Presenting our research to our partners at the City of South Bend was definitely insightful for us, as they pointed out areas where there were gaps in our research or areas that we should focus more on. For example, we had mostly interviewed white males, and Cherri thought it would be interesting to have a greater range of interviewees that includes African Americans and women. In addition, they pointed us to other resources that the homeless population in South Bend has at its disposal, such as St. Margarets House. Using their advice, it will be interesting to see where our research goes in the future and the conclusions we reach based on a broader range of evidence.
Main Takeaways:
- Focus on one subset of the population instead of trying to tackle the issue of homelessness as a whole
- Research a wider range of homeless individuals
- Define homelessness
- Think about income stability, support system, etc.
- Use ethnographic research and statistics, sometimes the people themselves can be misleading
Memorable Quote:
“If I gave _____ a home to live in rent free, would that make him not homeless anymore?”- Suzanna