THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE - HOMELESS PROTESTERS IN THE AFTERMATH OF SOCIAL-MOVEMENT PARTICIPATION

Research on homelessness and recent social movement literature have focused little attention on protest movements among the homeless and very poor. Indeed, most writing in this area concludes that this population is disempowered and disenfranchised. In this article, the impact of a "tent city" protest on homeless participants is analyzed through an ethnographic study based on interviews and participant observation with street people three years later. The authors suggest that local social movements can have a significant impact on low income people's access to material and non-material resources. Differences and similarities between poor people's movements and middle-class movements are also examined.