Microsystems of Recovery in Homeless Services: The Influence of Service Provider Values on Service Users’ Recovery Experiences

Abstract

There is still much to learn about how aspects of the ecology of homelessness shape homeless adults' recovery experiences. In the present mixed-methods study, the relationship of service providers' work-related values to their service users' recovery experiences in the microsystem of homelessness were examined. Service providers completed semi-structured qualitative interviews about their service users, daily work activities, and work-related goals. At three time points, their service users completed quantitative measures of choice, mastery, and recovery in four life domains: physical health, psychiatric symptoms, substance use, and community integration. Service providers' interview transcripts were coded for three indicators of values: assumptions, actions, and end-states. Summative Content Analysis was used to transform qualitative codes into numeric data so they could be used to predict service users' recovery. In a series of growth curve models, the extent to which service providers' end-state values, as an indicator of consumer-led values, was shown to indirectly predict service users' recovery experiences, through their perceived choice and mastery. Findings confirm that providers' values are an important influence on service users' recovery. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for recovery-oriented theory and practice.

Goals and Principles of Providers Working with People Experiencing Homelessness: A Comparison Between Housing First and Traditional Staircase Services in Eight European Countries

“…Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of the HF model on people experiencing homelessness’ outcomes (recovery, housing stability) [5,6,7,8], but less research has taken place in Europe [2,9,10,11] or focused on the providers’ point of view [12,13,14]. However, in Europe, the Program ‘Europe 2020′ emphasizes the need to develop integrated strategies to reduce social exclusion and extreme marginalization.…”

“…Studies have shown that the level of congruence between HF values and the personal values of the staff has an impact on program fidelity: higher fidelity when staff members’ values aligned with the HF values, lower fidelity when the staff adopted a quid pro quo or transactional approach to working with clients [19,20,21]. Manning and Greenwood [12] studied the influence of service providers’ values on service user’s recovery and found that compared to interventions guided by provider-led values, interventions guided by consumer-led values (i.e., a key HF principle) resulted in better recovery experiences for homeless service users.…”

Community Psychology and Community Mental Health: A Call for Reengagement

“…Continuing this trend, three articles in this issue focus on implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of Housing First programs to illustrate ways in which community psychologists can reengage with community mental health while also responding to a pressing social issue impacting communities around the world. Manning and Greenwood () report on a mixed‐methods study examining the relationship between homeless service providers’ work‐related values and service users’ recovery experiences. Findings confirm that microsystems of support (specifically support provided by service providers) have an important influence on recovery for individuals using homeless services.…”

“…In their study, clients in a Housing First program used Photovoice to evaluate the program and advocate for housing policy change. Echoing the importance of applying an ecological lens to homeless services noted by Manning and Greenwood (), the authors discuss the outcomes of their Photovoice project at multiple levels of analysis, including the individual level (e.g., increased client engagement in the program and connectedness to the community); the program level (e.g., increased inclusion of client voice, including project participants becoming a permanent part of the program as an evaluation team); the community level (e.g., impacting media coverage and community attitudes toward homelessness); and the policy level (e.g., advocating for sustained program funding and influencing the Governor of Hawai'i's pledge to end homelessness by 2020). Importantly, this study engaged Housing First tenants in the entire research process, from study design to analysis, and particularly in the dissemination of findings, as numerous project participants were involved as co‐authors on this article.…”

Big Qual: Defining and Debating Qualitative Inquiry for Large Data Sets

“…While a comprehensive big qual literature review is beyond the scope of this methodological essay, our initial review of large-scale qualitative and mixed methods studies conducted in the last 5 years uncovered research in a broad range of disciplines including agriculture (e.g., Charatsari & Papadaki-Klavdianou, 2017), business (e.g., St-Hilaire, Gilbert, & Lefebvre, 2018), environmental protection (e.g., Lynn, 2017), health and medicine (e.g., Hurst et al, 2016;Jenkins, Slemon, Haines-Saah, & Oliffe, 2018;Mayberry, 2016), public safety (e.g., Kerrison, Cobbina, & Bender, 2018), sociology and anthropology (e.g., Knight, Cottrell, Pickering, Bohren, & Bright, 2017;Manning & Greenwood, 2018;Reed, Strzyzykowski, Chiaramonte, & Miller, 2018), and education (e.g., Brower et al, 2017;Rutledge, Cohen-Vogel, & Osborne-Lampkin, 2012;Calma, 2013;Eta, Kallo, & Rinne, 2018;LaPointe-McEwan, DeLuca, & Klinger, 2017). Our initial review also showed that fewer than half of big qual studies involved primary data collection in the field.…”