This thesis has increased our knowledge of the needs of homeless people using shelter facilities in the Netherlands and of the needs and wishes of people living in persistent poverty. It provides guidance for policy and further professionalization and quality improvements to the services and support provided to homeless people and people living in persistent poverty. The results underscore the importance of broad and integrated policy measures to strengthen socioeconomic security, and emphasize the need for including the views of clients and experts by experience in the development of policy. Our research also stresses the need for services to employ peer workers to support homeless people and people living in persistent poverty and to apply a more human-to-human approach.
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Introduction and methodology In self-managed residential homeless care, consumers, and their peers, are in charge. Former consumers (N=24) of a self-managed homeless shelter were interviewed with qualitative structured topic-lists on the benefits they experienced. Former consumers of the program participated as co-researchers, together with students and experienced researchers. This research is part of a larger program researching self-managed residential programs. ResultsIn the self-managed shelter consumers can work on their recovery towards independent living. For the respondents, the self-managed shelter is a place where they can stay for a longer period without the stress of having to look for another place and without the hassle from social workers telling them what to do and how to behave. How the former consumers used this stability and freedom differs. Some worked towards independent living on their own, others also developed skills, self-worth and new social roles (helper, friend) through participation and others used the shelter to stay free from stress and hassle. Moving on towards independent living isn’t an immediate goal for the latter, although many consumers in the end started working towards independent living.Most of the respondents state that their live has improved when it comes to mental health, living situations and social aspects, although some respondents report issues with finances and social contacts. DiscussionThere are two main limitations to our research. Firstly, consumers who only stayed for a short while, consumers who stayed in the shelter more than a few years ago and consumer who left the program are underrepresented in our data. Secondly, a lot of the respondents deflected questions about their personal recovery (self-worth, trust, self-efficacy), because this ‘was not relevant for them’. Anecdotal evidence from peer workers and social workers and some of the respondents suggests that staying in the self-managed shelter contributes to personal recovery of consumers as well, but more research is necessary to determine how and to what extend consumers work on their personal recovery within self-managed programs.
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The Football Workshop Wageningen in The Netherlands originated from a care farm where people with mild intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour spent time for day activities. Passionate about football, two social workers and a growing number of service users left the care farm to set up sheltered employment at the local football club SKV. Interestingly, this endeavour is at the intersection of sheltered employment, leisure and community. This chapter will be part of a monograph on social inclusion, the interface between leisure and work in relation to people with intellectual disabilities. This current manuscript is yet unpublished. Modifications are reserved for official publication. Please reference this unofficial publication as follows: Knevel, J., Van Ewijk, H., Kolthek, W. (2021). The Football Workshop. Utrecht: Utrecht University of Applied Sciences. Unpublished manuscript.
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