title: "Near and far": social distancing in domiciled characterisations of homeless people.
abstract: For domiciled individuals, homeless people provide a disturbing reminder that all is not right with the world. Reactions to seeing homeless people frequently encompass repulsion, discomfort, sympathy and sometimes futility. This paper considers domiciled constructions of homeless people drawn from interviews with 16 participants recruited in the central business district of a New Zealand city. It documents how, when trying to make sense of this complex social problem, domiciled people draw on shared characterizations of homeless people. The concept of "social distance" is used to interrogate the shifting and sometimes incongruous reactions evident in participant accounts. "Social distancing" is conceptualised as a dynamic communal practice existing in interactions between human beings and reflected in the ways that domiciled people talk about their experiences with homeless individuals.
authors.affiliation: University of Waikato, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Darrin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hodgetts
authors.forename: Ottilie
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Stolte
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radley
authors.forename: Chez
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leggatt-Cook
authors.forename: Shiloh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Groot
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chamberlain
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000193:education / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D009520:New Zealand / Q000208:ethnology; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000266:history; D012918:Social Alienation / Q000523:psychology; D012919:Social Behavior / Q000266:history; D012940:Social Problems / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D057545:Social Stigma; D014505:Urban Population / Q000266:history