Prior Evictions Among People Experiencing Homelessness in Delaware
Date
2022-08
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Delaware Journal of Public Health
Abstract
Eviction is frequently a precursor to homelessness. This is an exploratory study that looks at a
group of homeless adults who stayed in Delaware homeless shelters in 2019 and the extent by
which their homelessness is preceded by an eviction filing. Specifically, we match records of
homeless shelter use with records from a court-based database of eviction filings, both in
Delaware, to determine the frequency and correlates of prior eviction among adults staying in
Delaware shelter and/or transitional housing facilities in 2019. Results show that 21 percent of
the people in the study group had records of eviction filings in the 2-year period prior to initial
homeless services use. Recent history of eviction filings was much more prevalent among study
group members who were homeless with their children (i.e., with families), who were Black,
and/or who were female. These findings are consistent with prior research and demonstrate the
potential of interventions designed to mitigate eviction to also reduce homelessness, especially
among families with children.
Description
This article was originally published in Delaware Journal of Public Health. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.32481/djph.2022.08.009
Keywords
Citation
Metraux, Stephen, Olivia Mwangi, and James McGuire. “Prior Evictions Among People Experiencing Homelessness in Delaware.” Delaware Journal of Public Health 8, no. 3 (August 2022): 34–38. https://doi.org/10.32481/djph.2022.08.009.