The use of social networking and e-health technology through mobile (and other) devices, like smartphones and tablets, has been increasing in the last 20 years. This is equally true for people in marginalized situations, like homeless people. Earlier research shows that the majority of homeless people own a smart phone (Heaslip et al., 2021) and that mobile technology has the potential to support the health and wellbeing of persons who are homeless (Calvo & Carbonell, 2019). In our presentation, we will explore this potential further and shed light on how and why online social networking is used by homeless people and their social workers.We will present findings from our two-year qualitative research project ‘Social Network First?’ on network support offered to homeless people in Amsterdam and Haarlem, two cities in the Netherlands. In the recent decade, the Netherlands has seen the number of homeless people doubled (CBS, 2021) and the urgency to support this disadvantaged group has increased. Whereas policy in previous years focused predominantly on a ‘housing first’ approach, in which the main priority is to accommodate homeless people, the belief grows that this approach is not sufficient. For that reason, in addition to housing, Dutch shelter organizations are implementing a novel network support approach in the care of homeless people. With this approach, loosely based on the resource group method, social workers attempt to empower their homeless clients by involving and strengthening their clients’ social contacts. To understand the network support approach and its contribution to the empowerment of homeless people, we have conducted 25 semi-structured interviews with homeless people, their relatives and friends, social workers, and other professionals involved. The analysis of the interview data reveals that online social networking is of crucial importance for the network support approach. Our (preliminary) results show that especially WhatsApp is used by social workers to connect the homeless person to his/her social network in two ways. Firstly, WhatsApp is used for thoroughly mapping the social network of the client. Secondly, WhatsApp is used to create an online support group, which offers the client and his/her network possibilities for (re)connection and mutual support. In addition, WhatsApp is used extensively by social workers to easily maintain contact with homeless clients. This is important because, especially with clients who are not ready yet to work on their recovery, using WhatsApp allows social workers to just check in once in a while, while giving control of the process to the client. Whereas these results are predominantly positive, we will also discuss the cons of social networking technology, like privacy issues. In conclusion, our presentation offers a comprehensive exploration of the opportunities of social networking technology in the context of supporting homeless people. By examining the implications for social workers, we aim to inspire attendees with insights in how digital communication methods can be used to improve their social work practice. Subsequently, we aspire this contributes to developing pathways out of homelessness with the help of others.
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In de adolescentiefase zouden jongeren in de gelegenheid moeten wordengesteld om te experimenteren met verschillende alternatieven, voordat zijhun bindingen (‘commitments’) ten aanzien van verschillende deelidentiteitenformuleren (Marcia, 1996). Vaak is er een spanning zichtbaar: jongerenmoeten bindingen aangaan die niet alleen overeenstemmen met eigen wensen,maar die tevens een antwoord zijn op eisen die hun vanuit de samenlevingworden gesteld (Bosma, 1991). Voor Marokkaanse jongeren zou het aangaanvan bindingen wel eens lastiger kunnen zijn dan voor autochtone leeftijdgenoten:zij krijgen te maken met verschillende verwachtingspatronen in relatietot hun identiteitsontwikkeling. Enerzijds kan het voor deze jongeren lastigzijn om te experimenteren met verschillende mogelijkheden, omdat in deMarokkaanse opvoeding respect en gehoorzaamheid centraal staan en omdathet idee dat de adolescentie een fase is waarin gee¨xperimenteerd mag wordendoor Marokkaanse ouders (nog) niet wordt gedeeld. Anderzijds blijkt uitverschillende onderzoeken dat zowel Marokkaanse jongens als meisjes weldegelijk mogelijkheden zien om verschillende alternatieven uit te proberen enuiteindelijk een eigen weg te gaan. In dit artikel worden de processen van hetexploreren van mogelijkheden en het aangaan van bindingen van Marokkaansejongeren bestudeerd in verschillende identiteitsdomeinen, waarbij defocus ligt op de deelidentiteit als moslim. Het artikel is gebaseerd op deuitkomsten van semigestructureerde interviews en een vragenlijst afgenomenbij tachtig scholieren van Marokkaanse afkomst in middelgrote steden inNederland.
Innovation in the 21st century has been moving continuously away from the model embraced in the last century, which was characterized as a profit-oriented and silo-targeted one. Currently, the logic is being driven towards “the social” sense and value of the transformation within the reality of complexity and the continuous necessity of designing and re-designing concepts towards sustainability of a different level. The underlying motive of innovation has been for long perceived as generating predominantly economic value. However, co-designing the society in the future is now being transformed into tackling social challenges in a multi-layered complexity scenario. Thus, there has been identified a need to find complementary ways to nurture innovation, generating social and public value based on interdependence and the emergence of interrelated and constantly networking actors.
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