Open access

Supported Housing in a Small Community: Effects on Consumers, Suggestions for Change

Publication: Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
8 December 2014

Abstract

We explore the effects of supported housing on the quality of life and recovery of consumers in a rural community, and also explore how this housing approach could be improved. Data were collected from 16 tenants involved in Supported Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness (SHIMI), located in Nova Scotia. The following themes were identified in the analysis: support, security, normalcy and integration, stability and control, and recovery. Suggestions for improvement include fostering a stronger system of supports, coordinating initiatives to reduce the living costs and build the assets of tenants, and having greater consumer involvement in the initiative.

Résumé

Nous examinons les effets d'un programme de logement avec services de soutien sur la qualité de vie et le rétablissement des bénéficiaires qui vivent dans un milieu rural, et examinons la manière dont ce programme pourrait être amélioré selon les bénéficiaires. Les données ont été recueillies auprès de 16 locataires du Supported Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness (SHIMI) en Nouvelle-Écosse. Les thèmes suivants ont été dégagés après analyse: soutien, sécurité, normalité et intégration, stabilité et contrôle, et rétablissement. Les suggestions pour améliorer l'initiative comprenaient: favoriser un système de services de soutien plus solide; coordonner les initiatives pour réduire les frais de subsistance et bâtir les actifs des locataires; et stimuler une plus grande participation des bénéficiaires dans la gestion et le contrôle de l'initiative.

Formats available

You can view the full content in the following formats:

References

Aubry, T., Bourque, J., Volk, J., Leblanc, S., Nolin, D., & Jetté, J. (2014). At Home/Chez Soi project: Moncton site final report. Calgary, AB: Mental Health Commission of Canada. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca
Aubry, T., Cherner, R., Ecker, J., Jetté, J., & Philander, K. (2011). Implementation evaluation report for Mental Health Commission of Canada's At Home/Chez Soi project: Moncton site. Calgary, AB: Mental Health Commission of Canada. Retrieved from http://homelesshub.com/sites/default/files/Monc_IF_Full.pdf
Bean K. F., Shafer M. S., and Glennon M. The impact of housing first and peer support on people who are medically vulnerable and homeless Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 2013 36 48 -50
Boydell K. M. and Everett B. What makes a house a home? An evaluation of a supported housing project for individuals with long-term psychiatric backgrounds Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health 1992 10 109 -123
Carling, P. J. (1995). Return to community: Building support systems for people with psychiatric disabilities. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Cheng A.-L., Lin H., Kasprow W., and Rosenheck R. A. Impact of supported housing on clinical outcomes analysis of a randomized trial using multiple imputation technique Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 2007 195 83 -88
Forchuk C., Montgomery P., Berman H., Ward-Griffin C., Csiernik R., Gorlick C., …, and Riesterer P. Gaining ground, losing ground: The paradoxes of rural homelessness Canadian Journal of Nursing Research 2010 42 138 -152
Goering, P., Veldhuizen, S., Watson, A., Adair, C., Kopp, B., Latimer, E., & Ly, A. (2012). At Home/Chez Soi interim report. Calgary, AB: Mental Health Commission of Canada. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/system/files/private/document/ Housing_At_Home_Interim_Report_ENG.pdf
Gulcur L., Tsemberis S., Stefancic A., and Greenwood R. M. Community integration of adults with psychiatric disabilities and histories of homelessness Community Mental Health Journal 2007 43 211 -228
Harker Associates. (2010). Cape Breton Affordable Housing Renovation Partnership 2010–2015 business plan. Sydney, NS: Author.
Henwood B. F., Stanhope V., and Padgett D. K. The role of housing: A comparison of front-line provider views in housing first and traditional programs Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 2011 38 77 -85
Kirsh, B., Gewutz, R., Bakewell, R., Singer, B., Badsha, M., & Giles, N. (2009) Critical characteristics of supported housing: Findings from the literature, residents and service providers. Toronto: Wellesley Institute. Retrieved from https://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Critical_Characteristics_of_Supported_Housing.Pdf
Leff H. S., Chow C. M., Pepin R., Conley J., Allen I. E., and Seaman C. A. Does one size fit all? What we can and can't learn from a meta-analysis of housing models for persons with mental illness Psychiatric Services 2009 60 473 -482
Meadows, L. M., & Morse, J. M. (2001). Constructing evidence within the qualitative project. In J. M. Morse, J. M. Swanson, & A. J. Kuzel (Eds.), The nature of qualitative evidence (187– 200). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Nelson G. Housing for people with serious mental illness: Approaches, evidence, and transformative change Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 2010 37 123 -146
Nelson G., Sylvestre J., Aubry T., George L., and Trainor J. Housing choice and control, housing quality, and control over professional support as contributors to the subjective quality of life and community adaptation of people with severe mental illness Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 2007 34 89 -100
Nova Scotia Department of Finance. (2013). Nova Scotia Community Counts—Data modeled from Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2001, 2006, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.gov.ns.ca/finance/communitycounts/default.Asp
Parkinson S. D. and Nelson G. Consumer/survivor stories of empowerment and recovery in the context of supported housing The International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation 2003 7 103 -118
Polvere L., Macnaughton E., and Piat M. Participant perspectives on Housing First and recovery: Early findings from the At Home/Chez Soi project Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 2013 36 110 -112
Rapp C. A., Shera W., and Kisthardt W. Research strategies for consumer empowerment of people with severe mental illness Social Work 1993 38 727 -35
Robson, C. (2011). Real world research. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley and Sons.
Rural Communities Impacting Policy Project. (2003). Painting the landscape of rural Nova Scotia. Retrieved from http://www.ruralnovascotia.ca/RCIP/PDF/RR_final_full.pdf
Sandelowski M. Whatever happened to qualitative description? Research in Nursing & Health 2000 23 334 -340
Saulnier, C. (2009). The causes and consequences of poverty: Understanding divisions and disparities in social and economic development in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia: Canadian Council on Social Development.
Siegel C. E., Samuels J., Tang D.-I., Berg I., Jones K., and Hopper K. Tenant outcomes in supported housing and community residences in New York City Psychiatric Services 2006 57 982 -991
Solomon P. Peer support/peer provided services underlying processes, benefits, and critical ingredients Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 2004 27 392 -401
Stefancic A., Henwood B. F., Melton H., Shin S.-M., Lawrence-Gomez R., and Tsemberis S. Implementing Housing First in rural areas: Pathways Vermont American Journal of Public Health 2013 103 S206 -S209
Stefancic A. and Tsemberis S. Housing First for long-term shelter dwellers with psychiatric disabilities in a suburban county: A four-year study of housing access and retention Journal of Primary Prevention 2007 28 265 -279
Sylvestre J., George L., Aubry T., Durbin J., Nelson G., and Trainor J. Strengthening Ontario's system of housing for people with serious mental illness Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health 2007 26 79 -95
Taylor S. M., Elliott S., and Kearns R. The housing experience of chronically mentally disabled clients in Hamilton, Ontario The Canadian Geographer 1989 33 146 -55
Tsemberis S., Gulcur L., and Nakae M. Housing first, consumer choice, and harm reduction for homeless individuals with a dual diagnosis American Journal of Public Health 2004 94 651 -656
Walker R. and Seasons M. Supported housing for people with serious mental illness: Resident perspectives on housing Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health 2002 21 137 -151
Wong Y.-L. I. and Stanhope V. Conceptualizing community: A comparison of neighborhood characteristics of supportive housing for persons with psychiatric and developmental disabilities Social Science & Medicine 2009 68 1376 -1387

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

cover image Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Volume 33Number 3December 2014
Pages: 57 - 69

History

Version of record online: 8 December 2014

Key Words

  1. supported housing
  2. rural
  3. Nova Scotia

Mots-clés

  1. Logement avec services de soutien
  2. rural
  3. Nouvelle-Écosse

Authors

Affiliations

Catherine Leviten-Reid
Cape Breton University
Pamela Johnson
St. Francis Xavier University
Michael Miller

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Other Metrics

Citations

Cite As

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

There are no citations for this item

View Options

View options

PDF

View PDF

Get Access

Login options

Check if you access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Subscribe

Click on the button below to subscribe to Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health

Purchase options

Purchase this article to get full access to it.

Restore your content access

Enter your email address to restore your content access:

Note: This functionality works only for purchases done as a guest. If you already have an account, log in to access the content to which you are entitled.

Media

Media

Other

Tables

Share Options

Share

Share the article link

Share on social media