While researchers have identified the Housing First model of putting homeless persons into permanent housing as the best means of improving the quality of life for chronically homeless individuals, few studies have examined the perceptions of shelter staff workers on the barriers the homeless face in obtaining and maintaining long-term housing. This case study of 2 homeless shelters in New Jersey examined the relationship that fair and just democratic processes play in supporting or undermining Housing First. Data came from New Jersey's annual Point in Time counts of the number of homeless individuals and families and the causes and service needs of the homeless. Government reports were also analyzed, as well as from semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews with a purposive sample of 14 homeless shelter staff workers. The polarities of democracy model as described by Benet helped identify whether democracy was being served rightly and justly within these homeless communities. Information was analyzed by inductive coding and by identifying themes and patterns that emerged from the interviews. The primary finding of this study was that lack of available housing, lack of resources to gain access to housing, and lack of knowledge of resources that are available for housing acquisition and maintenance plays a role in causing individuals to become and remain chronically homeless. Social change implications include policy recommendations to local, state, and federal legislators to increase accountability in the allocation of funding for housing support and the development of a volunteer case management force to meet the service needs of the chronically homeless.

Research on how homeless individuals perceive shelters, housing programs, and their agents has been limited, especially in relation to the reasons for engaging in or avoiding programs. This phenomenological study explored the perspectives of chronically homeless individuals in Wake County, North Carolina, regarding shelters and housing programs, examining their reasons for using or not using shelters or public housing. Using Glidden's structuration theory as the framework, the research questions for this study were based on exploring the perceptions of homeless individuals use of public resources related to housing and shelters to better understand why some use, and perhaps more importantly, why some choose to not use these resources. Purposeful sampling was used to identify 12 chronically homeless men and women and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data were both deductively and inductively coded and analyzed using a thematic analysis procedure. This study found that the persistence of homelessness is a result of a combination of homeless individuals' perceptions of housing programs' structural failures including long waiting periods for access to housing, unnecessary bureaucratic entanglements, and what they perceived as inaction or apathy on the part of program staff in response to requests for assistance. These findings are consistent with structuration theory. The implications for positive social change include recommendations to policy makers to consider the views and perceptions of homeless people in designing programs, including ways to improve access to public resources that may ultimately lead to permanent housing for homeless individuals.

Understanding underlying mechanisms and pathways that lead to chronic homelessness would help develop intervention strategies that could help prevent subsequent episodes of homelessness. Quantitative data for this cross-sectional study was gathered by interviewing individuals who were homeless in the State of Arkansas, using a structured survey between 2007 and 2011. Qualitative data was gathered using semi-structured interviews between 2016 and 2018. Chi-square statistics and a multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the quantitative data, while phenomenological methods were used to analyze the qualitative data. Nearly half of the study participants identified themselves as being chronically homeless. Chronically homeless adults in this region were significantly more likely to be older men with no family ties, more likely to be victims of domestic violence, have higher rates of physical health problems, and have alcohol and substance abuse problems. Results from the multivariate nominal regression revealed that individuals who reported themselves as chronically homeless were more likely to be in the 50 years or older age group. In addition, study findings highlighted a dynamic interplay between three biopsychosocial risk factors for homelessness. Fostering development of inclusive sustainable communities, intergenerational relationships, and shared housing practices could help ease such social inequities and prevent problems such as chronic homelessness in older homeless adults.

Hemlösa personer med samsjuklighet sägs vara en av de mest utsatta målgrupperna inom socialt arbete. Då återfall är ett symtom av skadligt bruk och beroende har målgruppen haft betydande svårigheter att leva upp till nykterhetskraven som ställs inom traditionella insatser. Således har insatsen Bostad först tagits fram med en skademinskningspolicy som prioriterar minimering av de risker som är vanliga för målgruppen över nykterhetskrav. Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka praktiska erfarenheter av det skademinimerande arbetet i bostad först Data samlades in genom en kvalitativ fokusgruppsintervju med fyra socialarbetare som är anställda som Case managers inom ett svenskt Bostad först-projekt. En tematisk dataanalys gjordes med socialkonstruktionism och nyinstitutionell teori som teoretiskt ramverk. Resultaten visade på ett holistiskt synsätt på skadereducering men också att synen på skadereducering varierar starkt beroende på sammanhanget. Det framkom också att de motstridiga principerna om nolltolerans och skademinskning påverkar det professionella samarbetet på flera sätt. / Homeless persons with comorbidity are among the most vulnerable populations within social work. The relapsing nature of substance abuse has been a significant barrier to the traditional treatment/housing programs that build upon abstinence-based policies. Therefore, there has been a shift toward Housing First, a harm reduction policy that prioritizes the minimization of harms over abstinence. This study aims to explore practical experiences with the harm reduction approach within Housing First.Data was collected through a qualitative focus group interview with four employeeswithin a Housing First project in Sweden. The data was analyzed by a thematic analysis with social constructivism and new institutionalism as theoretical frameworks.The results showed a holistic approach to harm reduction but also that the view on harm reduction varies depending on the social context. It was also revealed that the conflicting principles of zero tolerance and harm reduction have affected professionalcollaboration in various ways

En pleine extension, la population sans domicile fixe (SDF) est devenue une problématique sociétale majeure qui confronte le dispositif de veille sociale à son impuissance. L'objectif de cette recherche est de comprendre comment une frange de la population SDF parvient à entrer dans une dynamique d'insertion quand une autre se chronicise dans sa situation. Pour ce faire, trois groupes sont comparés: un groupe de 24 SDF fréquentant l'hébergement d'urgence, un groupe de 25 SDF inscrits dans une structure d'insertion et un groupe de 25 SDF, "chronicisés", accueillis dans une structure de stabilisation. Un entretien semi-directif est mené auprès de chaque participant, et sont administrées l'échelle d'anxiété et de dépression (Zigmond et Snaith, 1983) et l'échelle d'estime de soi de Rosenberg (1965). une adaptation a été nécessaire pour l'échelle de lieu de contrôle (IPAH-Jutras, 1987) et pour le Questionnaire de Soutien Social Perçu (Bruchon-Schweitzer et Quintard, 2001), également administrés. de nombreuses variables différencient significativement les groupes SDF. Ces résultats permettent d'établir des liens entre le type de prise en charge d'une part, la souffrance psychique, la qualité du lien social et la perturbation identitaire d'autre part. Totalement déstructurante pour les SDF, la situation d'hébergement d'urgence est source d'une intense souffrance psychique. Ayant préservé ce qui fonde leur identité, certains SDF parviennent à s'appuyer sur le lien social pour s'inscrire dans une dynamique d'insertion. A l'inverse, d'autres mettent en place des défenses psychiques et des stratégies de survie qui ont l'effet paradoxal de favoriser leur chronicisation tout en diminuant drastiquement leur souffrance. C'est en considérant la santé mentale des SDF et leurs stratégies d'adaptation que nous pourrons améliorer le dispositif afin que la prise en charge soit adaptée à cette population. / The growing population of homeless has become a major social issue which forces the Social Watch to face its own inefficiency. The purpose of this study is to understand how a part of the homeless manages to achieve a process of social reintegration while another stays in a chronic state of homelessness. To do so, three groups have been compared: a group of 24 homeless people using the emergency center, a group of 25 homeless registered in a social reintegration center and a group of 25 homeless, in a "chronic state of homelessness", sheltered in a center of stabilization. A semi-structured interview is carried out with each participant. their are assessed on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Zigmond and Snaith, 1983) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1965). An adaptation is necessary for the Locus of Control Scale (IPAH - Jutras, 1987) and for the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (Bruchon-Schweitzer et Quintard, 2001), which are also used. Numerous variables clearly dissociate these groups of homeless people. The results show the link between the type of social care, mental suffering, the strength of the social link and the disruption of one'x identuty. Deeply destructive for homeless people, the emergency center's environment is a source of intense psychological sufferinf. Having preserved what shapes their identity, some homeless manage to rely on this social link to start a pocess of integration. On the contrary, others build psychological fences and strategies to survive that paradoxically reinforce their chronic homelessness while drastically reducing their sufferings. By taking homeless people's mental health into account and their strategies to adapt, we will be abl to improve our plan of action so that this population can be taken care of properly.

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