How Homeless Youth Navigate Multiple Marginalizations

• In Event: 398 - Visual Media Poster Session

Abstract

This poster stems from an ongoing exploration of video blogs (vlogs) collected from Invisible People, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that features short videos of people sharing their experiences of homelessness in the hopes of “changing the way we think about people experiencing homelessness” (Invisible People, 2013a). Narrowing in focus from a broader discussion of stigmatization and philosophy of place to the marginalization that homeless youth endure, the project specifically explores the multiple marginalizations homeless youth experience as a result of intersecting identities. This project also strengthens the initial analysis by applying multiple rounds of qualitative coding in investigating how homeless youth navigate some of choices they face in day-to-day survival. Particular attention is paid to homeless youth’s efforts to be “seen” versus remain “invisible” and what that means to the youth, as well as deliberate attempts to make homeless youth invisible. Implications for future research are also discussed. The poster will feature excepts from the vlog interviews, allowing viewers to see and hear from the young people themselves.

Author

• Amanda Michelle Jones, University of Chicago