Knowledge Bank

This study examines a number of variables related to the quality of life of unsheltered homeless persons in a sample of the 71 most populous U.S. cities in an effort to determine the distribution and the extent of the mobility of the chronically homeless. We outline a theoretical model for their mobility, drawing from the extant homelessness literature. We find partial empirical support for our model, with temperature and unemployment exhibiting significant relationships with the prevalence of unsheltered homelessness, but are unable to draw a definitive conclusion as to mobility.