Families on the Edge

Experiences of Homelessness and Care in Rural New England

Elizabeth Carpenter-Song

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English

MIT Press
19 September 2023

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An intimate account of rural New England families living on the edge of homelessness, as well as the practices and policies of care that fail them.

An intimate account of rural New England families living on the edge of homelessness, as well as the practices and policies of care that fail them.

Families on the Edge is an ethnographic portrait of families in rural and small-town New England who are often undercut by the very systems that are set up to help them. In this book, author and medical anthropologist Elizabeth Carpenter-Song draws on a decade of ethnographic research to chart the struggles of a cohort of families she met in a Vermont family shelter in 2009, as they contend with housing insecurity, mental illness, and substance use. Few other works have attempted to take such a long-term view of how vulnerability to homelessness unfolds over time or to engage so fully with existing scholarship in the fields of anthropology and health services.

Research on homelessness in the United States has been overwhelmingly conducted in urban settings, so much less is known about its trajectory in rural areas and small towns. Carpenter-Song's book identifies how specific aspects of rural New England-including scarce affordable housing stock, extremely limited transportation, and cultural expectations of self-reliance-come together to thwart opportunities for families despite their continual striving to ""make it"" in this environment. Carpenter-Song shines a light on the many high-stakes consequences that occur when systems of care fail and offers a way forward for clinicians, health researchers, and policymakers seeking practical solutions.

By: Elizabeth Carpenter-Song
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780262546188
ISBN 10: 0262546183
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 19 September 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgments vii Prelude xi 1 Introduction 1 2 Becoming Homeless in Rural New England 17 3 Life on the Edge 45 4 Paradoxes of Care 71 5 Shattered Families 97 6 Toward Security Following Homelessness 121 7 Conclusion 137 Epilogue: Notes from the Pandemic 147 Appendix: Family Housing Trajectories 149 Notes 153 References 159 Index 173

Elizabeth Carpenter-Song is currently Research Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Dartmouth College. Her work has been published in journals ranging from Ethos to Psychiatric Services to Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless.