Homelessness whirlpool and limitation of capabilities

Abstract

The issue of homelessness remains rather understudied and poorly understood in Russia, despite recent well-funded research programmes. This article looks to examine the problem of homelessness through the key concepts of state welfare and social prosperity. This includes the question of conceptualizing how society divides itself into ‘us’ and ‘them’ categories through the criteria of housing. If the quality of one’s housing can reflect social status, then the absence of it can be seen as a dramatic statement of social concepts. Existing concepts of prosperity and well-being can be applied to the analysis of homelessness, including Amartia Sen’s capabilities approach. This theoretical approach allows a deeper understanding of how people end up in the category of homeless. One aspect of this is qualifying the varying categories of homeless people, rather than seeing them as a monolithic whole. While homelessness can be seen as life without any real freedom of choice, the key differentiation to be made lies in the lifestyle and choices of the person prior to homelessness, with a surprisingly high percentage enjoying relatively comfortable lives before homelessness. The author employs the metaphor of the whirlpool to show the mechanism of becoming homelessness and how one misfortune can easily give rise to another, producing a downward slope and the sense of being sucked down a slippery funnel. The role of the family unit is one key factor that can work against this downward spiral. Overall, the label of ‘homeless’ proves to be toxic for people struggling against poverty and misfortune. In Russia, a special issue must be made out of loss of documents, which are so vital in a country with burdensome registration and internal passport requirements, that only work to increase the social exclusion and humiliation of the already vulnerable and exhausted homeless, who are battling to survive. The author calls for a revision of social policy to the homeless to take account the specific challenges of the Russian environment and provide new measures to alleviate the worst features.