The homeless in historical context

This article puts homelessness in South Africa in a historical context. It relates contemporary homelessness to changing political, economic, agrarian, domestic and gender matters, and suggests that homelessness is more a manifestation of problems in these areas than an issue in its own right. The article is based on interviews in rural, small town and urban environments in the provinces of Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng. These reveal the isolation and lack of social networks amongst the homeless people interviewed, and the extensive presence of homelessness not just in cities but also in small rural centres.