Mothering During Homelessness: Temporary Accommodation as Heterotopia

There is an extensive literature on the detrimental impacts on families of living in temporary accommodation. There has been less focus on the experience of mothers within these spaces, and the consequences for maternal identities. This paper argues that Foucault’s concept of heterotopia – in particular the idea that spaces can be contested and contradictory – is useful for theorizing empirical realities revealed by two studies with mothers experiencing homelessness. In these accounts, we see how spaces designed for women to live safely and securely as a family, in fact disrupt maternal identity. In this sense, the “family home” of the hostel or refuge is an illusion, materially and physically intact, but experientially in contrast. Turning a critical eye onto these experiences advances a new reading of heterotopia that incorporates the affective impact of heterotopic spaces and also reveals points of intervention for creating temporary accommodation that recognizes women as mothers.