The numbers of homeless adolescent mothers have been increasing over the past decade. Previous studies have focused on homeless individuals, but no studies examined late adolescent mothers' homelessness and pregnancy experiences while living in transitional housing. Using a phenomenological methodology, this study explored the lived experiences of 7 adolescent mothers, 18 to 24 years old, who were homeless, pregnant, and living in transitional housing. The social construction of reality theory provided the framework and interpretive lens for this study. Social networking and snowball sampling were used for participant recruitment. Through in-depth interviews, data coding and analyses were conducted to identify 6 major themes: (a) unknown risk and coping, (b) improved outcomes, (c) hopes, dreams, and goals, (d) rules, rules, and more rules, (e) strain, mental illness, and abuse, and (f) good and bad family relationships. Two primary public policy and social change themes were examined in depth: (a) improved outcomes and (b) hopes, dreams, and goals. These 2 key themes illustrated the importance of implementing sustainable social service public policy and the influence of transitional housing access on the lived experiences of adolescent mothers' homelessness and pregnancy. Southeastern Florida policymakers, in conjunction with public and private sector collaboration, can facilitate positive social change by creating and funding proactive and preventive initiatives to help reduce adolescent pregnancy, reduce homeless, and provide sustainable, skill-building transitional living centers.

As the world shifts and changes, so do its people, and every day, more refugees are forced out-of-place, out of their homelands, and into a foreign and unfamiliar context. Many of these refugees are women, single mothers, who along with their children, are set to face many challenges in the process of re-settling into a new cultural landscape. This project is a study on how the design of an interior can aid in the difficult process of transitioning between lands and cultures. Within it, I explore the making of place through the design of a transitional residence for women and children refugees, set within the dynamic urban landscape of West Broadway in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I proceed through this project through an exploration of four conceptual frameworks and examine the project and its users in relation to movement and migration, to boundaries, to the contact zone, and finally to weaving.

Domestic violence against women and children is a significant international issue. There are many obstacles survivors face, and the problem is more complex than is often perceived. This interior design practicum responds by focusing on the design of a transitional housing facility that creates a paradigm shift away from the institutional approach. The key interior spaces include areas that help individuals nourish and heal from their challenging experiences; the overall approach focused on establishing community networks amongst the residents. The overarching architectural language and designs were informed primarily by Japanese Zen, Theory of Supportive Design, Lifeboat theory, and Experiential Learning Theory. Additional literature investigation on Shinrin-yoku and Therapeutic Landscapes have helped to shape the final programme and design. Along with relevant precedent studies, a design has been proposed called Hana's Place, a transitional housing facility that is aimed at being a place survivors of domestic violence can call home.

As the world shifts and changes, so do its people, and every day, more refugees are forced out-of-place, out of their homelands, and into a foreign and unfamiliar context. Many of these refugees are women, single mothers, who along with their children, are set to face many challenges in the process of re-settling into a new cultural landscape. This project is a study on how the design of an interior can aid in the difficult process of transitioning between lands and cultures. Within it, I explore the making of place through the design of a transitional residence for women and children refugees, set within the dynamic urban landscape of West Broadway in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I proceed through this project through an exploration of four conceptual frameworks and examine the project and its users in relation to movement and migration, to boundaries, to the contact zone, and finally to weaving.

Domestic violence against women and children is a significant international issue. There are many obstacles survivors face, and the problem is more complex than is often perceived. This interior design practicum responds by focusing on the design of a transitional housing facility that creates a paradigm shift away from the institutional approach. The key interior spaces include areas that help individuals nourish and heal from their challenging experiences; the overall approach focused on establishing community networks amongst the residents. The overarching architectural language and designs were informed primarily by Japanese Zen, Theory of Supportive Design, Lifeboat theory, and Experiential Learning Theory. Additional literature investigation on Shinrin-yoku and Therapeutic Landscapes have helped to shape the final programme and design. Along with relevant precedent studies, a design has been proposed called Hana's Place, a transitional housing facility that is aimed at being a place survivors of domestic violence can call home.

Dans un contexte de vieillissement démographique, la question de l’habitat des personnes âgées est centrale. Cette thèse, réalisée dans le cadre d’une convention Industrielle de Formation par la Recherche (CIFRE), traite spécifiquement des logements-foyers pour les personnes de plus de 60 ans, nouvellement appelés « résidences autonomie » par la loi d’Adaptation de la Société au Vieillissement. Elle interroge le caractère intermédiaire de ces établissements au prisme des politiques publiques et des trajectoires individuelles par une approche en sociologie politique et en mobilisant la notion de parcours résidentiel comme outil heuristique. L’enjeu de cette recherche est de mettre en évidence la spécificité et la complexité d’une offre d’habitat en pleine mutation. Nous posons comme hypothèse principale que la situation intermédiaire des logements-foyers est plurielle et révèle les points de tension auxquels ce modèle d’habitat est confronté. Cette thèse présente, dans un premier temps, la construction et l’évolution des politiques relatives aux logements-foyers et y apporte un éclairage européen. Dans un deuxième temps, elle analyse le statut hybride de ces habitats entre établissement médico-social et logement social et s’attache à situer ces structures parmi l’ensemble de l’offre d’habitat intermédiaire en France. Dans un troisième temps, est étudié l’ancrage des logements-foyers dans les parcours résidentiels des personnes âgées. Cette recherche est abordée à travers une approche par regards croisés permettant de recueillir les discours des différents acteurs du secteur (personnes âgées, professionnels et institutionnels) et mobilise une méthode qualitative par entretiens, observations et analyse documentaire. Nous montrons ainsi que la situation intermédiaire des logements-foyers s’explique par une construction incrémentale des politiques publiques. L’intermédiarité de ces structures leur est spécifique et complexifie leur reconnaissance et leur fonctionnement quotidien. Leurs résidents se trouvent ainsi plus concernés par la notion de filière que de parcours résidentiel. / In a context of an aging population, the issue of housing the elderly has become crucial. This PhD thesis, developed in the framework of a CIFRE contract (Industrial Conventions of Training through Research), tackles the issue of sheltered housing for people above 60, referred to as “résidences autonomie” (“homes for an independent life”) in the new French law on aging. It analyzes the transitional nature of such housing from the public policy and the individual points of view, through a political sociology approach and mobilizing the notion of residential process as a heuristic tool. The purpose of this research is to highlight the specificity and complexity of a housing model currently undergoing important changes. Our main hypothesis is that the transitional nature of sheltered housing is diverse and reveals the stress points the model faces. First, we discuss the development and evolution of sheltered housing policies, and present a European overview. Second, the hybrid nature of such housing, halfway between social health-care institutions and social housing, is analyzed and put back into the whole transitional housing offer in France. Third, we focus on the place of sheltered housing in the residential path of senior citizens. We have used a crossover approach, collecting viewpoints from the sector’s various actors –elderly people, professional workers, and public representatives–, as well as a qualitative method including interviews, observations and literature review. By doing so, we highlight the fact the transitional nature of sheltered housing finds its roots in the incremental construction of public policies. The transitional nature of these establishments is specific to them, and complicates their acknowledgement and daily operation. As a result, residents are faced with a linear housing model rather than actual residential mobility.

Natural disasters are increasing in both number and severity, causing the number of people being displaced by disaster to rise as well. Hurricane Katrina provides a particularly poignant example of the human impact of disaster, and of inadequate disaster response, especially where housing is concerned. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans exposed a gap in the approach to housing survivors of natural disasters, especially at the interim housing level. The FEMA trailer - which was only intended to house survivors temporarily but, in many cases, became a long term housing solution, - provided shelter for survivors, but did not account for their psychological well-being. The loss of one’s home can be a traumatic experience, as people identify their sense of self with their home. Therefore, it is crucial to reinstate this sense of home, and in turn provide continuity to the sense of self, early on in the recovery process. Rebuilding after a natural disaster is a long process. Because of this, disaster housing needs to be able to evoke a sense of home and ownership so that inhabitants can connect with their environment and reinstate their daily routines. This helps them to rebuild their lives. The proposed project attempts to do this by allowing for flexibility and choice in both the design and daily use of the house. The house transitions from temporary to permanent housing, allowing for a dialogue between inhabitant and environment to begin early on in the recovery process, and to persist. The design is informed by theories on place making, elements of home, dwelling, as well as loss and the grieving process.

Natural disasters are increasing in both number and severity, causing the number of people being displaced by disaster to rise as well. Hurricane Katrina provides a particularly poignant example of the human impact of disaster, and of inadequate disaster response, especially where housing is concerned. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans exposed a gap in the approach to housing survivors of natural disasters, especially at the interim housing level. The FEMA trailer - which was only intended to house survivors temporarily but, in many cases, became a long term housing solution, - provided shelter for survivors, but did not account for their psychological well-being. The loss of one’s home can be a traumatic experience, as people identify their sense of self with their home. Therefore, it is crucial to reinstate this sense of home, and in turn provide continuity to the sense of self, early on in the recovery process. Rebuilding after a natural disaster is a long process. Because of this, disaster housing needs to be able to evoke a sense of home and ownership so that inhabitants can connect with their environment and reinstate their daily routines. This helps them to rebuild their lives. The proposed project attempts to do this by allowing for flexibility and choice in both the design and daily use of the house. The house transitions from temporary to permanent housing, allowing for a dialogue between inhabitant and environment to begin early on in the recovery process, and to persist. The design is informed by theories on place making, elements of home, dwelling, as well as loss and the grieving process.

No description available.