{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]],"date-time":"2026-10-16T17:27:16Z","timestamp":1792171636387,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,8,18]],"date-time":"2020-08-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1597708800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000026","name":"National Institute on Drug Abuse","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["5K01DA036439-06"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["5K01DA036439-06"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000026","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Social and Economic Vulnerabilities Initiative","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Homelessness among women and the multiple vulnerabilities they endure (sexual exploitation\/human trafficking, violence, and mental health issues) is a perpetually unresolved issue in the U.S. and globally. Methods: This study is based on qualitative in-depth interviews accompanied by brief socio-demographic surveys conducted among 32 total participants, consisting of cisgender females (n = 17) and cisgender males (n = 15) experiencing homelessness at a large public library. Results: Of the women, 35% were White, 35% Latina, 18% African American\/Black, and 18% LGBT. Half of all participants said in qualitative interviews that they witnessed violence against women, and\/or experienced unwanted harassment\/sexual exploitation; one in three described suspected human trafficking. Of the women interviewed, half struggled with mental health symptoms, feelings of hopelessness, and nearly all reported isolation; approximately one-third had substance use issues. Many described an inadequate number of emergency and long-term shelters Available for women facing homelessness; many had to wait or saw other women waiting to get into shelters and faced abuse on the streets in the meantime. Conclusion: The emergent themes showed that women face a \u201ccycle of perpetual vulnerability\u201d with three relational pathways: iterated trauma from chronic abuse\/violence inflicted on them, a state of paralysis due to inadequate availability of supportive services, shelters, and mental health resources to cover all women living on the streets, leaving women susceptible to being a target phenotype for predators.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17165985","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,8,18]],"date-time":"2020-08-18T11:15:27Z","timestamp":1597749327000},"page":"5985","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":24,"title":["Cycle of Perpetual Vulnerability for Women Facing Homelessness near an Urban Library in a Major U.S. Metropolitan Area"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8520-818X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Janny S.","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Social Work, San Diego State University (SDSU), San Diego, CA 92182, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lianne A.","family":"Urada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Social Work, San Diego State University (SDSU), San Diego, CA 92182, USA"},{"name":"Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,8,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Henry, M., Mahathey, A., Morrill, T., Robinson, A., Shivji, A., Watt, R., and Abt Associates (2020, March 01). 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