‘It maybe doesn’t seem much, but to me it’s my kingdom’: staff and client experiences of Housing First in Scotland

Abstract

Housing First (HF) represents a significant shift in the way that the problem of homelessness and cooccuring challenges including problem substance use, is addressed. HF interventions have been the focus of much research. Quantitative studies have consistently shown positive findings regarding housing outcomes, with results regarding health and well-being outcomes more mixed. To date, limited attention has been paid to the experiences and perspectives of HF service providers, and few studies have explored the views of those HF recipients. In enabling providers and recipients to share their professional and personal experiences of HF, qualitative insights can help inform, and improve, service provision and practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven HF staff members and 11 clients in a single third sector service in Scotland. Overall, clients experienced HF positively and described how involvement in HF had enabled positive changes in their lives. Service providers reported positive views on HF alongside ways to maximize the effectiveness of the model. While our findings provide support for current efforts to promote HF as an approach to help end homelessness, a number of challenges exist. To address these, we propose a set of recommendations for those planning and implementing HF services.Glossary:

Towards the Quadruple Aim in permanent supportive housing: A mixed methods study of workplace mental health among service providers

“…Poor health status and continued poverty post‐housing entry may also be factors in this population not exhibiting health improvements in PSH (Stergiopoulos et al, 2019). As for the service experience and per capita cost objectives of the Quadruple Aim, PSH results in significant cost offsets (Aubry et al, 2020; Ly & Latimer, 2015) and its service users generally report positive experiences and life changes (Kennedy et al, 2016; Miler et al, 2021; Nelson et al, 2015; Padgett, 2007).…”

Homeless people's recovery in Housing First and Traditional Services: The role of working alliance in Italian housing services

“…In response to such a complex public health issue, Traditional Services (TS, e.g., shelter or temporary accommodation), revealed scarce effectiveness when compared to innovative approaches such as Housing First (HF) (Aubry et al, 2015, 2019; FEANTSA and Foundation Abbé Pierre, 2018; Greenwood et al, 2020; Nelson et al, 2020; O'Shaughnessy & Greenwood, 2021; O'Shaughnessy et al, 2020; Sahlin, 2005). HF aims at reducing homelessness by conceptualizing being housed as a starting point rather than an ending point (Miler et al, 2022; Pleace, 2016). The HF model was included among the evidence‐based practices in 2007 (Szeintuc, 2011) and was shown to be more effective than TS (Aubry et al, 2019; Baxter et al, 2019; FEANTSA and Foundation Abbé Pierre, 2018; Greenwood et al, 2020; Jacob et al, 2021; Latimer et al, 2019; O'Shaughnessy et al, 2020; Pleace, 2016).…”