Liminal Living at an Extended Stay Hotel: Feeling "Stuck" in a Housing Solution

Authors

Terri Lewinson, Georgia State UniversityFollow
June Gary Hopps, University of GeorgiaFollow
Patricia Reeves, University of GeorgiaFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2010

Abstract

As a result of unaffordable housing, many of America's working poor are forced to seek shelter in hotels to avoid homelessness. The concept of liminality has been used in discussions of place to describe the subjective experience of feeling in-between two states of being. Research is scant on the liminal experiences of low-income hotel residents, who are culturally invisible in society. This paper draws from data qualitatively collected via semi-structured interviews from ten low-income residents living in an extended-stay hotel. Descriptions of these residential experiences are presented along with recommendations for social workers practicing with families in this liminal situation.

Comments

Originally published in the Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare.

(c) Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare.

Recommended Citation

Wingate-Lewinson, Terri; Hopps, June Gary; and Reeves, Patricia (2010) "Liminal Living at an Extended Stay Hotel: Feeling "Stuck" in a Housing Solution,"The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 37: Iss. 2, Article 2. Available at: http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol37/iss2/2