The aim of this study was to do group work with 10 girls staying in a shelter in order to contribute to their adjustment. Lewin's field theory and the General Systems Theory were utilized to ground the group work. The epistemological framework of the study was exploratory and involved an in depth analysis of the group experiences of the participants. Unstructured interviews were also conducted with the participants. Hermeneutics as a method of analysis was applied to analyse data. The following themes captured the experiences of the girls: trust versus mistrust, connection and disconnection, alienation and isolation, emotionally overwhelmed versus security, being labeled/stigmatized, security versus insecurity, and hope versus hopelessness. This study provides a better understanding of the life worlds of girls staying in a shelter. It could also contribute to a greater awareness of the experiences of abused girls who stay in a shelter. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The study focuses on social work as work with values. In the theoretical part defines the concept of value. Values are later described in social work, families and shelters for mothers with children. As part of the research the values of shelters for mothers and children and the value of users of these facilities are then compared to each other, to what extent are the same or different. The research was conducted in three shelters for mothers with children through interviews. By document analysis the values of shelters on the quality standards of social services were measured. The questions used in the interviews are divided into several areas: family relationships, the relationship of mother and education and work in childhood and adulthood, the relationship of a mother to her children, their education and future occupation, partner relationships and additional questions. These areas should point out what is important to mothers and children. Using this information is possible to compare the values and social workers in shelters that social workers can be incorporated into the concept of the social services.

This work aimed to comprehend how social mothers give meaning to their daily life in an Institutional Shelter and to analyze their inter-relations with the making up of Professional identity. We were guided by a Historical-material dialect of man and world and the expression of this in Psychology which considers the making up of a person as a human being as a material and historical character and is made up in and from the established relations between I and the other throughout ontogenesis. We also assume that the process of building professional identity of the Social Mothers surges from a network of personal and social articulated interactions which make multiple meanings possible in a dialectic process. We then performed a qualitive research in which we interviewed two professionals (Social Mothers), responsible for the direct care of children in temporary and exceptional shelter. Interviews were taped individually and completely transcribed. From there, we defined, through an adaption of idea association maps proposed by Spink e Lima (2000), four general categories: 1) family history; 2) work at the shelter; 3) the social mothers and the children; 4) the social mothers and other actors of the guarantee of rights system. The basic fundamental that oriented our analysis was the interpretive character of knowledge, highlighted by Gonzáles-Rey (2002), which consists in a process of giving meaning to the expressions of the participants in a way of integrating them so as they can make sense to the group of researchers. Our interviews produced a context of review and emergence of meanings upon the activity Social Mother made from phylogenetic development as well as ontogentic development. Family histories were highlighted especially those that were connected to meanings of child, family and Institutional Shelter. The question about what it is to be a Social Mother led to talk of the professionals to a movement of fusion (action repetition) and differentiation (creation) in the construction of meanings on social mothering played by them. We emphasize however that professional identity is not a data or a fragmented product, an isolated character lived by the person in his/her life, but a whole in composition involving multiple social roles inserted in historical and cultural context. / Este trabalho teve como objetivo de compreender como as mães sociais significam o cotidiano no Acolhimento Institucional e analisar suas interrelações com a constituição da sua identidade profissional. Pautamo-nos numa concepção materialista histórico dialética de homem e mundo e na expressão desta na Psicologia, que considera a constituição da pessoa enquanto ser humano como um caráter material e histórico e se dá pelas e nas relações estabelecidas entre o eu e o outro ao longo de sua ontogênese. Também partimos do pressuposto de que o processo de constituição da identidade profissional das Mães Sociais emerge a partir de uma rede de interações pessoais e sociais articuladas, que possibilitam a construção de significados múltiplos em um processo dialético. Frente a isto realizamos uma pesquisa qualitativa, na qual entrevistamos duas profissionais (Mães Sociais) responsáveis pelos cuidados diretos de crianças em situação provisória e excepcional de abrigamento. As entrevistas foram gravadas individualmente e transcritas na íntegra. A partir daí delimitamos, por meio de uma adaptação do mapa de associação de idéias proposto por Spink e Lima (2000), quatro categorias gerais: 1) história familiar; 2) o trabalho no abrigo; 3) as mães sociais e as crianças; 4) as mães sociais e os outros atores do sistema de garantia de direitos. O princípio básico que orientou nossas análises foi o caráter interpretativo do conhecimento, realçado por Gonzáles-Rey (2002), que consiste num processo de dar sentido às expressões dos participantes, de forma a integrá-las de tal maneira, que passem a fazer sentido para o conjunto de pesquisadores. Nossas entrevistas produziram um contexto de revisão e emergência de significados sobre a atividade Mãe Social, constituídos a partir, tanto do desenvolvimento filogenético, quanto das relações estabelecidas ao longo de seu desenvolvimento ontogenético. Sobretudo, realçaram suas histórias familiares, que se conectam aos significados de criança, família e abrigo. Perguntarmos sobre o que é ser Mãe Social conduziu os discursos das profissionais a um movimento de fusão (repetição de ações) e diferenciação (criação) na constituição de significados sobre a maternagem social protagonizados pelas Mães Sociais. Enfatizamos, portanto, que a identidade profissional não é um dado ou um produto fragmentado, um personagem isolado dos demais vividos pela pessoa em sua vida, mas sim um todo em constituição, envolvida por múltiplas determinações e múltiplos papéis sociais, inseridas em um contexto histórico e cultural. / Mestre em Psicologia Aplicada

Disasters are complex events characterized by damage to key infrastructure and population displacements into disaster shelters. Assessing the living environment in shelters during disasters is a crucial health security concern. Until now, jurisdictional knowledge and preparedness on those assessment methods, or deficiencies found in shelters is limited. A cross-sectional survey (STUSA survey) ascertained knowledge and preparedness for those assessments in all 50 states, DC, and 5 US territories. Descriptive analysis of overall knowledge and preparedness was performed. Fisher’s exact statistics analyzed differences between two groups: jurisdiction type and population size. Two logistic regression models analyzed earthquakes and hurricane risks as predictors of knowledge and preparedness. A convenience sample of state shelter assessments records (n=116) was analyzed to describe environmental health deficiencies found during selected events. Overall, 55 (98%) of jurisdictions responded (states and territories) and appeared to be knowledgeable of these assessments (states 92%, territories 100%, p = 1.000), and engaged in disaster planning with shelter partners (states 96%, territories 83%, p = 0.564). Few had shelter assessment procedures (states 53%, territories 50%, p = 1.000); or training in disaster shelter assessments (states 41%, 60% territories, p = 0.638). Knowledge or preparedness was not predicted by disaster risks, population size, and jurisdiction type in neither model. Knowledge: hurricane (Adjusted OR 0.69, 95% C.I. 0.06-7.88); earthquake (OR 0.82, 95% C.I. 0.17-4.06); and both risks (OR 1.44, 95% C.I. 0.24-8.63); preparedness model: hurricane (OR 1.91, 95% C.I. 0.06-20.69); earthquake (OR 0.47, 95% C.I. 0.7-3.17); and both risks (OR 0.50, 95% C.I. 0.06-3.94). Environmental health deficiencies documented in shelter assessments occurred mostly in: sanitation (30%); facility (17%); food (15%); and sleeping areas (12%); and during ice storms and tornadoes. More research is needed in the area of environmental health assessments of disaster shelters, particularly, in those areas that may provide better insight into the living environment of all shelter occupants and potential effects in disaster morbidity and mortality. Also, to evaluate the effectiveness and usefulness of these assessments methods and the data available on environmental health deficiencies in risk management to protect those at greater risk in shelter facilities during disasters.

No description available.

The aim of the study was to examine how staff and managers at private shelters define quality in the work with victims of violence. Furthermore, the study aimed to examine what quality means in terms of knowledge and competence and what conditions the business provides its staff to achieve these requirements. The results show that quality is often governed by laws and quality indicators, with a focus on standardized methods. This can reduce flexibility and increase bureaucracy, which in turn negatively affects the quality of work with the client. The study confirms that a strict organizational view of quality ignores immeasurable aspects such as self-reflection and self-awareness, which the informants emphasize as important factors for quality in work with clients. The work criticizes the current structure and proposes the development of quality indicators that include occupational professionalism values ​​to achieve sustainable quality within sheltered housing.

Emotional abuse is a problem experienced worldwide, crossing all economic, educational, social and ethnic segments of all societies. Overtime, many empirical researchers concentrated on studying the occurrence and impact of physical abuse on women but neglected to study the effects of emotional abuse on the woman's physical and mental health. But with time, researchers began to realise that emotional abuse also had a great impact on the lives of women. Therefore, a detailed exploration of emotional abuse between intimate adult partners has only recently emerged in the literature. Though it is difficult to separate emotional abuse from other forms of abuse, many women in our research who were provided with a definition of emotional abuse identified and confirmed that they have been emotionally abused in their past or are being abused in their current intimate relationships. This research project focused mainly on women who suffered and have survived the wounds of emotional abuse in intimate relationships. Group work is aimed at the growth and development of the individual. This study reports on an in-depth analysis of the arrangements and formulation of the structure of support groups, and the effectiveness of the functioning of these groups. Participants who joined the support groups in this research, were women who have undergone therapeutic intervention and are/or were engaged in a healing process that involved reintegration, implementation and maintenance of therapeutic goals. Support groups do provide a place where people can share their experiences in a safe environment, and where they can symbolise their experiences and consequently make them more acceptable to the self. It has been concluded in this research that support groups were effective in giving members the opportunity of helping each other to heal from the wounds of emotional abuse by being supportive, giving feedback, making helpful suggestions and providing useful information necessary for their growth and development. Therefore, participants who joined the support groups agreed that they have benefited by receiving the encouragement and support from one another, which contributed towards their process of healing emotionally, and in turn, caused them to change from being helpless victims to survivors of emotional abuse. / Sociology / D. Phil (Sociology)

This research was initiated, based on the recommendations of Groenewald (2006:126-127), in the Evaluation of Programmes of Shelters for Victims of Abuse in Gauteng Province, to develop a shelter service delivery model. The research is exploratory in nature and outlines the literature review, methodologies, tested shelter model and findings based on the experiences of stakeholders. These stakeholders are responsible for the registration and management of shelters for victims of abuse in South Africa. They include nine Provincial Victim Empowerment Programme Co-ordinators and thirty-two shelter managers. The main objectives for shelter managers and Government Departments, such as Social Development, are to provide care, support and protection. The aim is also to empower those who were caught up in relationships, fraught with gender-based violence, as well as to break the cycle of violence. This is presented in the guidelines for a shelter service delivery model for victims of abuse. The shelter model focuses on three phases: o Intake procedures o Programmes and services o Exit strategy These three phases address both psycho-social issues and the self care of service providers. The main purpose of the shelter model is to provide social service providers with a structural format for intervention with victims of abuse and their significant others. The outcome, for most of them, should be to come to terms with themselves and create a personal vision for the future without abuse or, alternatively, to take a firm stand against such actions. The model is based on a person-centered approach in order to assist victims of violence, within a development model, to attain effective living. Other findings of the research are, among others, that there is neither legislation, nor registration procedures for shelters for victims of abuse in place, except for Non-Profit Organisations, which is voluntary. It is recommended that Government should consider the amendment of the Domestic Violence Act, 116 of 1998. These amendments should include accreditation of service providers, registration requirements, norms, standards and uniform funding criteria. / Social Work / D. Phil. (Social Work)

This study examines the conditions of hopelessness in the city of San Bernardino. The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which women and men's accessing of services for homelessness differ. This study employs a survey administered at an event given specifically for the homeless population in San Bernardino, and the differences between men and women and their access to support is documented.

Emotional abuse is a problem experienced worldwide, crossing all economic, educational, social and ethnic segments of all societies. Overtime, many empirical researchers concentrated on studying the occurrence and impact of physical abuse on women but neglected to study the effects of emotional abuse on the woman's physical and mental health. But with time, researchers began to realise that emotional abuse also had a great impact on the lives of women. Therefore, a detailed exploration of emotional abuse between intimate adult partners has only recently emerged in the literature. Though it is difficult to separate emotional abuse from other forms of abuse, many women in our research who were provided with a definition of emotional abuse identified and confirmed that they have been emotionally abused in their past or are being abused in their current intimate relationships. This research project focused mainly on women who suffered and have survived the wounds of emotional abuse in intimate relationships. Group work is aimed at the growth and development of the individual. This study reports on an in-depth analysis of the arrangements and formulation of the structure of support groups, and the effectiveness of the functioning of these groups. Participants who joined the support groups in this research, were women who have undergone therapeutic intervention and are/or were engaged in a healing process that involved reintegration, implementation and maintenance of therapeutic goals. Support groups do provide a place where people can share their experiences in a safe environment, and where they can symbolise their experiences and consequently make them more acceptable to the self. It has been concluded in this research that support groups were effective in giving members the opportunity of helping each other to heal from the wounds of emotional abuse by being supportive, giving feedback, making helpful suggestions and providing useful information necessary for their growth and development. Therefore, participants who joined the support groups agreed that they have benefited by receiving the encouragement and support from one another, which contributed towards their process of healing emotionally, and in turn, caused them to change from being helpless victims to survivors of emotional abuse. / Sociology / D. Phil (Sociology)