Dynamics of Long-Term Homelessness among Women in Ireland (original) (raw)
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The Dynamics of Long-Term Homelessness among Women in Ireland
Selected findings were extracted from a primarily qualitative study of sixty homeless women in Ireland undertaken in 2012. The study set out to conduct an in-depth examination of the lives and experiences of homeless women with specific attention to their homeless ‘pathways’, that is, their entry routes to homelessness, the homeless experience itself and, possibly, their exit routes from homelessness. The final paper was submitted to the DRHE in February 2014. The findings presented relate only to women whose use of services is classified as chronic, meaning they access services over many years, although their engagement may be episodic at times. They do not represent the majority of women who accessed homeless services but they are a minority that account for significant levels of service use and engagement. Research has demonstrated that with the right housing led approach, they can successfully sustain exits from homelessness into independent living, a life change which can have positive quality of life impacts for the women and their families.
2012
This Research Paper presents selected findings from a primarily qualitative study of homeless women in Ireland. The study set out to conduct a detailed examination of the lives and experiences of homeless women with specific attention to their homeless ‘pathways’, that is, their entry routes to homelessness, the homeless experience itself and, possibly, their exit routes from homelessness. Sixty women were interviewed in depth for the purpose of the study. This paper explores the women’s routes or ‘journeys’ to homelessness.
Women, Homelessness and Service Provision
Although homeless men and women may share many experiences, the available research highlights the numerous ways in which gender can shape, define and influence the experience of homelessness and housing instability. Women’s experiences of service access and their interactions with services also appear to have distinctive characteristics. Gender-specific issues therefore merit significant and specific attention at policy and service levels if the housing and support needs of women are to be appropriately met. However, in the Irish context, relatively little is known about the interaction of gender and homelessness, particularly in relation to women’s experiences of homeless and domestic violence service systems. In order to redress this gap in knowledge, the current research aimed to conduct a detailed examination of women’s encounters with homelessness, with particular attention to their experiences of, and interactions with, homeless and other (domestic violence, drug treatment, psychiatric, criminal justice) support services.
The importance of developing gender-sensitive policy responses to women's homelessness has emerged in recent literature on homelessness. To achieve this, policy responses must recognise the diverse and complex needs of all homeless women, including those accompanied or unaccompanied by their children. This paper reviews some of the key literature on homelessness to ascertain the extent to which gender is recognised in explanations of homelessness. What emerges is that current frameworks fail to recognise the depth of inequalities experienced by homeless mothers who are unaccompanied by their children. This leads to the stigmatising of this group as ‘bad’ mothers. This paper recognises the importance of the affective domain as a key site for understanding and analysing the multiple inequalities that shape women's experiences of homelessness. It suggests that inserting the affective domain into approaches for understanding home and homelessness will go some way to ensuring that definitions of homelessness 'avoid the stigmatisation of homeless people' (Edgar 2009, p.13) and towards enabling the conditions for equality-based outcomes for all women.
Migrant Women and Homelessness: Key Findings from a Biographical Study of Homeless Women in Ireland
2012
This Research Paper presents selected findings from a primarily qualitative study of homeless women in Ireland. The study set out to conduct an in-depth examination of the lives and experiences of homeless women with specific attention to their homeless ‘pathways’, that is, their entry routes to homelessness, the homeless experience itself and, possibly, their exit routes from homelessness. Sixty women, seventeen of them migrant women, were interviewed in depth for the purpose of the study. This paper focuses specifically on selected findings arising from the stories of the migrant homeless women.
Women’s Experiences of Homelessness: A Longitudinal Study
Social Policy and Society
Drawing on the results of a qualitative longitudinal analysis of the experiences of homeless people using an employment related programme in the UK, this article explores the experiences of homeless women. Research focused on women’s trajectories through homelessness remains unusual and this comparatively large study provided an opportunity to look at a group of homeless women over time. The results from 136 in-depth interviews with forty-seven homeless women are reported. The interviews explored their lives prior to becoming homeless, their routes into homelessness and their trajectories through and out of homelessness. The article does not compare experiences across gender, focusing solely on women, because the existing evidence base focuses largely on the experiences of lone homeless men. The goals of the article are twofold, first to add to the existing evidence on women’s experiences of homelessness and second to add to emergent debates on whether gender is associated with diff...
Changes in Irish homeless policy: What next for homeless people with a high level of need
With the aim of ending long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough in Ireland, a range of homeless policy changes have been made since 2008, most notably in the Dublin area. This paper sets out to analyse these changes in the context of homelessness models and attempts to place Ireland within this spectrum of services. The new policy will be critiqued in relation to research on these models and their positive and/or negative effects on shortening the homeless 'careers' of the most vulnerable homeless people. As the restructuring of services in Dublin is still underway, the full effects will not be evident for a number of years. However, it is possible to make some conclusions and recommendations in relation to the approach currently being implemented, in order to ensure that the most vulnerable benefit from the new services and can obtain and maintain independent homes.
European Journal of Homelessness, 2020
While homelessness is increasingly seen as differentiated by gender, dominant narratives only rarely incorporate the experiences of women. Using a feminist poststructuralist framework, this paper examines homeless women’s trajectories through and out of homelessness based on data from a qualitative longitudinal study of women’s homelessness in Ireland. Sixty women were recruited and interviewed at baseline and ‘tracked’ over a three-year period alongside the conduct of ethnographic fieldwork at strategically chosen sites throughout the duration of the study. At the time of follow-up, forty women were re-interviewed and reliable information was attained on the whereabouts of an additional nine participants. For the sample as whole, there was strong evidence that the presence or absence of children and the presence or absence of more complex needs impacted women’s ability to access housing and exit homelessness. Those women who had transitioned to stable housing by the time of follow-up were more likely to have children in their care and to report lower levels of need related to substance use and/or mental health. A detailed examination of the women’s service experiences and interactions reveals the complex way in which they engaged with the discourses embedded in the structures they encountered as they moved through the service system, very often along trajectories of long-term homelessness. The analysis uncovers women’s agency, mobilised through acts of ‘resistance’ and ‘conformity’, as they navigated a landscape where assumptions about ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ women prevailed and also significantly influenced their housing outcomes.
From pillar to post: homeless women's experiences of social care
Health & Social Care in the Community, 2015
This paper reports findings from a longitudinal study of homeless women. Thirty eight women were initially recruited with a retention rate of 58% over three rounds of interviews. Interviews explored specific events in women's lives, their current living arrangements and how their experiences and needs, including for social care, changed over time. Women reported a range of complex issues and difficulties, consistent with experiences of deep social exclusion and received support from both statutory and voluntary agencies. Although women appreciated the support they received, many reported that services were fragmented and rarely personalised to their needs.