2021-12-22, Temesvary, Zsolt, Roduit, Sabrina, Drilling, Matthias

This paper analyses destitution as a new and expressive notion in describing the multifaceted nature of essential poverty and severe social exclusion. The novel concept of destitution emerged in the social sciences to challenge the dominant neoliberal, income-based approach of poverty studies and to scrutinise poverty and social deprivation in a multi-layered dimension considering the lack of resources in the areas of the housing market, employment and family relationships, as well as in mental and physical health. Although destitution can also be described as the lack of individual biological and psychological resources, our paper primarily examines the socio-political, structural reasons lying behind the notion, focusing on two areas: social rights and entitlements for homeless people and undocumented migrants. Although the term ‘destitution’ incorporates multiple sociological, philosophical, economic and political dimensions, the current paper primarily applies the theoretical and practical approach of social work and social policy in conceptualising the notion.

2021-12-10, Temesvary, Zsolt

This paper provides a short overview on the relationship between homelessness and mental disorders, based on the relevant scientific literature and other references like research reports, online databases and working papers. While early studies explained homelessness with the lack of housing possibilities and problems in the housing markets, modern examinations also consider individual reasons, primarily the personal vulnerability of homeless people. According to these analyses, one of the most important reasons behind homelessness is the evolvement of psychiatric disorders which lead to severe mental and social distortions in the normal functioning of the affected people. Based on international studies, approximately three-fourth of the homeless people suffer from mental disorders, which proportion is much higher compared to the majority society, and at least 25% of all housing losses can be traced back to psychiatric problems.