Finding meaning in homelessness: the experience of loneliness on the street and within assistance institutions

This article explores the experience of loneliness among people who are homeless and whose lives are shaped by numerous institutions, whether assistance institutions (child welfare, homeless shelters, etc.) or penitentiary spaces (jails). Based on an extensive investigation drawing on biographical interviews with around fifty individuals conducted in the Hauts-de-France region, the collected life stories reveal a process of subjectivation through solitude. This allows meaning to be derived—in terms of both significance and life direction—from each successive experience.