Listening to Middle-Aged Homeless Women Talk About Their Lives

Abstract

Using a phenomenological research approach, the author interviewed 11 unattached middle-aged homeless women every few weeks over a six-month period. Four themes emerged from the stories the women told about their lives: relationships, resiliency, normalcy, and political awareness. These themes support the idea that middle-aged homeless women are similar to other middle-aged women in this society, al though their poverty and the shortage of low-income housing have made their lives more difficult.