"I Don't Want to Pass Away Like This": A Qualitative Study of the Goals and Needs of People Experiencing Homelessness in Tucson Arizona.

Researchers at SIROW (Shuman, Bentele, & Sargus), in collaboration with our colleague at Arizona State University (Law) have a new publication in Community Health Equity Research & Policy entitled “I Don’t Want to Pass Away Like This”: A Qualitative Study of the Goals and Needs of People Experiencing Homelessness in Tucson, Arizona. The paper, based on a 2023 Needs Assessment of Adults Experiencing Homelessness, summarizes the self-identified goals and needs of people experiencing homelessness. According to their responses, needs assessment participants experiencing homelessness overwhelmingly articulated the desire to be housed, employed, reconnect with family, and generally have stability in their lives. These findings provide a direct contradiction to the narrative that people who are homeless choose homelessness or do not want to work to change their circumstances.