AbstractsSociology

The homeless man has always been a visible portion of America's urban life, and a most intriguing portion. My own interest in the homeless began through historical research done on the rise of the American city and the place of the hobo in American life. Through urban sociology I developed additional concerns about the place of the skid row community in the life of the central business districts of cities. The place of the homeless man raises questions of bothdeviancy and social control. The attempts of society torehabilitate the homeless and the special interaction ofsociety at large with tho more limited community of the skidrow man through the rehabilitation agency serve as the focusof this paper. This thesis attempts to describe the interaction betweenthe men of Harbor Light and the management of that organization, both in terms of the ecological setting of the city and the internal situation of the particular agency.