Gender Relations, Housing
Distress, and Persistent Poverty
in Kentucky
Joanna M. Badagliacco, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology
Center for Poverty Research
Appalachian Center
University of Kentucky
jmb@uky.edu
Social Construction of Family Homelessness
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National recognition recent decades that more
families were experiencing homelessness
Agenda to understand family homelessness in
order to determine the causes and consequences
if we expect to assist families
I contend that we must question the definitions
we use because our definitions are fraught with
ideological issues
• What is family homelessness?
• Does categorization dismiss poverty?
• Thin line between the domiciled and undomiciled poor
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Kentucky Demographics
KY per capita personal income: $22,183
(1998)
rd
 43
in US and 82% of national average
 KY residents in poverty (2000 census)
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• Children under age 18: 21%
• Persons 65 and older: 10%
• Families with no husband/father present &
children 5 years of younger: 56%
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Persons in Poverty in Kentucky
Darker green = higher level of poverty
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Research Sites
Persistent Poverty
 Mountainous
 Bleak economic
picture
 Few jobs
 Inadequate
education
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Interviews
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Mothers who were in housing distress
Total in-depth interviews to date: 102
mothers in severe poverty, 16 had male
partners who were also interviewed
Ethnographic oral life histories
Interviews in several counties of Kentucky
Longitudinal attempts to follow mothers
not very successful (yet!)
6
Understanding Rural Poverty
and Homelessness
Poverty and homelessness must be
considered as process not as a crisis
Often a temporal chain of events that pushes
family to social marginalization, often making
unrelenting poverty and/or homelessness a
permanent condition
My study: childhood abuse as a major
risk factor for homelessness of mothers
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Understanding Rural Poverty and
Homelessness, cont.
 Problem is not simply insufficient income or
housing
 Wide-ranging heterogeneous life conditions
 Multiplicity of factors:
Family and kinship relationships
Social and cultural environments of community
Conditions for social integration
Needs of particular family members based on
household composition, age of children
 Opportunities for living-wage employment
 Physical and mental health of family
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Demographics
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27 years old (avg.)
White (rural); Black (urban)
11 years of education (avg.)
2 or 3 children with mother currently
High levels of domestic violence
Partner relationships weak
Income less than $10,000 annually
Most receive(d) some social welfare,
usually food stamps and medical cards
for children, shelter, food bank, church
voluntary services
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Childhood Experiences
Percent
Reporting
Unstable lives (violence, neglect,
food insecurity, frequent moving)
Neglect
86.7
77.9
Physical Abuse
78.0
Family Violence
76.4
Sexual Abuse
64.3
Parent Substance Abuser
46.2
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Childhood Violence
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Overwhelming majority reported
serious family distress as children:
violence, abandonment, neglect,
sexual abuse
Hear their voices...
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How to tell their stories?
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Mothers openly describe exceptionally
difficult circumstances
How can their stories be told in a way that
does not victimize them again but still
describes their situations?
My current solution: describe their
courageous ability to survive poverty and
familial distress
Theoretical path that emerges: gender
relations
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Housing Distress Continuum based
on Gendered Relationships
Matrifocal
Patrifocal
Sociofocal
Religiofocal
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Strong Family, Kin,
Community, Social
Welfare ties
Mothers
Matrifocal
mothers:
see themselves as
responsible for future,
working within system
children
Partners/fathers
14
Matrifocal Mothers
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“Fighter”
Less likely to be found in rural KY
Sees herself as central to family, with or
without male partner
Fluid concept of “family”
Expects to provide for her children by
working and social services
Strong ties with family and kin of origin
Experiences distress as episodic, part of
family poverty
15
Weaker Family,
Kin, Community,
Social Welfare ties
Male: partner,
father(s)
Patrifocal
as sole provider
Mothers
mothers:
see males –as sole
providers now and
for the future.
Children
16
Patrifocal Mothers
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“Dependent”
Prevalent in Appalachia KY
Male partner seen as essential
Children important; multiple fathers
Traditional view of nuclear family
Family and kin ties weaker and possibly
violent and/or estranged
Experiences distress as a crisis until
male partner (current or future) rescues
family
Often had unrealistic plans for future
17
Very Weak Male,
Family, Kin,
Community ties
Sociofocal
mothers:
women desire male
providers in whose
absence the state
provides through
child welfare.
Welfare state
becomes
“husband” and
provider
Mothers
Children
18
Sociofocal Mothers
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“Resigned”
Somewhat prevalent in Appalachia KY
Family less stable, unlikely to remain intact
Requires social intervention for children and
self; may be reluctant to accept help
Male partner seen as essential but
unreliable
Weak partner, family, and kin ties, may be
violent, estranged
Experiences distress as a crisis until future
male partner rescues family; unrealistic
plans
19
Weakest Family,
Kin, Community,
Social Welfare ties
Religiofocal
women:
faith in religion,
Jesus as provider
now and for the
future
“God” or “Jesus”
seen as good
provider
Mothers
Children
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Religiofocal Mothers
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“Fatalist”
Some mothers in Appalachia KY
Family very unstable, unlikely to remain
intact; outside social system
“Jesus” seen as only provider; “God will
provide” for future
Children likely to be formally
relinquished
Male partner(s) rejected; severed
family, and kin ties
Experiences distress as what “God” or
“Jesus” wants for her and children;
“accepts God’s will”; no plans for future
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Rural Violence and Poverty
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Experience of rural women is
complicated by particular structural,
cultural, and economic factors that
differ from the urban experience
• High poverty rates
• Jobs scarce
• Services unavailable or inadequate
• Community (public) visibility
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Structural Factors
Lack of
transportation
 Few shelters
 Resources limited
 No place to go
 Housing distress
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Cultural Factors
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Strong cultural
norm of
traditional family
roles
Kinfolk might be
willing but unable
to help
Childhood
violence
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Economic Factors
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Decline in available
jobs
Only available work is
service sector and low
wage, few benefits
Lack of Healthcare and
Health Insurance
Dependence upon
social provisioning
Unprepared for job
market
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The Link Between Violence &
Welfare
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Welfare is a valuable resource for
women who are victims of family
violence
Past and current violence negatively
impacts readiness for the job market
and the ability to maintain employment
Rural location adds important
confounding influence
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Policy Issues
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Policy issues are many, broad, and
complex
Policies and programs must address
structural, community, family, and
individual needs
Examples:
• Training for true economic self-sufficiency, e.g.,
living wages
• Conflict resolution
• Provision of child care
• Integration into larger community
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Gender Relations, Housing
Distress, and Persistent Poverty
in Kentucky
Joanna M. Badagliacco, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology
Center for Poverty Research
Appalachian Center
University of Kentucky
jmb@uky.edu