A qualitative study was undertaken with 13 participants to understand the challenges experienced by fathers who are parenting children misusing illegal substances. The sample was selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically. Principles of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability were utilised for data verification. A fatherhood-masculinity model guided this study. Fathers are often socialised to exercise a particular notion of masculinity, which may limit their engagement with their children. However, findings in this study established that fathers are equally capable of active parenting. Therefore, an awareness of the unique contributions of fathers and supporting them in their role is important.

Homeless people are arguably the most marginalised and vulnerable of communities. The marginalisation of homeless people not only occurs in economic and social terms, but also with respect to participation in the process of service delivery and decisions that affect them. Consequently, some researchers have identified the disjuncture between services offered to homeless people and their needs. In this article, using a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive approach, we explore the understanding of social workers and homeless people in redressing homelessness. We used face-to-face semi-structured interviews to generate data. The data were analysed thematically. The findings indicate that social workers’ and homeless people’s accounts of understanding and redressing homelessness are contradictory. Conversely, collaboration between social workers and homeless people could create an informed understanding of homelessness and the opportunity for the two parties to learn from each other.