engleski

Homelessness and Social Exclusion in Croatia

Homelessness is a relatively new phenomenon in most Croatian cities and has been largely ignored by policy makers and social scientists. This paper is based on the research outcomes of a qualitative research project that aims to contribute new data on a previously unresearched social group in Croatia and respond to the urgent need for a fuller understanding of the perceptions and experiences of homeless people in Croatia. The project’s holistic approach takes a broad ecological and gendered perspective, viewing an individual’s homelessness within larger processes in society. This paper has a social exclusion focus with the intention of identifying the disadvantages that homeless people in Croatia face. Following a brief description of their demographic characteristics, the implications of their material poverty will be discussed. The paths and consequences of (repeated) periods of homelessness and how it reflects on the individual’s social well-being will then be examined. The findings show that homeless people in Croatia are disadvantaged in multifaceted ways that inevitably hinder their routes out of social exclusion.

Homelessness; social exclusion; Croatia; qualitative research

nije evidentirano