The aim of this study is to examine the experienced needs of elderly (65 years or older) homeless individuals who, currently, lives in supported housing facilities. The study is based on five qualitative unstructured interviews with five elderly homeless men living in two separate supported housing facilities. The theoretical framework is Maslows hierarchy of needs. The results of the study show that the elderly homeless in this study experience three types of needs, of which two are perceived as more important. The third type of needs (which falls under what Maslow describe as ” safety needs” and concerns the physical health), for which they experience that they get necessary help, constitutes more of an obstacle to meet their other needs. These two main needs are needs of belongingness and love (specifically needs to establish and/or maintain relationships to others such as family or friends) and, partly, needs of self-actualization (specifically needs to engage in activities which they are” suited” for and which interests them). One main problem to meet their needs, apart from their physical health problems, is associated with their current housing situation which limits their possibilities to meet these need as a result of e.g. existing rules and restrictions.

Sverige nådde år 2015 en ny toppnotering vad gäller antal asylsökande. Detta förde med sig stora utmaningar för delar av socialtjänsten i relation till placering av ensamkommande barn och en snabbt stigande kostnadsutveckling för platser på asylboenden. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka konsekvenserna av vad som sker när boendeformen för de asylsökande förändras. Undersökningen tar sin utgångspunkt i hur behandlingsassistenterna på ett kommunalt stödboende ser på sitt arbetet med ensamkommande ungdomar och hur de upplever sina möjligheter att hjälpa dem integreras i det svenska samhället. Studiens empiriska material består av sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med behandlingsassistenter som är verksamma på ett stödboende i Stockholm. Analyserna tar sin begreppsliga utgångspunkt i Michael Lipskys (1980/2010) teori om gräsrotsbyråkrater samt Ludvig Beckmans (2011) integrationsteori. Resultatet visar att behandlingsassistenterna tenderar att fokusera på allmän kunskap kring samhällsinstitutioner, språk och relationer som viktiga faktorer man försökte forma sitt arbete kring. Samtidigt upplever behandlingsassistenterna en konflikt mellan vad man kunde göra och vad man upplever att de ensamkommande ungdomarna behöver. Studien visar bland annat på utmaningar i inkluderandet av boendepersonal och kommuner i beslutandet kring olika policyn givet det extraordinära sammanhang landet befinner sig i. / At the end of the year 2015, Sweden peaked in regards to asylum-seeking refugees. Concequently, parts of the social service would face numerous challenges in regards to the placement of unaccompanied minors in out-of home care and in rising costs for asylum accommodation for unaccompanied minors. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the consequences of what happens when the asylum housing for unaccompanied minors changes. This thesis takes its starting point in how treatment assistants at a municipal support housing view integration in regards to their work with unaccompanied minors. The empirical basis for this study consists of six semi-structured interviews with treatment assistants at a municipal support housing in Stockholm. The analysis takes its conceptual basis in Michael Lipsky's (1980/2010) theory of street-level bureaucrats and Ludvig Beckman's (2011) integration- theory. The results showed that treatment assistants tend to focus on general knowledge about societal institutions, language and relationships as important factors that they attempted to shape their work around. At the same time, the treatment assistants experience a conflict between what they can do and what they perceived that the unaccompanied minor needs. The study shows i.a. the challenges in including housing staff and municipalities on the forming and decision-making off public policies in extraordinary situations.