Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of this project has been defining the homeless. There are a multitude of labels out there - absolute homeless, hidden homeless, homeless-at-risk, homeless due to crisis ... the list is never ending. Adding to the confusion is the inability to find agreement on an exact definition of homelessness from either government or academic bodies. Even posing this question to my interview participants has led to a muddle of confusion with answers to the question "how would you define homelessness?" ranging from belief that only people sleeping out of doors are truly homeless to a story one participant told about her interactions with a homeless woman who told the participant she believed all of British Columbia to be her "home."
This homeless woman, with the belief British Columbia is her "home" is most intriguing to me in terms of the concepts of space and place. I'm currently thinking of this simply off the top of my head, but it seems to me the majority of North American's think of a home as being a specific space, confined by four walls and a roof. However, perhaps for those who choose homelessness (perhaps more appropriately defined as a Nomadic lifestyle) the idea and concept of space is much different.
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