A content analysis of Youtube comments framing homeless criminalization

This poster was presented at the Humanities and Social Sciences Student Virtual Poster Conference (April 9, 2021) with support from the HiPE Committee (Douglas College). Homelessness is a growing problem and criminalization is a current method in dealing with it. Alternative measures, such as housing first, are not common. The literature on this topic has little focus on the perspective of community members and how they understand the issue of homeless criminalization. This research project attempts to fill part of this gap by performing a content analysis on how the Youtube community frames the issue of homeless criminalization. Three themes were divulged from the data: political (polarized tension between political ideologies), economic (how money should be allocated), and social (concepts of social class, society, and religion). These themes connect through the concept of blameworthiness. The Youtube commenters did not seem to agree with the concept of criminalizing homelessness.