"You Know What, I'm Going to Write a Book About It!" – Analysis of Life Histories of People in Vulnerable Housing Situations

Abstract

In the context of vulnerable housing situations (homelessness
and housing exclusion), the life course perspective, the
concept of housing careers and housing pathways emphasise
different life experiences, differential circumstances,
and the social contexts of arriving at such a position,
depending on age. Keeping this in perspective, the research
identified the dominant events and circumstances that
marked people's descent into one of the vulnerable housing
situations across: a) youth and early middle age, b) late
middle age, and c) old age. The study was conducted
between December 2021 and February 2022 in the city of
Novi Sad (Republic of Serbia). 35 respondents who are in
one of the vulnerable housing situations took part in the research. Convenience, purposive and snowball sampling were applied, and the data was collected through a semi-
-standardised, in-depth interview. The obtained results indicate the multiplicity and cumulativeness of adverse events
and characteristics in the life trajectories of persons in
vulnerable housing, as well as the specificity of unfavourable
circumstances depending on age. In conclusion, the research
confirmed the findings of previous literature in the domain of
the life history of vulnerable housing and indicated possible
directions for improving the understanding of this topic.