Housing ‘unhoused minds’: inter‐personality disorder in the organisation?

Scanlon, Christopher; Adlam, John

doi:10.1108/14608790200600018

Cited by 19 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Single homeless people are hindered by reductions in social housing (Minton, 2017), rising costs in the private rental sector; and the 59 per cent reduction in the supporting people funding in both securing and retaining a home (National Audit Office, 2017). Research into the histories of people experiencing homelessness have found high levels of developmental and compound (repeated) trauma (Cockersell, 2018), which can lead to a state of being “psychologically unhoused”, often expressed through self-neglect, alienation and an inability to transition to and sustain a housed state (Scanlon and Adlam, 2006). Therefore, without appropriate support individuals can struggle to maintain stability in their own homes which can contribute to frequent eviction and the abandonment of housing (Teixeira, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building connection against the odds: project workers relationships with people experiencing homelessness

Watson¹,

Nolte

Brown

2019

HCS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Trusting and empathic relationships between project workers and people experiencing homelessness (PEH) form the cornerstone for their needs to be met. However, under the UK austerity agenda project workers practice in a context of increasing pressure and limited resources; with relationships often characterised by conditionality and disconnection. The purpose of this paper is to report on a study investigating project workers’ experiences of building relationships with PEH living in supported housing projects. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative design was employed in which focus groups were carried out in six projects, using an opportunity sample of 22 project workers. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, within a social constructionist epistemology. Findings Three main themes were identified: “Working hard to build connection”, “Supporting each other within an unsupportive context” and “Draining but sustaining”. Project workers acted out of strong value systems in building relationships with residents against a backdrop of systemic disconnection. Originality/value Clear clinical implications are put forward with in a Psychologically Informed Environment framework. Services supporting PEH need to be psychologically informed and organisations need to embed reflection within their policies and every day practice. In developing services for PEH interdependence not in/dependence needs to be the aim. Finally, the responsibility for improving the lives of PEH should be placed back on society to provide a context in which PEH can thrive.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building connection against the odds: project workers relationships with people experiencing homelessness

Watson¹,

Nolte

Brown

2019

HCS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…On account of histories of trauma and experiences of discrimination, homeless people often present with combinations of vulnerability and volatility and can be ambivalent about receiving help. This, in turn, stimulates over- and under-identification from professionals and creates challenges in building working relationships, managing personal distress and avoiding ‘burn out’ (see Adlam and Scanlon, 2005; Scanlon and Adlam, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arrangements for adult service users who are homeless in English mental health trusts

Lucas

Archard

Tangen

et al. 2018

MHRJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper reports on an analysis of arrangements in English mental health trusts to meet the needs of adult homeless people. Mental ill-health is disproportionately higher amongst the homeless yet they are underrepresented in accessing mental health services. In recent years, government strategy to improve health outcomes for the homeless and practice guidance on work with this service user group has emphasised the need for NHS services to improve care pathways and service provision for the homeless, and collaborate more closely with homelessness organisations.\ud Responses to Freedom of Information requests sent to trusts were analysed. The requests asked trusts for information concerning partnerships with external agencies, particular projects/staff, training trust professionals have access to, referral pathways, and intervention models/approaches informing work with homeless service users.\ud Forty-nine trusts provided information that could be used in the analysis. Just under half of these had dedicated arrangements or resources, including outreach teams and clinical staff co-located in homeless organisations. The remaining trusts indicated they either had some limited specific arrangements, such as links between local homeless agencies and existing services, or no dedicated arrangements. Training to help trust professionals address issues associated with homelessness tended to be minimal if provided at all.\ud This analysis adds further evidence to concerns that homeless people’s mental health needs are not being adequately considered by services at a local level and that there is a lack of appropriate pathways through which they can access treatment and care

show abstract

“…In the context of vulnerable groups, Jones et al (2019, p1) identify austerity as a form of "institutional violence" that impacts most heavily on poorer families and children, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and on other disadvantaged groups including women; and Cooper and Whyte (2017) describe the "toll of death and illness and injury that so-called austerity policies have caused." For clients in supported housing who often suffer multiple disadvantages, austerity means struggling not only with the issues of poverty and exclusion impacting across broader society, but also issues such as substance abuse, histories of offences, and long-term physical and mental illnesses (Scanlon & Adlam, 2006). These often complex and multifaceted needs make such client groups especially vulnerable to change (Jacobs & Manzi, 2013).…”

Section: Supported Housing Vulnerability and Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Residualisation in supported housing: an organisational case study

Hobson

Lynch

Lodge

2020

HCS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how residualisation is experienced across a supported housing provider in an English county. The analysis is in three parts: firstly, it focuses on organisational provision, including impacts of change on decisions on market entry and exit; secondly, it reviews evidence on service provision and the adaptations services are making to reflect the changing pressures of the sector; finally, it considers the impacts on service delivery and the experiences of those that rely on the provision. Design/methodology/approach The analysis uses interview data across the organisation, together with material from the UK Government department consultation (2017) and a UK Parliamentary Select Committee inquiry (2017) to examine the impacts across the different tiers of service, including the day-to-day experience of residualised services for those that deliver and receive that support. Findings The paper concludes that residualisation is a direct outcome of the neoliberalisation of welfare states, introducing limits to state involvement and funding, a greater emphasis on quasi-market involvement in the sector and a shifting of responsibility from government to individuals. Research limitations/implications It not only demonstrates the impacts of reducing state support on the supported housing sector but also emphasises the importance of residualisation as a conceptual framework applicable to the wider implications of austerity and neoliberal ideology. Practical implications This paper demonstrates the way that the burden of responsibility is being shifted away from the public provision of support and onto the individuals. This can be problematic for the individuals who are vulnerable as a result of their economic medical or social circumstances. Social implications The retreat of the state from supported housing is both a political change and an austerity-led change. This article provides insight from a single-supported housing provider. In so doing, it illustrates the pressure such an organisation is under. Originality/value This paper provides a unique insight from the perspective of all levels of a supported housing service provider, combined with the analysis of government consultation and parliamentary inquiry.

show abstract

Housing ‘unhoused minds’: inter‐personality disorder in the organisation?

Cited by 19 publications

References 6 publications

Building connection against the odds: project workers relationships with people experiencing homelessness

Building connection against the odds: project workers relationships with people experiencing homelessness

Arrangements for adult service users who are homeless in English mental health trusts

Residualisation in supported housing: an organisational case study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About