Homelessness and Housing Advocacy

Curtis Smith is faculty in the Sociology Department at Bentley University in Waltham, MA. His research focuses on issues of poverty, social inequality, and social justice with a specific concentration on homelessness and social policy research. His interest in the topic of homelessness emerges from his past work as a case worker for various homeless populations in three different regions of the United States.

Drawing on his in-depth, ethnographic fieldwork and his own professional experiences as an advocate for the down-but-not-out, Curtis Smith illuminates the perspective and street-level grind of social service workers to negotiate the maze of bureaucratic red-tape and polices to house their homeless clients. In doing so, Smith’s Homelessness and Housing Advocacy: The Role of Red-Tape Warriors is a most welcome and compelling addition to the social science research and literature on homelessness, particularly on the dogged and resourceful efforts of those "street-level bureaucrats" advocating on behalf of the homeless. – David A. Snow, University of California, IrvineIn Homelessness and Housing Advocacy, Curtis Smith covers a wide variety of topics centered on social service provision to those who are homeless. Readers learn about the characteristics of housing policy, how specific social services for homeless people are organized, and the diverse characteristics and experiences of people who request housing services. Discussions of such topics offer context for the primary interest in the work of front-line service workers in these agencies where Smith goes inside the messy world of social science provision and demonstrates how workers are creative practical actors. Rich ethnographic detail coupled with Smith’s personal experience combine to artfully demonstrate how front-line social service workers develop practical understandings and skills to deliver services within environments posing multiple challenges. – Donileen R. Loseke, University of South FloridaWith precision and care, Curtis Smith documents the everyday tyranny of government bureaucracy in its attempts to regulate both unhoused populations and the social service providers charged with "ending homelessness." But Smith also reminds us that even in overwhelming conditions of austerity, constantly changing funding criteria, and the ever-present threat of police violence, the state's efforts to control are always incomplete. Together, the social workers and clients of Smith's study persistently navigate current service systems to secure health, safety, and survival. Paying particular attention to the creativity of social workers as they interpret, bend, and even break the rules, Homelessness and Housing Advocacy points toward a re-politicization of service provision in service of a better world in which no one is deprived of housing. – Craig Willse, Prescott College

• Acknowledgments Preface 1. Introduction 2. Methods and Context 3. Relationship Building: Gaining Trust and Attaining Useful Information 4. Dealing with Complicated and Restrictive Policies 5. Establishing Professional Legitimacy: Fast-Track Meetings, Workers across Agencies, and Dealing with the Police 6. Fitting Stories 7. Referral Management: Establishing Working Agreements with Landlords 8. Managing Housing with Clients 9. Conclusion