The Crisis of Stigma: Young Adults’ Negotiation of Racism and Homelessness In Trenton’s Health Care System

Abstract

In Trenton, New Jersey, hundreds of young adults of color experience homelessness each year with significant negative effects on their health. Through semi-structured interviews with nine homeless young adults of color and ten professionals (“key informants”), I examine how racism and homelessness are perceived to shape young adults’ interactions with the city’s health care system. While key informants emphasize the influence of institutional and interpersonal racism, the young adults instead name homelessness as the primary factor that shapes their access to and quality of care. I show that young adults experience homelessness as not just a material condition but also as a stigmatized identity and must negotiate what I call institutional and interpersonal marginalization within the health care system. Finally, I propose explanations for the young adults’ perception that institutional and interpersonal marginalization rather than racism shape their interactions with Trenton’s health care system, and provide policy recommendations.