Homeless Women, Special Possessions, and the Meaning of “Home”: An Ethnographic Case Study

Abstract

This article investigates homelessness among adult women, an important and growing subpopulation among the homeless. To examine their situation within a consumer-behavior context, an ethnographic case study of a shelter for homeless women run by an order of Roman Catholic sisters was performed. The study focused on how these women became homeless, the effects of early life experiences on their homelessness, available emotional and financial support, possessions that were lost, maintained, or became available during their homeless period(s), their perspectives on their lives at the shelter and its ability to act as a “home,” and their fantasies about home life. Public policy implications and contributions of these findings to the developing literature in consumer behavior regarding the meaning of possessions are discussed.