MORE THAN REFUGE - THE SOCIAL WORLD OF A HOMELESS SHELTER

This article examines the social dynamics of life inside a public shel ter for homeless men in New York City. It shows how distinctive forms of association-in particular, a ganglike body of elite residents and m arriages between residents-are the product of the nature and exigencie s of life in the shelter and how the requirements of such a life may l imit possible trajectories out of the shelter. Shelters, it concludes, do a lot more than provide a bed for the night.