. In effect, a person becomes the point of return, rather than the place.

Rita and Paul provide an example of the home-base functions of the lover/spouse relationship. One member of the couple would stay with all their belongings, at or near the current sleeping area. The partner would thus be free to leave and secure resources necessary for survival. For example, Paul would often stay in the park at First and Broadway, where the couple had spent the night, while Rita sought

legal aid, panhandled for money and then bought food for the couple's evening meal. While she was gone, access to her possessions was controlled by Paul, and messages could be left for her through him. Paul's location in the park (or other resting spot) was the pivotal point for Rita's daily path; it was where her day began and ended (Fig. 5).

Many lover/spouse relationships are based on mutual affection and companionship. These relationships can be a source of emotional support, identity and positive self-esteem. The extent of positive self-esteem afforded to the homeless woman may depend on the nature of her relationship and the partner's standing in the homeless community. The duration of the relationship influences the woman's self- definition as a partner. This identity can be reinforced by community recognition of a woman's status as a particular man's lover or spouse. Such recognition can afford her protection from harassment even when her partner is not physically present.

Excerpts from Pam's interview illustrate how


24 ffi | Park at Broadway

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(b) Sketch Map of Rita's Stations and Path in Skid Row Area Figure 5. A typical daily path for Rita and Paul.

194 Rowe and Wolch

her relationship with her husband Teach played a positive role in her life. Upon their arrival in California, the couple's car was impounded. Without resources to recover the vehicle or to obtain sleeping quarters, the two were forced to walk the streets of Santa Monica for four days before they found shelter. Pam was four months pregnant at the time. Teach provided Pam with vital encouragement, nutrition, companionship and emotional support. He also represented the couple in interactions with authority figures.

Pam: We didn't have no way, we didn't have nothin' to eat and there ain't no missions or nothin' out there in Santa Monica at all.... [H]e was tryin' to make a game of it, you know. And, you know, singing and "A little bit further." Jokin' and laughin' and stuff. And I knew he was tired but I thought I was gonna just drop over, I was exhausted. And when we got in the hotel on New Year's Eve I slept through it. I slept for two days, you know. He'd wake me up and ask me, and give me a drink and ask me did I want somethin' to eat and I'd say no. You know, and he'd make me ... I remember ba- nanas, that's what he was feeding me, because they was easy, you know, to get down.

Pam's role as Teach's wife and the mother of their child provided her with a positive sense of identity and self-esteem. Their relationship (like that of Paul and Rita) was based on reciprocity and mutual support. However, many homeless women (like their homed counterparts) are involved in lover/spouse relationships which are abusive and/or exploitive. Their threatening locale, absence of traditional social networks, and vulnerability to physical attack often lead them to tolerate the negative aspects of lover/spouse relationships. A relationship may still serve the logistical and material functions of the home-base, but the effect on identity and self-esteem can be devastating. With no alternative home-base, homeless women (again, like their homed counterparts) often endure predictable patterns of abuse from their partner rather than face the unpredictable dan- gers of the streets alone.

When the Love Camp was dispersed, Lisa and her lover, Matt, moved into a Skid Row hotel. Matt stayed in the room while Lisa panhandled to meet the couple's daily needs. Lisa was am- bivalent about her relationship with Matt. She admitted that he was physically abusive and that he exploited her, but she continued to remain with him.

Lisa: Me, I'm supporting two people on ten dollars a day. The other day I got home and he was pissed off because I only had $12.... When I come home, I'll take my change I have, sometimes I'll put money in it. Wrap it up and put it in my little hiding place. He has yet to find it.... You see all these little black and blues? Because he wants a fucking dollar and a quarter? I said, "Nope, sorry." But I don't have the money to move.

Although Matt insulted her and undermined her self-esteem, Lisa seemed to prefer this situation to the prospect of facing life on the streets alone. She did assert her independence covertly, by hiding money and cigarettes from Matt, but the price she paid for this was often physical abuse.

Informal Street Encampments

Participation in an informal street encampment can also serve as a replacement for home- base and hence recreates time-space continuity for homeless women (as well as for single men and couples). In Skid Row such informal communities often become cooperative groups which organize to provide security for community members and their possessions (Fig. 6).

The camp also functions as a context for social interaction. It is a place where messages can be left and information of concern to the community is shared. The formation and utilization of social networks is thus facilitated by participation in the community. These networks become the sources of logistical, material and emotional support once provided by traditional networks prior to the homeless episode. The communities are often named (e.g., Justiceville, Love Camp) and many residents proudly identify themselves as members. A division of labor and delegation of authority typically occur under the direction of the informal leaders. Participation in the group's decision making process and community projects, such as cooking and cleaning, can heighten self-esteem and promote identity as a productive and contributing member of camp life.

Because encampments are so highly visible, they are often dispersed by governmental authorities. Members of the disrupted group fre- quently migrate to new sites en masse, thus maintaining continuity in the social network even though their location shifts. For relatively short periods of time (weeks, months), the camp


V_

- SECURITY.

Figure 6. Security office/residence at Love Camp.

becomes a stable point of return in the daily paths of its residents.

Lisa proudly identified herself as one of the original members of the Love Camp. The camp provided Lisa with time-space continuity by functioning as a home-base and allowing Lisa to expand her social network. Homed friends and relatives of fellow residents became friends and resources to Lisa. Lisa recognized that the "veterans" of transient life are those that have accepted enforced mobility and deal with time- space discontinuity by maintaining peer networks.

Lisa: ... Otis, Sue, Roger, all these people that lived on our side of the street had been there for all those months. They had been together for years. They were used to this being moved from one place to another. Linda, who had been on the street for seven years, hey, this was nothing new to them. We're just getting moved again. They'd gone from one parking lot to another. This was nothing, to say hey, you got to pack up and go.

Because these networks are continuous and close knit, there is a measure of control over outside access to the group's locale. Members of the encampment know who "belongs" in the area. This provides protection and security for camp members and their possessions. For example, Lisa stressed the protection provided by the encampment. Prior to her relationship with Matt, she was married to another abusive man. During her stay at the Love Camp, she found the strength to leave him. The source of that strength was the continuity and support of her peer network at the Love Camp, en- abling her to assert her identity and leave the abusive relationship.

Lisa: ... I just one day said that's it. That's it, and I got my stuff and I moved up Towne Street. But I had 20 people to watch my back over the guy. Because he would have hurt me, but there's 20 people that didn't like him, that didn't like him because of what he was doing to me. So I didn't have to worry about it.

196 Rowe and Wolch

Although lacking a roof and four walls, residents feel that street encampments often allow a more stable life with better quality than residence in a Skid Row hotel or shelter; no resources must be diverted to pay rent, and the individual is not constrained by hotel or shelter management (which often limits the duration of residence, imposes curfews, and/or restricts visitors). As Rita explains:

Rita: And that's why people stay on the streets because their money .... At least they can buy shampoo, wash in the washroom, I mean this sounds crazy but its true. They can buy cigarettes, they can buy food, certain things that they need, personal products.... [In a hotel or shelter] [Y]ou got a room but none of your needs are met except for shelter.

Thus, participation in the informal communities may actually increase individual choice and self-determination, and provide excess resources which can be accumulated for investment in longer-term projects.

As encampments grow in size and visibility, they often receive donations from church and community organizations. Grills for cooking, food, clothing, and personal goods were distributed among Love Camp members, for example. A camp thus promotes material accumulation, and serves as a source for donated goods. This helps the residents effectively utilize their limited stock of resources. Lisa tells how various groups and individuals donated items to the Love Camp. She mourns the loss of these material goods which had to be aban- doned once the group was dispersed.

Lisa: But what was upsetting was that so many people had donated so many things to us. For instance, Thrifty's with all the health supplies, first aid. We had the grills that people donated. Those beautiful grills that the church people donated. The tents that the church people donated. Fred Jordan's gave me mine.

Homeless Interactions with the Homed Community: Homed Networks

Although social interactions with the peer network may dominate the social networks of homeless women, contacts with the homed community are also vital. In many respects, the activities which lead to social ties with homed individuals, such as panhandling and obtaining

formal welfare services, replace those formed within the context of employment. The location of interactions with the homed community is typically fixed in time and space, allowing the homeless individual to reestablish some degree of time-space continuity in the daily path. Also, institutionalized norms of behavior (acceptable panhandling sites, bureaucratic rules governing welfare-recipient activities) tend to structure the interactions between homeless women and their homed networks. As with peer networks, homed networks can undermine identity and self-esteem. They can also provide essential material and emotional resources and reinforce time-space continuity, particularly when the relationships transcend their defining charac- ter (panhandler/client, welfare recipient/social worker).

Panhandling

Many homeless women rely on panhandling activities to provide the resources necessary to meet their daily subsistence requirements. In this sense, panhandling is analogous to a job. Most panhandlers have a fixed site, around which their daily paths revolve. As a result, many of their social interactions occur within this context. At times, homeless women form friendly relationships with members of the homed community whom they regularly en- counter. The social networks formed with members of the homed community through panhandling can be sources of logistical, material and emotional support, and serve as sources of positive self-esteem for homeless women.

Lisa panhandled in front of Clifton's Cafete- ria, which has a large elderly clientele. Often she wrote letters or cleaned house for her "reg- ulars," even if they could not pay her for her services at the time. This reciprocal relationship allowed Lisa to identify herself as a helpful, productive person.

Lisa: There's a guy that comes from Loma Linda every Sunday, a 93-year-old man that I met here one day I asked him for some change, and he says "Can you write?".... And I wrote a letter to his daughter.... And that got to be a thing I did every Sunday for him. I got lunch and five dollars from him for writing a few letters.... And last Sunday he was real upset because he's been low on cash. He says, "I don't have any money to give you." "Arthur, that's ok, no problem," I said.


Women who panhandle may be perceived as less threatening by the homed community than their male counterparts, facilitating social interaction and the formation of friendly relationships. But women who panhandle must also face abusive behavior from passersby. The most degrading form of such abuse is the sexual propositions the women must endure on a frequent basis. To preserve her self-esteem, Lisa had drawn definite boundaries in her interactions with her patrons. She distinguished herself from women who are prostitutes, in an effort to preserve her identity and self-esteem.

Lisa: I have people that say, "Hey, I'll give you twenty dollars if you come up to my room. I got money up there." No thanks. "Want to go to a dirty movie with me?" "You wanna, you know." "Can I touch you? If I can touch you I'll give you some money." No, no ... I'm not a hooker, I'm not a prostitute."

Many women are proud of their identity as a panhandler because they do not have to rely solely on public or charitable institutions for their support. Panhandling provides an undoc- umented source of income that supplements or replaces institutional assistance without af- fecting eligibility for welfare programs. When and where an individual panhandles is a matter of personal choice. An individual can panhandle as long and as often as she chooses, de- pending on immediate needs. Thus, the daily path of the individual is defined by personal considerations rather than by the authority constraints imposed by institutional support and service providers. But at the same time, panhandling is an unpredictable source of income, making the accumulation of resources for long- term investment difficult.

Lisa: My preference is I'm going to go panhandle, I'll make more money doing that. And so for a couple of days I made forty dollars. Ah, hey, I'm good. Then, all of a sudden it went from forty dollars to almost ten, twelve dollars. It was boom, a real drop.

Moreover, at times authority constraints do interfere with a woman's ability to panhandle. Rita worked in front of City Hall for several months before she was threatened with arrest if she returned. In the absence of a suitable panhandling site and the loss of associated income and social interaction, Rita and Paul were forced to find a substitute for their informal means of support. Ultimately, they had to rely solely on formal public assistance.

Formal Institutions and Homed Service Providers

Formal institutions affect the maintenance of time-space continuity in similar ways for the homed and homeless communities: in defining daily paths, by limiting social interaction to the institutional locale, and by providing material resources. But the homeless individual does not have a home-base or permanent mailing address to facilitate consistent service delivery. This, coupled with the homeless individual's inability to store and accumulate resources or to utilize traditional social networks as means of support, makes material resources and social interactions linked to institutional service providers more crucial to well-being. At the same time, access to these resources may be difficult for the homeless, due to bureaucratic rules linking aid to keeping rigid appointment schedules, completing job searches and work projects, and providing documentation of income and expenditures.

Ongoing relationships with service providers are important sources of time-space continuity for many homeless women. Access to the service provider is facilitated by the fact that the homeless individual is familiar with the provider's daily path, as it is defined by the service institution. The homeless person, however, must conform her daily path to that of the provider if she is to gain access to this source of support. Service providers can facilitate access, and, at times, provide personal support. Per- sonal relationships which go beyond the professional role of the service provider are rare, but when they do occur they are both a welcome source of support as well as a source of positive self-esteem.

Pam struck up a relationship with Mrs. Smith, the wife of a founder of a local mission. This relationship allowed her priority status in obtaining food and clothing from the mission. Often, while she and Teach were living at the Love Camp, they would stop in at the mission during the course of their daily path, and sup- plement their public assistance payments with supplies donated to them by the mission. Pam relished her identity as one of Mrs. Smith's fa- vorites and indicated that one of the mission workers had once been severely reprimanded by Mrs. "S" for not knowing who she (Pam) was and for denying her direct access to Mrs. Smith.

Jane, too, received informal support from a

198 Rowe and Wolch

social worker with the Los Angeles County De- partment of Children's Protective Services. This relationship not only provided material support for Jane and her family, but the personal attention enhanced Jane's sense of self-esteem.

Jane: The lady from Protective Service did something, went over somebody's head. "This lady needs money right away." And that lady, bless her heart, she gave me and my kids a hundred dollars, her own personal check, out of her own account.

Jane's experiences with the service providers did not always enhance her self-esteem, however. She related an experience with her case worker, which occurred following the theft of her purse (and all of her money) from a shelter. She called her worker and requested that her next check be issued early. Jane expressed frustration that her worker would not recognize her individuality, that she was not like some of the other women receiving welfare who might use their monies to buy drugs or alcohol. By distinguishing herself from other recipients, she affirmed her identity and esteem as a good mother and provider.

Jane: I think everything would go smoothly at ah, the Department of Public Social Services if they treated you like a client and not like some tramp on the street.... I'm not the type of person to just, like they have these women that's just on drugs and spend their whole welfare check on things they not supposed to. They don't pay their rent or take care of their kids and that, you know.... [Ilt's like you, you're nobody, you're just a set of numbers to those people. That's all you are. You're not human. You don't supposed to have any feeling. If you do you better put them on the bottom of your feet, and that's it.

Many service recipients express frustration in a service delivery system which they feel refuses to recognize their individual needs and desires. The institutional/bureaucratic routines and the physical design of the facility and its interior space may also contribute to this feeling of frustration by inhibiting the homeless individual's ability to form and maintain a continuous, friendly relationship with a service provider. For example, Pam complained that she has been shifted from caseworker to caseworker, decreasing the likelihood that she will establish a continuous formal or informal relationship with a worker.

Cathy was actively working to reestablish time-space continuity, by finding an apartment for herself and her son. But she was inhibited

by the poor record of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) in regularly providing the necessary finances. She complained that landlords in the Los Angeles area were aware of the problems recipients en- counter with maintaining eligibility and payments due to DPSS policies and procedures. They are therefore often unwilling to rent to welfare recipients.

Cathy and Jane discussed Cathy's attempt to find an apartment that she felt was of adequate quality:

Cathy: [T]hey won't rent to you when you're on AFDC. Unless it's a rat hole downtown or something. But uh, it's not a dependable source of income. It's month-to-month eligibility. Jane: You can get cut off at any time, if you get over twenty-five dollars a week you can get cut off. Up to twenty-five dollars, they want that re- ported, right?

Transformation in the Daily/life Path Dialectic: Construction of the Homeless Identity

The deprivations which accompany homelessness lead many homeless individuals to place a greater emphasis on the satisfaction of short- term needs and objectives. As a result, the es- tablishment and fulfillment of long-term goals are subordinated and supportive elements in the social network can become alienated. The daily path of the individual is often fully ded- icated to meeting the subsistence requirements for that day, blocking long-term efforts to escape from the homeless condition. The recursive relationship between the daily path and life path is thus altered, as immediate priorities supercede the priorities of the life path. Hence, the experiential basis for self-identity becomes static. The definition of "self-as- homeless" becomes deeply ingrained as the means and the will to escape chronic homelessness deteriorate simultaneously and syn- ergistically.

Welfare programs supply resources that can be used to maintain or establish a home base, but such programs often stress the satisfaction of short-term, emergency needs rather than long-term quality-of-life improvements. De- cisions provoked by crisis situations can disrupt positive client-provider relationships and lead to the withdrawal of the informal assistance by


the service worker. For example, at one point in her homeless episode, the immediacy of Cathy's needs required expediency and the subordination of long-range considerations. She therefore risked losing the support of her social worker, with whom she maintained a good relationship, by enlisting the aid of a welfare advocate (Kelly) from a private agency to resolve an immediate problem with her eligibility.

Cathy: My supervisor's mad at me, cause I took Kelly down there and after that she ain't never forgave me for that, I can't get no favors no more....

Welfare eligibility and service provision are often erratic, as we have already mentioned. The constant renegotiation of benefits and requirements undermines longer-run planning. For Cathy, this aspect of homelessness was de- bilitating and affected her self-esteem.

Cathy: [I feel] depressed, poor, you know.... You're just barely makin' it. I'm very unhappy being on welfare, very unhappy.... There's just no hope. There's no future in it.

Supportive social networks can also be ephemeral and erratic, frustrating efforts to use the resources they provide for longer-term plan-making. For example, lover/spouse relationships can crumble quickly under the weight of crushing problems of partners, particularly drug addiction. Informal encampments are dis- turbed, often leaving individual members adrift. Friends within the peer network may respond to personal problems with mobility; they may be jailed or institutionalized or their homeless episode can come to an end upon finding ac- commodation. Panhandling contacts can dis- appear or be lost as the panhandler is forced by local authorities to relinquish her habitual location. As Cathy and Pam's cases indicate, relationships with service providers can be dis- turbed both by the press of immediate needs and by bureaucratic fiat.

This instability in network supports leads to frequent substitution among available support sources, which in itself demands immediate attention and diverts energies away from long- term strategies for reentry into the homed mainstream. The result is prolonged homelessness and a transformation in identity and self-esteem. Such substitution between members of supportive networks was a common coping mechanism for the women in our sample, e.g., the support of fellow members of the Love Camp filled the gap left by the dissolution

of Lisa's marriage. Her subsequent relationship with Matt, in turn, helped her cope with the dispersal of Love Camp. Rita and Paul alternat- ed between the support of panhandling clients and social service providers. When Teach was jailed and faced extradition to another state, Pam was forced to turn to social services to provide for her daughter and herself.

Success in meeting immediate daily needs is not without cost, however. While effectively coping with survival needs can be a source of positive self-worth and personal identity, the identity being reinforced is the "self-as-homeless" or "self-as-recipient." Thus, Pam's ability to manipulate the social service system gave her a sense of independence, accomplishment and success; but she was still a recipient and continued to face the day-to-day struggle of homelessness. The devalued and degraded Skid Row locale also contributes to the loss of self-esteem and the adoption of a "self-as-homeless" identity. Rita discusses how the physical design and temporal organization of a Payment Office of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services contributes to the frustration of both clients and social workers. The partition- ing of the space creates physical and psycho- logical barriers between the clients and staff. This separation inhibits informal social contact and reinforces the homeless individual's definition of self as recipient.

Rita: That's terrible, these people have to stand in that line for so long, and they've got too many windows for different things, too many windows. It's too confusing, too many numbers, that's all they're calling all day long is numbers.... There's nothing but confusion and chaos all day long in that place and it's very mentally disturbing, to the fullest degree, especially when you're in need.

Rita's husband Paul indicates the recursive relationship between self-image and the locale of Skid Row.

Paul: A slum area is a slum attitude, they can keep you in a slum attitude by keeping you in slum places. Not giving you the opportunity to do nothing .... When you go into those old hotels down there and there's cigarette butts all over the floor. So when you're smoking, you automatically throw a cigarette butt onto the floor. It's there, so one more isn't going to hurt. And it's not going to get cleaned up, so who really cares?

The devalued nature of the locale was not passively accepted by the members of Love Camp, however. Informal encampments allow

200 Rowe and Wolch

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7 Clean-up DayattheprkonFta _S4-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Figure 7. Clean-up Day at the park on First and Broadway.

homeless residents to invest time and energies in improving the camp's environs by cleaning and keeping tents and belongings in order (Fig. 7). The pride displayed in the camp's cleanliness relative to the surrounding Skid Row streets enhanced the camp members' self-worth as contributing citizens.

Lisa: We got the city to say "Look, you're doing a better job cleaning up." Because when they used to come down, our street was spotless .... They would bring us down hoses, brooms, degreaser, whatever we needed.... [W]e would move all our stuff into the street,... and scrub the sidewalk down.... [Ejverybody was cleaning out their tents, sweeping stuff out, so everything got really cleaned out....

However, the camp became so supportive that residents attempted to remain on the sidewalk and build quasi-permanent structures (plywoood "homes") as a personal long-term "solution" to a more transient homeless exis- tence. The intent was not to rejoin mainstream society, but instead to remain as a member of

a homeless street community. This strategy ultimately backfired when it conflicted with public policy goals:

Lisa: That's another reason why they threw us off the streets. Because people had permanent structures. They considered the tents permanent structures ... anything with a nail they considered a permanent structure ... too many started making homes, and you know, you can't do that. It took so long for us to build that up and took five minutes to tear it down.

Daily paths were also affected by camp members' complacent attitude toward their circumstances. The visibility of the encampment allowed the group to receive and accumulate donated goods. Many more homeless people came to the encampment after it generated media attention, swelling the size of the community. This, along with the camp's growing resource base, encouraged residents to alter their daily paths and spend almost all their time at the encampment, partially or totally aban-


doning other subsistence strategies. Instead, members grew reliant on donated provisions. Lisa is critical of this change in behavior and the dependency that accompanied it.

Lisa: We got too big, people started getting greedy, when people started believing that somebody owes you something, that's when your attitude changes....

For most individuals, the hardships of homelessness in the Skid Row environment trans- form personal identity and diminish self-worth. The ongoing supportive elements of homeless social networks stand in the way of total material and emotional devastation, and constitute the sole brake on a downward spiraling of personal value and identity. Homeless women in our sample stressed the importance of their social relationships, and the time-space continuity those relationships provided, in prevent- ing a complete collapse of prior personal identity and self-esteem. After a failure of traditional social networks to provide adequate support and thus prevent the onset of homelessness, the homeless social network proved so critical to material and emotional welfare that the adoption of an identity as "homeless community member," "panhandler," or as a service provider's "favorite" was readily embraced. While the acceptance of these new identities serves a positive function in meeting daily needs and maintaining self-esteem within the geographic and social context of homelessness, it works against developing both the means, and the will, to execute long-term projects aimed at reentering mainstream society.

Summary and Conclusions

Our findings reveal the fundamental structure of social networks among the homeless women in our sample and provide clues about the networks of homeless people more generally. The women's networks have peer and homed sub-parts, both of which are typically socially and geographically removed from their prior residential community. Both peer and homed networks are central in helping homeless women reestablish time-space continuity. The rebuilding process proceeds by replacing the functions of a spatially-fixed home-base and workplace with significant social interactions occurring at variable locations. Such interac-

tions involve friends, family, or a lover/spouse; encampment communities; panhandling patrons; and social service providers. For homeless women, lover/spouse relationships not only provide emotional support, but like a home- base, supply protection and a constant point of reference in the daily path. Informal street encampments are more direct home-base substitutes, despite the fact that they are subject to enforced mobility by police sweeps. Pan- handling and social service providers function like a job in three ways, by providing cash and in-kind income, by structuring the individual's daily path, and by creating a set of social contacts which can and often do provide emotional and material resources beyond giving alms or public assistance grants.

Like their homed counterparts, homeless women actively substitute reliance on one social network member for another as everyday exigencies and geographical accessibility de- mand. Panhandling, suddenly prohibited, is replaced by public assistance; one service provider is replaced by another; spouses exit, to be replaced by a lover. In this way, homeless women marshall their resources and maximize the support provided by their social network.

Finally, the impact of homeless social networks on personal identity and self-esteem var- ies both within and between network components. Social ties may have both positive and negative effects on self-definition and morale. The "self-as-homeless" identity may be readily adopted, if the experience of homelessness brings with it a clearly-defined role, recognition (as a leader or advocate, for example), no- toriety or other forms of attention previously unavailable to the individual. But far more common, we suspect, are devastating impacts on identity and self-esteem. Along with the short time horizon enforced by being homeless, pre- carious social networks and a threatening locale can alter the individual's daily/life path dialectic. Long-term investments for improving the life path are postponed and resignation to a negative "self-as-homeless" identity, deterio- rating self-esteem, and hopelessness are common and difficult to resist. But the support provided (either periodically or habitually) by homeless social networks may parallel shelter itself in its impact on the quality of life for homeless women.

The research suggests a variety of hypotheses and questions to be explored in future studies.

202 Rowe and Wolch

First, our sample was small. Analytic methods (such as survey research) that permit larger sample sizes would be useful to expand on our research findings. Second, the focus of our ethnographic work was homeless women. An ob- vious question is: how do social networks and daily paths differ among homeless sub-populations? Does the composition or density of social networks or the spatial range of daily paths differ for men and women, discrete age groups, racial/ethnic minorities, type and degree of disability, new homeless and old? Moreover, do observed differences in social networks and daily paths between homeless subgroups have parallels in comparable groups within the homed population? Further analysis could indicate the extent to which homeless networks in time-space are the result of situation (the homeless condition) or stem from individual characteristics (disability or demography). Third, Los Angeles welfare and police policies and the nature of the Skid Row environment were critical to our analysis, suggesting that the political economic and geographic context will contribute to the structure and function of social networks and the configuration of daily paths. How much influence does the locale and its perceived quality exert on social network formation, and conceptions of self? This question should be explored by systematic, comparative ethnographic research incorporating time- budget analysis and cognitive mapping tech- niques, at a variety of urban sites (as described in Rowe and Wolch 1989).

Our study also has public policy implications. Concerted efforts to assist homeless people in rebuilding their social networks may be a vital addition to the service arsenal. Current service provision focuses on the material deprivation of the homeless. Our research suggests that the social effects of homelessness are not only related to material conditions, but these conditions are in themselves a consequence of the social context of homelessness. This implies that the provision of safe, neutral space where homeless people can socialize, eat, leave belongings, and plan their ongoing activities may be valuable. Models for this type of space may include protected vest-pocket parks and drop- in centers (see Cohen and Sokolovsky 1989 for a description of a drop-in program targeted to elderly homeless men of New York's Bowery district). Transitional, congregate and community housing would provide time-space

continuity and facilitate the building of social networks, alleviating much of the isolation faced by the (formerly) homeless, and provide them with a measure of self-determination in their living environment. These housing programs only address the needs of a portion of the homeless community, due to the limited number of available units and the diversity of the homeless population. The designation of se- lected geographical areas for homeless encampments would reinforce social networks and time-space continuity for those who are unable to secure traditional or congregate housing. This is a more controversial proposal, given the community opposition which would likely result, but if appropriately located and restricted in size, opposition could be mitigat- ed.

The recovery of social networks among the homeless is essential to solving one of their most critical problems: the inability to organize. From this perspective, the adoption of a "self- as-homeless" identity can actually provide a basis by which homelessness can be ultimately transcended. Through recognizing their common circumstances and organizing homeless action groups, the otherwise diverse homeless community may be able to form a social move- ment targeted at placing their demands on the political agenda, and influencing political and service provision decisions which effect homelessness. The current lack of homeless political power leads policy makers away from meeting their needs for greater assistance, such as ad- ditional low-cost housing, social services, job training and employment. Thus the power- lessness of the homeless reinforces and exac- erbates their plight. Assisting homeless people to rebuild their social networks can empower them, and in so doing, help them in their struggle to improve the quality of their lives.

Acknowledgments

The financial support of the National Science Foun- dation Program in Geography and Regional Science is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would like to thank Patsy Asch, Nancy Lutkehaus, Joan Weibel- Orlando of the Anthropology Department, and Mi- chael Dear of the Geography Department of the University of Southern California for the advice and support they provided to this undertaking. Partici- pants in the Los Angeles Homeless Research Project seminar also provided useful comments. Suggestions from anonymous referees and Stanley D. Brunn were


particularly helpful in improving the paper. Elizabeth McAuliffe and Elpidio Rocha skillfully drew maps and figures. Finally, thanks are due to the many women and men on Skid Row who shared their lives and provided insight into their social networks. It is their trust and respect that is most valuable. While those listed above provided valuable assistance in the pro- duction of this paper, they are not responsible for any errors or omissions in the text. The opinions and conclusions are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of those acknowledged.

Notes

1. This and all other photographs are by Stacy Rowe. 2. The concept of time-space continuity is similar to

Godkin's use of the notion rootedness in his study of alcoholics (Godkin 1980), but places more emphasis on the temporal dimension.

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Wolch, J. R.; Dear, M. I.; and Akita, Andrea. 1988. Explaining homelessness. Journal of the American Planning Association 54:443-53.

Documents

Rowe and Wolch 1990 Social Networks in Time and Space