About the Project
The experiences of homelessness differ for various populations and for women, their experiences have a gendered connotation with violence and trauma being overarching themes.
Pathways to homelessness and exit from homelessness greatly differ for women and men as each group seek for differing service supports. One of the surest ways to support this group is with a Housing First approach, making sure housing is quickly accessed and :1) affordable; 2) safe; 3) supported; and 4) permanent (Gaetz, Donaldson, Richter & Gulliver, 2013). However, the Housing First initiative to date have primarily focused on the archetypical homeless individual, mostly white, middle-aged men, with concurrent substance use and mental health challenges (YWCA Canada, 2013). Considering that the experiences of homelessness is gendered, the responses and approach to solving homelessness should also consider gender as a major construct and so it leads to asking the question, how is the Housing First initiative serving women experiencing homelessness?
For this project, the researchers sought to evaluate a Housing First initiative for women experiencing homelessness through a qualitative trauma-informed community-based participatory approach. Through semi-structured interviews and focus group sessions with some program participants, program providers and community key informants enough data was gathered for this evaluation.
Research Team
Abe Oudshoorn, Western University
Cheryl Forchuk, Western University
Jodi Hall, Western University
Tracy Smith-Carrier, Western University
Amy Van Berkum, Western University
Collaborators
All Our Sisters
YWCA Canada
Findings
Results from this evaluation revealed that there were some challenges in administering this initiative, such as barriers to housing, housing and social outcomes, program qualities and program tensions, yet, the Housing First Initiative proved to be very successful among the small group of women experiencing chronic homelessness, especially when the needs of the women were taken into consideration. Therefore, the evaluation emphasized the need to consider gender when implementing Housing First. From the trauma-informed lens, the issue of unsettled grief and loss in the context of custodial loss/child apprehension was identified as the major root cause of trauma for these women experiencing homelessness.
Lastly, there is a need for Housing First programs to consider integrating other community support services such as community-based long-term mental health supports and comprehensive community plans to provide the needed support to those experiencing homelessness, especially for women.
Knowledge Translation
Publication:
Oudshoorn, A., Forchuk, C., Hall, J., Smith-Carrier, T., & Van Berkum, A. (2018). An evaluation of a Housing First program for chronically homeless women. Journal of Social Inclusion, 9(2), 34-50. https://doi.org/10.36251/josi136
To view a presentation from this project, click the image below:
For extended conversation about this project, visit this youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKrxyb1fXBo&ab_channel=WesternHealthSciences