TY - JOUR
T1 - Home as a Base for a Well-Lived Life
T2 - Comparing the Capabilities of Homeless Service Users in Housing First and the Staircase of Transition in Europe
AU - O’ Shaughnessy, Branagh
AU - Manning, Rachel M.
AU - Greenwood, Ronni Michelle
AU - Vargas-Moniz, Maria
AU - Loubière, Sandrine
AU - Spinnewijn, Freek
AU - Gaboardi, Marta
AU - Wolf, Judith R.
AU - Bokszczanin, Anna
AU - Bernad, Roberto
AU - Blid, Mats
AU - Ornelas, Jose
AU - The HOME-EU Consortium Study Group, HOME-EU Consortium Study Group
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 IBF, The Institute for Housing and Urban Research.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Nussbaum’s Central Capabilities refer to the elements of a well-lived life, and many adults who experience homelessness are deprived of these capabilities. The study aim was to investigate whether service users experience different homeless services as affording or constraining capabilities. We conducted semi-structured interviews with homeless service users (n = 77) in Housing First (HF) and staircase services (SS) in eight European countries. We used thematic analysis to identify three themes: autonomy and dependency, the relational impact of living arrangements, and community interaction and stigma. While SS participants were able to address their bodily integrity and health, their higher-order capabilities were constrained by their homeless situations. HF participants described home as a base from which they could enact a wide range of capabilities indicative of a well-lived life. We conclude that housing-led service models with appropriate supports are key to affording service users’ capabilities. Practical and policy implications are discussed.
AB - Nussbaum’s Central Capabilities refer to the elements of a well-lived life, and many adults who experience homelessness are deprived of these capabilities. The study aim was to investigate whether service users experience different homeless services as affording or constraining capabilities. We conducted semi-structured interviews with homeless service users (n = 77) in Housing First (HF) and staircase services (SS) in eight European countries. We used thematic analysis to identify three themes: autonomy and dependency, the relational impact of living arrangements, and community interaction and stigma. While SS participants were able to address their bodily integrity and health, their higher-order capabilities were constrained by their homeless situations. HF participants described home as a base from which they could enact a wide range of capabilities indicative of a well-lived life. We conclude that housing-led service models with appropriate supports are key to affording service users’ capabilities. Practical and policy implications are discussed.
KW - Capabilities approach
KW - Europe
KW - homelessness
KW - Housing First
KW - ontological security
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086036511&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14036096.2020.1762725
DO - 10.1080/14036096.2020.1762725
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85086036511
SN - 1403-6096
VL - 38
SP - 343
EP - 364
JO - Housing, Theory and Society
JF - Housing, Theory and Society
IS - 3
ER -