engleski

Hope in homeless people through their social connectedness

Unlike philosophy and theology, anthropology has largely ignored ‘hope’ as a descriptive and analytical category. In an attempt to call attention to hope as a category of ethnographic analysis, this article draws on ethnographic material that was collected in a national study among homeless people in Croatia. One of the main aims is to elucidate instances of hope (and hopelessness) in the social relationships of homeless people. Focus is specifically on the exploration of their formal (institutional) and informal (kinship or non-kin based) social and personal networks. Gendered differences are also highlighted throughout this analysis. Findings show that even amidst their personal crisis, homeless people maintain social and personal networks that provide them with access to needed resources. An understanding of hope among homeless people could provide a basis upon which to develop interventions that engender hope and to develop programmes that build on the hopes that homeless people hold.

hope, homeless people, networks, Croatia

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