This research examined intersectoral relationships and community participation in policy processes across the mental health and housing sectors. The focus was on the development of suitable housing options for people with a psychiatric disability. The study period covered five years of mental health system reform in South Australia (2000-2005). The research found a shortage of housing and support options for people with psychiatric disability and lack of significant strategic policy coordination or ongoing cross-sectoral programmes. The problems faced by people in gaining access to housing and disability support services and the ways in which families provide housing or support in the absence of public services are documented. This case study used qualitative research methods which were triangulated across four stages: 1) a thematic analysis of national and state policies in the health, housing and disability sectors; 2) participant observation of NGO activity, a thematic analysis of NGO documents, and interviews and focus groups with NGOs; 3) interviews and focus groups with consumer and carer representatives and a thematic analysis of the minutes from state-level groups; 4) interviews with professionals from the health, housing and disability sectors The housing situation for people with psychiatric disability was explained in terms of a number of key issues in the policy environment; „X The overarching neo-liberal policy context synonymous with a decline in public housing resources and increasing tension between NGOs service provider and advocacy roles. „X The political nature of the local mental health policy context and lack of political commitment to ongoing resources. Broad community stigma reflected in the media and government, affecting ongoing political commitment to mental health and housing and the introduction and progress of housing ¡¥projects¡¦. „X The slow development of peak NGO and consumer organisations and alliances in South Australia which affected access to policy networks and contributed to the dominance of professional interests within policy processes. „X The separation of health, housing and disability policy and networks within and across levels of government. This was associated with bilateral agreements (between Australian and state governments) tied to resources within departments, the programme objectives and the goals of bureaucrats. „X The separation of policy networks by sector was also connected to the dominance of bio-medical discourses and interventions and associated professional interests in the health policy sector. Medical discourses on health and disability and ¡¥consumerist¡¦ discourses on participation also led to social determinants of health such as housing being overlooked within policy processes. „X Governance reform at a state level contributed to organisational instability within departments, causing some problems for cross-sectoral initiatives and protocols. Kingdon¡¦s (2003) multiple streams analysis of policy helped to explain what missed or reached political agendas within each policy sector of the case study. Kingdon predicts that the unity of policy networks is important for the realization of policy solutions, and the lack of unity in policy sectors was an obstacle to policy agendas on housing for people with a psychiatric disability. However, the way in which problems were being represented (Bacchi 1999) was also important to understanding this policy environment. For example, a medical discourse on disability (Fulcher 1989) tied to the health sector led to a narrow focus on clinical mental health services. Similarly, neo-liberal discourse (Dean 1999) supported private housing solutions and resources or NGOs advocating ¡¥within sectors¡¦ for the types of services they already provided or wished to provide. The case study suggested strategies for ¡¥policy change¡¦ need to address a number of factors across service delivery, policy and political realms. Firstly, better recognition is warranted of the difficulty experienced by many people with psychiatric disability in achieving stable housing, and the need for indicators on housing access and stability for this group. Secondly, processes to address stigma (particularly that perpetuated in the media) will be instrumental for policy change and political commitment. Thirdly, ongoing cross sectoral advocacy and alliances require development at both a national and state level and support by a political culture which encourages advocacy. Developing processes for working across sectors such as policy learning forums involving both experts and community groups could counter problems arising from professional culture and territories that were documented in this study. Finally, the cross-sectoral development of policy, programmes and accountability mechanisms and the stability of policy networks will be important to ensuring stable housing for people with psychiatric disability.

<p>The purpose of this essay is to investigate how people can return from a marginalized position and become a part of society. Also how a model for returning from a marginalized position should be formed. The intention is to make a contribution to those in society that are helping people to return from marginalized positions. The survey is based on 5 thematic qualitative interviews on individuals that have returned from homelessness, criminality, drug abuse and prostitution. The main results of the investigation are that those who took part in it started their role exit with a turning point. After that they decided that they had to change their life. They then started their road back to society by separating themselves from the negative things that their former role resulted in. Thereafter they started to adapt to a life in society. To interpret the empirical material I used “The role exit process” made by Helen Rose Fuchs Ebaugh (1988). Since I found that her model could not be used to fully understand stigmatized role changes like the ones that marginalized people go through, I changed the model. This investigation’s empirical material has been interpreted through that modified process of the role exit.</p>

The purpose of this essay is to investigate how people can return from a marginalized position and become a part of society. Also how a model for returning from a marginalized position should be formed. The intention is to make a contribution to those in society that are helping people to return from marginalized positions. The survey is based on 5 thematic qualitative interviews on individuals that have returned from homelessness, criminality, drug abuse and prostitution. The main results of the investigation are that those who took part in it started their role exit with a turning point. After that they decided that they had to change their life. They then started their road back to society by separating themselves from the negative things that their former role resulted in. Thereafter they started to adapt to a life in society. To interpret the empirical material I used “The role exit process” made by Helen Rose Fuchs Ebaugh (1988). Since I found that her model could not be used to fully understand stigmatized role changes like the ones that marginalized people go through, I changed the model. This investigation’s empirical material has been interpreted through that modified process of the role exit.

Homelessness and homeless people is something that is described and explained in different ways over time. Since the 1950s, two discourses about homelessness and its causes has been competing with each other. One discourse hold the meaning that homelessness is caused by housing shortage and the other focus on individual shortcomings that make homeless to unsuitable tenants. In the media, homelessness and homeless often is associated with crime, addiction and mental illness, this reinforce the public perception of homeless people as deviants, which separates the homeless from society even more.   The purpose of this study is to examine whether media representations of homeless and homelessness in an evening paper and a morning paper, has changed in the 2000s, and if these representations are consistent with those found in the reports of homelessness from The National Board of Wealth and Welfare. In order to achieve the purpose of the study and answer our research questions, the authors have used a discourse analytical approach using some key analytical tools from both critical discourse analysis and discourse theory in the analysis of the empirical material. The material consists of articles from two of the largest newspapers in Sweden, Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet, and the reports from The National Board of Wealth and Welfare.   The result of the study shows that in year 2000 the image of homeless as substance abusers and mentally ill middle-aged men who are roughsleepers is dominating in both Aftonbladet and Dagens Nyheter and in the report from The National Board of Wealth and Welfare. In year 2012 this representation of homeless remains but is no longer the dominant, when new homeless groups are presented in our material. Our results also indicates that homelessness discourse changed in the 2000s from a antisocial discourse to a discourse that focus on right. The study also shows that the discourse on homeless women has not changed in the 2000s.

This essay attempts to propose an art practice based on an ethical and aesthetic relation of author, subject, and viewer. This relationship is productive of results that are seen as critical to a precise, useful, and ethical representation of social problems. / text

The unsatisfactory achievement of adult competency among emerging adults aging out of foster care is well documented. However few studies have examined how development within the child welfare system impacts the ability to achieve competence. In this study, homeless emerging adults who had not aged out of foster care were compared to peers who were homeless and aged out of foster care. The child welfare system is a unique environment with its own policies. In order to better understand the process of development within the child welfare system, the current study used life course developmental theory to understand how the child welfare system affects the development of children and their ability to achieve competencies. Specifically, the role of learned helplessness in influencing the developmental trajectory of children aging out of foster care was examined. The data were collected utilizing participatory action research methods and the use of this methodology among homeless emerging adults is explored. The current study analyzes data collected by the Texas Network of Youth Services. The study examined issues surrounding the transition to adulthood among homeless emerging adults using a participatory action research methodology. The sample included emerging adults 18 to 25 years old who were homeless (n=134). A subset of the sample aged out of foster care. The results indicated that, 1) homeless emerging adults who have not aged out of foster care may be an appropriate comparison group for those who have aged out, 2) homeless emerging adults who aged out of foster care were more likely to have a perception of learned helplessness that may impede their ability to achieve adult competency when compared to those who did not age out of foster care, and 3) despite receiving services to prepare them for adulthood, homeless emerging adults who aged out of foster care had just as much difficulty achieving adult competency as their homeless peers who did not receive these services. Finally, results showed that the use of participatory action research among homeless emerging adults may be a promising approach for future research. Participants expressed feeling empowered and having perceptions that indicated self-efficacy. This indicated that this type of methodology may be promising in altering perceptions of learned helplessness. / text

Darbo tema: Nakvynės namuose gyvenančių vaikų adaptacijos ypatumai Vilniaus miesto mokyklose (vaikų, jų tėvų ir socialinių darbuotojų vertinimas). Darbo problema ir naujumas. Vaikų iš nakvynės namų adaptacija mokykloje yra aktuali problema, nes mokinys, sunkiai adaptuodamasis mokykloje, patiria nesėkmę, dažnai netenka noro mokytis, silpnėja jo mokymosi motyvacija – tai daro neigiamą įtaką jo tolimesniam gyvenimui. Neturėdami noro ar galimybių lankyti mokyklas ir įgyti išsilavinimą, benamiai vaikai neįgyja įgūdžių ir žinių, kurie ateityje padėtų jiems išsivaduoti iš skurdo. Norint keisti tokią situaciją, labai svarbu sukaupti kuo daugiau informacijos apie tokių vaikų gyvenimo problemas, sąlygas ir šeimos gyvenimo aplinkybes bei adaptacijos problemas. Lietuvoje benamių vaikų problemoms skirtų mokslinių darbų turime nedaug. Tai dažniausiai pavieniai straipsniai, kuriuose pateikiama empirinė tyrimų medžiaga, liečianti benamių vertybes, jų asmenybės ypatumus, gyvenimo sąlygas. Konkrečių tyrimų apie nakvynės namuose gyvenančius vaikus nėra. Taigi benamių vaikų adaptacijos problema mokykloje nėra plačiai išplėtota, o statistiniai duomenys nėra aiškūs, nes dažnai tokie vaikai tik paminimi trumpai. Šio darbo tikslas – išanalizuoti vaikų, gyvenančių nakvynės namuose, adaptacijos mokykloje problemas ir ypatumus. Ginamieji teiginiai: • Nakvynės namuose gyvenantiems vaikams mokykloje būdingi maišto ir atsiskyrimo socialinės adaptacijos tipai. • Nesėkmingą nakvynės namuose gyvenančių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Subject of study: The peculiarities of children living in housing/homeless shelter adaptation in Vilnius city schools (evaluation of children, their parents and social workers). Problem and novelty of the study: the adaptation in schools of children from homeless shelters is a relevant problem because while student is heavily adapting in school, he experiences failure, often looses intention to learn, the motivation to learn also weakens so it influences the rest of his life. Since children have no intention or possibilities to go to school and to get an education therefore homeless children do not gain skills and knowledge which could help them to escape from poverty in the future. In order to change this situation it is very important to collect as much information about children life problems, conditions, circumstances of their family life and also adaptation problems. There are jus few scientific studies in Lithuania about the problems of homeless children. It is often just articles which contains empirical studies information associated with the values of homeless people, their personal peculiarities and living conditions. There are no specific studies about children living in housing/homesless shelters. Thus the problem of homeless children adaptation in schools is not widely developed and statistical data is not clear because homeless children are just slightly mentioned. The purpose of this study is to analyze problems and peculiarities of adaptation in schools of... [to full text]

Magistro baigiamajame darbe išanalizuotos benamystės problemos, benamystės sąvokos ribų sudėtingumas ir skirtingas apibrėžtinumas ES šalyse. Taip pat išanalizuotos Lietuvos ir ES šalių vykdoma politika benamystės klausimu. Pirmoje darbo dalyje tiriama užsienio ir Lietuvos autorių mokslinė literatūra, kurios pagalba patikslinamos darbo užduotys, patvirtinamas temos pagrįstumas, tyrimo tikslo pakankamumas. Taip pat analizuojamos benamystės priežastys ir tapsmo benamiu procesas, atskleidžiama benamystės sąvokos problema bei benamių klasifikacija. Antroje dalyje ištiriamos ES socialinės politikos ištakos ir raida benamystės kontekste, taip pat analizuojamos ES vykdomos strategijos skurdui ir benamystei sumažinti. Išanalizuojami ir palyginami 2009 m. ir 2010 m. Eurostato pateiktų skurdo rizikos lygio rodikliai. Trečioje baigiamojo darbo dalyje analizuojama LT socialinė politika benamystės kontekste, jos ištakos ir raida, Lietuvoje vykdomos strategijos ir projektai benamystei mažinti. Taip pat pateikiami ir palyginami Lietuvos statistikos departamento skurdo rizikos rodiklių 2010 m. ir 2011 m. duomenys. Ketvirtoje darbo dalyje pristatomi empirinio tyrimo rezultatai: apibūdinamas Vilniaus miesto nakvynės namų ir Vilniaus Carito nakvynės namų darbo pobūdis, veiklos tikslai ir pagrindinės užduotys, įvertinama socialinių darbuotojų nuomonė, kuri atskleidžia skirtingą požiūrį ir skirtingą benamystės problemos vertinimą organizacijose. / The problem of homelessness, the complexity of the limits of homelessness concept and the difference in defining it in the EU countries are analysed in this Master’s thesis. The policy on homelessness carried out in Lithuania and EU countries is also dealt with in it. In the first part of the thesis, the literature of foreign and Lithuanian authors on the subject is explored It helps to make the tasks of the work more precise, to corroborate the validity of the theme, to state the sufficiency of the target explored. The causes of homelessness and the process of becoming a homeless are analysed as well, the problem of the concept of homelessness and the classification of the homeless are disclosed here too. The second part explores the sources of the EU policy and its development in the context of homelessness, and the EU strategies that are in progress to diminish poverty and homelessness are described. The indices of poverty risk level as reported by the EUROSTAT in 2009 and 2010 are analysed and compared. The third part of the thesis deals with the Lithuania’s social policy in the context of homelessness, its sources and development, the strategies and projects in progress in Lithuania to diminish homelessness. Also, the indices in years 2010 and 2011 on poverty risks are presented and compared according to the data of the Statistics Department of Lithuania. The fourth part presents the results of the empiric research: the character of work, the goals of the activities and... [to full text]

This thesis discusses the issues that are prioritized in policy documents, and the concerns which appear in newspaper stories, concerning housing issues in Calgary, Alberta. It holds that certain, ‘voices’ are accounted for and accommodated over other, more vulnerable, ‘voices’ in the policy arena. The ways in which these voices are constructed, and how particular agents, subjects, objects, and ‘truths’ are formed, all result from particular uses of language. The thesis maintains that those who have the most to gain from supportive housing policies are often excluded from the process of developing, or commenting on, policy altogether. It also suggests that their discursive construction as objects of policy, as moral examples, or as constituent elements of an “issue,” has implications both for actions undertaken in relation to them by governments and other agencies, and for their own ability to act effectively to articulate and to address their own concerns. / ix, 311 leaves ; 28 cm. --

The aim of this paper is to present the living conditions of homeless people and to explore the reasons which promote the social exclusion of homeless men and women.