Rae Bridgman – författare

In this groundbreaking work, urban anthropologist Rae Bridgman, in careful and intimate detail, explores the perspectives of the women who work and live at Savard's, a unique shelter for homeless women. Bridgman uses the design and development of Savard's - a housing model developed by women for women - as an opportunity to document the project's original vision and what happened once it opened. There are few rules at Savard's. Women may come and go as they wish, and referrals to other services are made only when a woman has indicated interest in taking action on her own behalf. It is a model that aims to provide a safe haven for the chronically homeless.The study traces the evolution of this type of shelter, providing qualitative research and useful analysis for academics, policy-makers, service providers, and activists. Based on many hours of participant observation as well as interviews and staff records, Safe Haven presents a distinct picture of the chronically homeless and those on the frontlines of this lifesaving service.

StreetCities charts the development of an alternative communal housing model for chronically homeless men and women in downtown Toronto. In her recounting of the stories and narratives of residents and staff at the original "StreetCity" and the second generation "Strachan House," Bridgman explores how living on the street (something often viewed as negative) has the potential to become a powerful emblem of community growth, tolerance, and caring. The histories of these two supportive housing projects are embedded within larger currents of governmental responses to homelessness in Canada, and the incorporation of photographs, interview narratives, and handwritten fieldnotes brings Bridgman's ethnographic research to life. StreetCities also includes a discussion of the architectural design and operation of the two housing projects, and the eventual closing of the original "StreetCity."StreetCities is written for those who want to learn more about the work being done to help chronically homeless women and men. The book will be useful for researchers, policy-makers, service-providers, teachers, students, and activists working in the fields of homelessness and housing studies, social work, urban and applied anthropology, sociology, urban studies, and qualitative research methods.

Feminist Fields offers a rich and varied portrait of both the current work in feminist anthropology and future possibilities for dialogue between feminism and anthropology. Contributors to the book present critical analyses of a broad range of ethnographic topics: national feminism, gender and identity formation, cultural continuity, ethnographic authority, ethics and representation, empowerment and resistance. Here, young practitioners alongside more established scholars share their theoretical insights, bringing them to life through first-person narratives and stories. Throughout, there is a clear sense of the intellectual inspiration to be had from the practice of feminist anthropology and its emphasis on the power of thoughtful reflexivity in fieldwork and writing practices. Also recognized is an urgent need to bring forward the perspectives of those whose knowledge has been forgotten, ignored, or actively silenced.

In this groundbreaking work, urban anthropologist Rae Bridgman, in careful and intimate detail, explores the perspectives of the women who work and live at Savard's, a unique shelter for homeless women. Bridgman uses the design and development of Savard's - a housing model developed by women for women - as an opportunity to document the project's original vision and what happened once it opened. There are few rules at Savard's. Women may come and go as they wish, and referrals to other services are made only when a woman has indicated interest in taking action on her own behalf. It is a model that aims to provide a safe haven for the chronically homeless.The study traces the evolution of this type of shelter, providing qualitative research and useful analysis for academics, policy-makers, service providers, and activists. Based on many hours of participant observation as well as interviews and staff records, Safe Haven presents a distinct picture of the chronically homeless and those on the frontlines of this lifesaving service.

As homelessness continues to plague North America and also becomes more widespread in Europe, anthropologists turn their attention to solving the puzzle of why people in some of the most advanced technological societies in the world are found huddled in a subway tunnel, squatting in a vacant building, living in a shelter, or camping out in an abandoned field or on a beach. Anthropologists have a long tradition of working in poverty subcultures and have been able to contribute answers to some of the puzzles of homelessness through their ability to enter the culture of the homeless without some of the preconceptions of other disciplines.The authors, anthropologists from the U.S.A. and Canada, offer us an analysis of homelessness that is grounded in anthropological research in North America and throughout the world. Both have in-depth experience through working in communities of the homeless and present us withthe results of their own work and with that of their colleagues.

As homelessness continues to plague North America and also becomes more widespread in Europe, anthropologists turn their attention to solving the puzzle of why people in some of the most advanced technological societies in the world are found huddled in a subway tunnel, squatting in a vacant building, living in a shelter, or camping out in an abandoned field or on a beach. Anthropologists have a long tradition of working in poverty subcultures and have been able to contribute answers to some of the puzzles of homelessness through their ability to enter the culture of the homeless without some of the preconceptions of other disciplines.The authors, anthropologists from the U.S.A. and Canada, offer us an analysis of homelessness that is grounded in anthropological research in North America and throughout the world. Both have in-depth experience through working in communities of the homeless and present us withthe results of their own work and with that of their colleagues.