Public knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about homeless people: Evidence for compassion fatigue?

@article{Link1995PublicKA,
  title={Public knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about homeless people: Evidence for compassion fatigue?},
  author={Bruce G. Link and Sonia Schwartz and R E Moore and Jo C. Phelan and Elmer L. Struening and Ann Stueve and Mary Ellen Colten},
  journal={American Journal of Community Psychology},
  year={1995},
  volume={23},
  pages={533-555}
}
Media reports suggest that the public is becoming impatient with the homeless—that so-called “compassion fatigue” has gripped the nation. This characterization of public sentiment could have important policy consequences—restrictive measures can be justified by growing public impatience, and progressive housing policies seem infeasible within a hostile climate of opinion. But evidence to support the compassion fatigue notion is anecdotal. We examine the issue by tracking the results of public… 
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107 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
16
Background Citations
49
Methods Citations
6
Results Citations
4

107 Citations

Changes in Public Attitudes and Perceptions about Homelessness Between 1990 and 2016
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Although it is clear that there is strong support for increased government action and more effective solutions for Europe’s growing homelessness crisis, there also remain public opinion barriers rooted in enduring negative perceptions.
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The apparent immediacy and the evocative power of video presentations cannot substitute for direct contact for the purpose of promoting positive attitude change and education programs trying to destigmatize mental illness and homelessness should proceed with caution.
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The New Homelessness Revisited.
TLDR
Contributions by sociologists and other social scientists since the mid-1990s differentiate among types of homelessness, provide credible demographic estimates, and show how being homeless affects a person's life chances and coping strategies.
Homelessness in the United States: Assessing Changes in Prevalence and Public Opinion, 1993–2001
TLDR
Responses in 2001 had less stereotyped views of homeless people and were more supportive of services, but came to see homelessness as a less serious problem that was less often due to economic factors, a “mixed” set of findings.
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References

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TLDR
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