Digital communications among homeless people: Anomaly or necessity?

This study investigates how homeless people in downtown Atlanta access and use cell phones, internet, and email. The findings include the following: (1) over 60% of homeless people in this study owned a cell phone, used the internet, or had email access; (2) number of times homelessness was related to cell phone ownership and frequency of use; (3) age group was related to computer knowledge, internet frequency, and having an email account; and (4) age group and homeless locations were related to some uses of cell phone, whereas age group, homeless locations, and length of time homeless were related to some uses of email. The findings suggest that providing the homeless with better access to cell phones may enable social service agencies to maintain closer ties to the homeless and improve outreach services.

Publication Date: 
2017
Pages: 
145-159
Volume: 
39
Issue: 
2
Journal Name: 
Journal of Urban Affairs
Location: 
Atlanta, Georgia, USA