Abstract

The study examines the experience of homeless men from an existential-phenomenological research perspective. Ten subjects were selected to participate in tape recorded interviews. All subjects were living in a gospel mission located in a major Appalachian city. They ranged in age from 24 to 59. The duration of their time in the homeless status ranged from 5 weeks to 15 years. The primary objective of the study is to provide a description and interpretation of the experience of homelessness, utilizing the concepts and methods of existential-phenomenological research. ;Transcripts of subjects' interviews were analyzed to describe homelessness as a lived human experience within the fundamental existential-phenomenological modes of being which pervade the life-worlds of all humans: Lived space, lived body, lived time and lived relationality, and within the framework of the ultimate concerns of existence: Death, meaning-purpose in life, freedom-responsibility, and isolation-relationship. The methodology of existential-phenomenological research was used to identify and explicate themes common to the subjects interviewed. Explication charts with accompanying indexes were developed for this purpose. ;The results of the study reveal that these homeless subjects experience certain common themes which exist across the modes of being and the universal concerns of existential-phenomenology. Among the common issues identified were subjects' efforts to cope with a diminished self concept; emotional and physical barriers to constructive forward movement in their lives; recurring tensions and conflicts within the homeless environment; subjects' need for meaningful supportive friendships; their hunger for appreciation and recognition from others, both inside the homeless world, and from those in the non-homeless environment; the need to maintain courage and optimism in the face of adversity; and their affinity for religious faith and spiritual values as an important source of personal meaning and strength within the tragic and limiting conditions of homelessness. Specific therapeutic recommendations for helping professionals are offered, and suggestions for further research are provided