An encounter with homeless mothers and children: gaining an awareness

This article describes the experience of two nurses who established and conducted concurrent support groups for homeless mothers and their preschool children. The group sessions were 75 minutes in length and occurred once a week for 10 weeks. Both mothers and children were depressed and felt hopeless. Mothers manifested signs of grief and made statements indicative of severely eroded self-concepts. This resulted in a diminished ability to provide for the basic needs of their children. Most of the children demonstrated social, motor, and language skills far below the levels appropriate for their ages. Poor health was a consistent finding, especially among the children. An incentive program used to promote attendance in parent's group is described. Other successful and unsuccessful interventions are reviewed and specific recommendations for successful intervention with homeless families are provided.