Justin Barker

Social capital, homeless young people and the family

Drawing on ethnographic data from a study on homeless youth, this article examines the relationship between young people and their families through the concept of social capital. The author argues that the lack of family as a source of social capital for homeless youth is a central factor that contributes to young peoples homelessness. It presents evidence that shows that the families of homeless youth do not provide a source of social capital and this leads to young people exploring other options of support that lead to and reinforce their homelessness. Yet, many young people who have experienced homelessness have a resilient connection to their family. I propose that for a relationship, in this instance ‘the family’, to constitute social capital they need to fulfil three components that constitute social capital: (1) contact with a group of people (or a person) considered family, (2) this family must have access to valued resources (such as to economic, cultural and/or social capital) and (3) have shared norms of trust and reciprocity. Considering these three components provide insights into the diverse factors that lead a young person to homelessness and have implications for policy and practice.

Alone together: the strategies of autonomy and relatedness in the lives of homeless youth

This article proposes that the social lives of homeless young people are structured by two strategies: autonomy and relatedness. The strategy of autonomy is the prevailing modus operandi of homeless young people who respond to the uncertainty and instability of their lives with a defiant independence and self-reliance. However, their propensity to self-interested autonomy exacerbates a sense of isolation, alienation and loneliness, which leads to the strategy of relatedness. These strategies are responses to instability that take divergent, and even contradictory, approaches to dealing with the conditions of youth homelessness. There is a complex interaction between these two strategies, with homeless young peoples social lives and the conditions of their lives structured by the seeming incompatibility of autonomy and relatedness. This article draws on ethnographic research and 12 months of participant observation to provide an understanding of the strategies of autonomy and relatedness as they pertain to the lives to homeless young people. The strategies of autonomy and relatedness capture the recurring themes and organising sentiments in the lives of homeless young people whilst still acknowledging the diverse, inventive and unlimited variety of practices enacted by this heterogeneous group of people.

Negative Cultural Capital and Homeless Young People.

This article examines the ways in which homeless young people find a sense of self-worth and dignity within the conditions of youth homelessness. It notes that, while homeless young people seek a space where they do not feel marginalised and can attain a form of social status and cultural competence, they also engage in practices and acts of defiant independence that appear counter-productive and self-destructive. The author, utilising ethnographic research with homeless young people, including interviews, focus groups and participant observation over a 12-month period, finds that conventional concepts of cultural capital cannot explain this contradictory behaviour. He posits instead the concept of negative cultural capital as a way of explaining why homeless young people struggle for recognition in ways that collude in reinforcing their marginalisation.

Helpful Relationships with Service Users: Linking Social Capital

Abstract The transformative potential of relationships between helping professionals and clients is well recognised. Less often have these relationships been explicitly considered as building blocks of social capital. This article reports a qualitative analysis of the views of a group of 80 parents about the nature of helpful helping relationships. The analysis asked: What are the features of the relationships between service users and service providers that indicate the presence of linking social capital? What are the implications for policy, practice and research? Data indicated that a number of parents experienced helpful relationships provided by a range of professionals. These relationships constituted a mechanism whereby people could access resources otherwise unavailable to them. These relationships can be understood as “linking social capital”—trusting relationships with people in formal institutions. Program constraints, organisational, and community cultures can affect these relationships and the linking social capital developed.