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Advocating against the grain: examining the importance of local contexts on advocacy behavior among homeless service organizations
Descriptive
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Title
Advocating against the grain: examining the importance of local contexts on advocacy behavior among homeless service organizations
Name
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Wood
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Zachary D.
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1979-
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Zachary Wood
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author
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Minnite
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Lorraine C.
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Lorraine C. Minnite
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Advisory Committee
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chair
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Chevrier
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Marie I.
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Marie I. Chevrier
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Advisory Committee
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internal member
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Adams
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Carolyn T.
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Carolyn T. Adams
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Advisory Committee
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outside member
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Rutgers University
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degree grantor
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Camden Graduate School
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school
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theses
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2019
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2019-05
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2019
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English
Abstract
Homelessness is a wicked problem, due at least in part to the disenfranchised nature of the population. This population lacks a voice in the democratic process, and subsequently has little leverage to change the perceptions and conditions they face. Many of our most wicked problems require advocacy that can link the voices and needs of the community to public policy efforts and the public sector at large. Human service nonprofits have direct relationships with the homeless as well as essential links to these local communities and the public sector, and may be an ideal vehicle as advocates while simultaneously addressing homelessness.
Advocacy is viewed as an integral part of the function of human service nonprofit organizations. Yet the advocacy road for these organizations is fraught with complexities, often leading to adulterated or nonexistent advocacy activities. Extant literature points to an especially challenging advocacy arena for homeless service organizations to engage in. There are a multitude of barriers: whether due to confusion over the legality of certain behavior, fears of political or funder backlash, or more simply a lack of financial or professional capacity. Given these barriers, it seems that we should see very little engagement in policy advocacy behavior by homeless service organizations, yet there are examples of organizations that break through these barriers to advocate on behalf of their clients in some extensive ways.
The research on nonprofit advocacy behavior, particularly in human service organizations, is imprecise and non-predictive. This dissertation looks to highlight and adjudicate the gaps in this budding literature, by examining homeless service organizations in-depth, through a case study of homeless service organizations in Philadelphia and Houston, to better ascertain how local context can explain whether, when and how these service provider organizations will break through the barriers to advocacy. The author also examines the types of advocacy activities homeless service organizations employ, and more importantly, how they make those decisions. The analysis allows for a more refined definition of “advocacy” in the field of human service nonprofits, and also aids in the development of a more nuanced typology of nonprofit advocacy behavior.
Advocacy is viewed as an integral part of the function of human service nonprofit organizations. Yet the advocacy road for these organizations is fraught with complexities, often leading to adulterated or nonexistent advocacy activities. Extant literature points to an especially challenging advocacy arena for homeless service organizations to engage in. There are a multitude of barriers: whether due to confusion over the legality of certain behavior, fears of political or funder backlash, or more simply a lack of financial or professional capacity. Given these barriers, it seems that we should see very little engagement in policy advocacy behavior by homeless service organizations, yet there are examples of organizations that break through these barriers to advocate on behalf of their clients in some extensive ways.
The research on nonprofit advocacy behavior, particularly in human service organizations, is imprecise and non-predictive. This dissertation looks to highlight and adjudicate the gaps in this budding literature, by examining homeless service organizations in-depth, through a case study of homeless service organizations in Philadelphia and Houston, to better ascertain how local context can explain whether, when and how these service provider organizations will break through the barriers to advocacy. The author also examines the types of advocacy activities homeless service organizations employ, and more importantly, how they make those decisions. The analysis allows for a more refined definition of “advocacy” in the field of human service nonprofits, and also aids in the development of a more nuanced typology of nonprofit advocacy behavior.
Subject
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Topic
Nonprofit
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Topic
Public Affairs
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Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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1 online resource (v, 167 pages)
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Ph.D.
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Includes bibliographical references
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Includes vita
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Social advocacy
Subject
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Homelessness -- Texas -- Houston
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Homelessness -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
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Camden Graduate School Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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doi:10.7282/t3-2vmf-a321
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ETD doctoral
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Rights
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
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Name
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Wood
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Zachary
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D.
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2019-05-16 13:25:05
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Zachary D. Wood
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Rutgers University. Camden Graduate School
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Author Agreement License
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I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
Copyright
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Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
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