The Implementation of a Rent Assistance Program and Its Impacts on Recovery Outcomes for Individuals Experiencing Chronic Homelessness
Publication: Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
21 September 2018
Abstract
This study explored the experiences of persons experiencing chronic homelessness with and without rent assistance. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 participants in order to determine if and how rent assistance impacted participants’ narratives of recovery. These narrative interviews, along with a focus group conducted with 10 support workers, explored implementation factors impacting recovery narratives. The findings suggest that access to rent assistance helps to promote recovery outcomes, conceptualized as life transitions (streets to home, home to community, and past to future), among individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. These transitions were enhanced by various participant, program, and community factors.
Résumé
Cette étude porte sur l’expérience de personnes vivant en situation d’itinérance chronique, bénéficiant ou non d’un supplément au loyer. Des entrevues qualitatives ont été menées auprès de 12 participants afin de déterminer si le supplément au loyer influençait leurs récits de rétablissement et, le cas échéant, de quelle façon. Ces entrevues narratives, réalisées en conjonction avec un groupe de discussion réunissant 10 intervenants de soutien, ont permis d’explorer les facteurs d’implantation ayant un impact sur les récits de rétablissement. Les résultats suggèrent que l’accès au supplément au loyer contribue à promouvoir le rétablissement chez les personnes vivant en situation d’itinérance chronique en renvoyant au concept de transitions de vie (de la rue à la maison, de la maison à la communauté, et du passé au futur). Ces transitions étaient facilitées par divers facteurs liés aux participants, au programme et à la communauté.
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Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Volume 37 • Number 1 • May 2018
Pages: 49 - 63
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Version of record online: 21 September 2018
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Courtney Pankratz, Geoffrey Nelson, and Marie Morrison. 2018. The Implementation of a Rent Assistance Program and Its Impacts on Recovery Outcomes for Individuals Experiencing Chronic Homelessness. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health.
37(1): 49-63. https://doi.org/10.7870/cjcmh-2018-006
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