RESEARCH ARTICLE
The entrepreneurship of survival among urban adults experiencing homelessness and mental illness
Corinne A. Isaak,
Kristin Reynolds,
Jitender Sareen,
Jino Distasio,
Corresponding Author
Corinne A. Isaak
Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
End Homelessness Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Correspondence Corinne A. Isaak, 216C Pacific Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0M4, Canada. Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorKristin Reynolds
Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorJitender Sareen
Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorJino Distasio
Institute of Urban Studies, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorCorinne A. Isaak,
Kristin Reynolds,
Jitender Sareen,
Jino Distasio,
Corresponding Author
Corinne A. Isaak
Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
End Homelessness Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Correspondence Corinne A. Isaak, 216C Pacific Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0M4, Canada. Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorKristin Reynolds
Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorJitender Sareen
Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorJino Distasio
Institute of Urban Studies, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Aims
Using an entrepreneurship lens, this study examined the narratives of urban adults experiencing homelessness and living with mental illness, to explore strategies used for day-to-day survival.
Methods
Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 14 females, 30 males, and one individual identifying as “other,” living in a mid-sized Canadian city. The average age was 39 years. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis informed by grounded theory.
Findings
Participants described creative and intentional strategies for managing life on the street without permanent shelter, including recognition of opportunities, mobilization of their own or acquired resources, and use of social connections and communication skills, and strategies that demonstrated entrepreneurial processes.
Conclusions
Findings suggest that participants used survival entrepreneurship strategies and processes to navigate daily life while experiencing homelessness. Recognition and validation of the propensity for enterprise and self-sufficiency are central for both individual recovery and ending homelessness within similar populations.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.
REFERENCES
- Aubry, T., Flynn, R. J., Virley, B., & Neri, J. (2013). Social role valorization in community mental health housing: Does it contribute to the community integration and life satisfaction of people with psychiatric disabilities? Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 218–235. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21524
- Aubry, T., Klodawsky, F., & Coulombe, D. (2012). Comparing the housing trajectories of different classes within a diverse homeless population. American Journal of Community Psychology, 49(1), 142–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9444-z
- Aubry, T., Klodawsky, F., & Hay, E. (2003). Panel study on persons who are homeless in Ottawa: Phase 1 results, Ottawa, Canada: University of Ottawa, Centre for Research on Community Services.
- Baker, T., Gedajlovic, E., & Lubatkin, M. (2005). A framework for comparing entrepreneurship processes across nations. Journal of International Business Studies, 36, 492–504. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400153
- Baker, T., & Nelson, R. E. (2005). Creating something from nothing: Resources construction through entrepreneurial bricolage. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50, 329–366.
- Balkin, A. (1992). Entrepreneurial activities of homeless men. The Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 19, 129–150.
- Baron, R. A. (2007). Behavioral and cognitive factors in entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs as the active element in new venture creation. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1, 167–182. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.12
- Belanger, Y., Weasel Head, G., & Awosoga, O. (2012). Assessing Urban Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness in Canada, Ottawa, ON: National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) and the Office of the Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non- Status Indians (OFI).
- Berner, E., Gomez, G., & Knorringa, P. (2012). ‘Helping a large number of people become a little less poor’: The logic of survival entrepreneurs. European Journal of Development Research, 24, 382–396. https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2011.61
- Bender, K., Thompson, S. J., McManus, H., Lantry, J., & Flynn, P. M. (2007). Capacity for survival: Exploring strength of homeless street youth. Child Youth Care Forum, 36, 25–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-006-9029-4
- Bhugra, D. (2007). Homelessness and Mental Health. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Bornstein, D. (2007). How to change the world: Social entrepreneurs and the power of new ideas. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- Boyd, R. L. (2005). Race, gender, and survivalist entrepreneurship in large northern cities during the great depression. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 34, 331–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2004.09.018
10.1016/j.socec.2004.09.018 Google Scholar
- Boyd, R. L. (2016). Survivalist entrepreneurship in the Great Depression. The Social Science Journal, 53, 339–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2016.07.005
- Burt, R. S. (1992). Structural holes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
10.4159/9780674029095 Google Scholar
- Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) (2007). Improving the health of Canadians: Mental health and homelessness. Ottawa, ON: CIHI.
- Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Constitution Act. (1982). Schedule B, Part II: Rights of Aboriginal Peoples of Canada. Department of Justice, Canada. Retrieved from http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/annex_e.html#II
- Dees, J.G. (1998). Enterprising nonprofits. Harvard Business Review, Jan/Feb, 55–67.
- Downing, S. (2005). The social construction of entrepreneurship: Narrative and dramatic processes in the coproduction of organizations and identities. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29, 185–204. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00076.x
- Ferguson, K. M. (2013). Using the Social Enterprise Intervention (SEI) and Individual Placement and Support (IPS) models to improve employment and clinical outcomes of homeless youth with mental illness. Social Work in Mental Health, 11, 473–495. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332985.2013.764960
10.1080/15332985.2013.764960 Google Scholar
- Gaetz, S. (2010). The struggle to end homelessness in Canada: How we created the crisis, and how we can end it. The Open Health Services and Policy Journal, 3, 21–26.
10.2174/1874924001003020021 Google Scholar
- Gaetz, S., Donaldson, J., Richter, T., & Gulliver, T. (2013). The State of Homelessness in Canada: 2013. Toronto, ON: Canadian Homelessness Research Network. Retrieved from http://homelesshub.ca/resource/state-homelessness-canada-2013.
- Gaetz, S., Gulliver, T., & Richter, T. (2014): The State of Homelessness in Canada: 2014. Toronto, ON: The Homeless Hub Press. Retrieved from http://homelesshub.ca/resource/state-homelessness-canada-2014
- Goering, P. N., Streiner, D. L., Adair, C., Aubry, T., Barker, J., Distasio, J., … Zabkiewicz, D. M. (2011). The At Home/Chez Soi trial protocol: A pragmatic, multi-site, randomized controlled trial of Housing First in five Canadian cities. BMJ Open, 1, e000323. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000323
- Goering, P., Tolomiczenko, G., Sheldon, T., Boydell, K., & Wasylenki, D. (2002). Characteristics of persons who are homeless for the first time. Psychiatric Services, 53, 1472–1474.
- Gowan, T. (2009). New Hobos or Neo-romatic fantasy. Urban ethnography beyond the neoliberal disconnect. Qualitative Sociology, 32(23), 1–257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-009-9133-5
- Gowan, T. (2010). Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders: Homeless in San Francisco. London & Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
10.5749/minnesota/9780816648696.001.0001 Google Scholar
- Gray, H. M., Nelson, S. E., Shaffer, H. J., Stebbins, P., & Ryan Farina, A. (2017). How do homeless adults change their lives after completing an intensive job-skills program? A prospective study. Journal of Community Psychology, 45, 888–905. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21900
- Hoselitz, B. F. (1963). Entrepreneurship and traditional elites. Explorations in Entrepreneurial History, 2(1), 50–66.
- Hougaz, L. & Deakin, J. (2015). Think differently: An exploratory study of entrepreneurship and homelessness. In R. Paola Dameri & L. Beltrametti (Eds.). Conference Proceedings ECIE 2015–10th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (pp. 263–271). Genoa, Italy.
- Huey, L., Fthenos, G., & Hryniewicz, D. (2013). “If something happened, I will leave it. Let it go and move on”: Resiliency and victimized homeless women's attitudes towards mental health counseling. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(2), 295–319. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260512454717
- Hwang, S. W. (2001). Homelessness and health. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 164, 229–233.
- Isaak, C. (2012). At Home/Chez Soi Research Demonstration Project: Winnipeg Baseline Consumer Narratives Report. Calgary, AB: Mental Health Commission of Canada. Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/document/60126/homechez-soi-research-demonstration-project-winnipeg-baseline-consumer-narratives-rep
- Jennings, L., Shore, D., Strohminger, N., & Allison, B. (2015). Entrepreneurial development for U.S. minority homeless and unstably housed youth: A qualitative inquiry on value, barriers, and impact on health. Children and Youth Services Review, 49, 39–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.12.018
- Kemp, P. A., Neale, J., & Robertson, M. (2006). Homelessness among problem drug users: Prevalence, risk factors and trigger events. Health and Social Care in the Community, 14, 319–328. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2524.2006.00624.x
- Kidd, S. A., Kerman, N., Cole, D., Madan, A., Muskat, E., Raja, S., … McKenzie, K. (2015). Social entrepreneurship and mental health intervention: A literature review and scan of expert perspectives. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 13, 776–787. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-015-9575-9
- Kim, M. M., Ford, J. D., Howard, D. L., & Bradford, D. W. (2010). Assessing trauma, substance abuse, and mental health in a sample of homeless men. Health and Social Work, 35(1), 39–48. https://-org.uml.idm.oclc.org/10.1093/hsw/35.1.39
- Kirst, M., Zerger, S., Wise Harris, D., Plenert, E., & Stergiopoulos, V. (2014). The promise of recovery: Narratives of hope among homeless individuals with mental illness participating in a Housing First randomized controlled trial in Toronto, Canada. BMJ Open, 4(3), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2013-004379
- Kirzner, I. M. (1997). Entrepreneurial discovery and the competitive market process: An Austrian approach. Journal of Economic Literature, 35(1), 60–85.
- Kolar, K., Erickson, P. G., & Stewart, D. (2012). Coping strategies of street-involved youth: Exploring contexts of resilience. Journal of Youth Studies, 15, 744–760. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2012.677814
- Leamy, M., Bird, V., Boutillier, C. L., Williams, J., & Slade, M. (2011). Conceptual framework for personal recovery in mental health: Systematic review and narrative synthesis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 199, 445–452. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.110.083733
- Light, I. (1972). Ethnic Enterprise in America. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
- Light, I., & Karageorgis, S. (1994). The ethnic economy. In N. J. Smelser, & R. Swedberg (Eds.), The Handbook of Economic Sociology ( pp. 647–671). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Light, I., & Rosenstein, C. (1995). Race, Ethnicity, and Entrepreneurship in Urban America. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.
- Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry, Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
10.1016/0147-1767(85)90062-8 Google Scholar
- Mandiberg, J. M. (2016). Social enterprise in mental health: An overview. Journal of Policy Practice, 15(1-2), 5–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15588742.2016.1109960
- Mayberry, L. S. (2016). The hidden work of exiting homelessness: Challenges of housing service use and strategies of service recipients. Journal of Community Psychology, 44, 293–310. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21765
- Mishra, C. S., & Zachary, R. K. (2014). The Theory of Entrepreneurship. New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
10.1057/9781137371461 Google Scholar
- Myers, P., & Nelson, T. (2011). Considering social capital in context of social entrepreneurship. In A. Fayolle, & H. Matley (Eds.), Handbook of research on social entrepreneurship ( pp. 271–285). Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar.
- NVivo (Version 9) [Computer software]. (2010). Burlington, USA (Americas): QSR International Pty Ltd.
- Padgett, D., Struening, E. L., & Andrews, H. (1990). Factors affecting the use of medical, mental health, alcohol, and drug treatment services by homeless adults. Medical Care, 28, 805–821. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005650-199009000-00010
- Paterson, M., Somers, J. M., McIntosh, K., Shiell, A., & Frankish, C. J. (2008). Housing and support for adults with severe addictions and/or mental illness in British Columbia. Vancouver, British Columbia: Simon Fraser University, Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction. Retrieved from https://www.sfu.ca/carmha/publications/housing-and-support-for-adults-with-severe.html
- Patterson, A., & Tweed, R. (2009). Escaping homelessness: Anticipated and perceived facilitators. Journal of Community Psychology, 37, 846–858. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20335
- Paul, S., Corneau, S., Boozary, T., & Stergiopoulos, V. (2018). Coping and resilience among ethnoracial individuals experiencing homelessness and mental illness. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 64(2), 189–197. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764017748986
- Rickards, L. D., McGraw, S. A., Araki, L., Casey, R. G., High, C. W., Hombs, M. E., & Raysor, R. S. (2010). Collaborative initiative to help end chronic homelessness: Introduction. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 37(2), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-009-9175-1
- Roos, L. E., Distasio, J., Bolton, S. L., Katz, L. Y., Afifi, T. O., Isaak, C., … Sareen, J. (2014). A history in-care predicts unique characteristics in a homeless population with mental illness. Child Abuse and Neglect, 38, 1618–1627. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.08.018
- Roy, S., & Hurtubuise, R. (2007). Introduction. In S. Roy, & R. Hurtubuise (Eds.), L'itinérance en questions ( pp. 1–24). Quebec: Presses de l'Université du Québec.
10.1215/9780822389910-001 Google Scholar
- Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The Theory of Economic Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Servier, L. (2010). Forced to entrepreneurship: Modeling the factors behind necessity entrepreneurship. Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, 22(1), 37–53.
- Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 217–226.
- Statistics Canada. (2013). Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: First Nations people, Metis and Inuit: National household survey, 2011. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/99-011-X2011001
- Stuart, T. E., & Sorenson, O. (2005). Social Networks and Entrepreneurship. In S. A. Alvarez, R. Agarwal, & O. Sorenson (Eds.), Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research. International Handbook Series on Entrepreneurship 2, pp. 233–252). Boston, MA: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-23622-8_11
10.1007/0-387-23622-8_11 Google Scholar
- Wolfensberger, W. (2000). A brief overview of social role valorization. Mental Retardation, 38, 105–123. https://doi.org/.org/10.1352/0047-6765(2000)038<0105:ABOOSR>2.0.CO;2
