TEMPLATE DESIGN © 2008 C OMMUNITY V OICES Insights on Calgary’s social and human services from...
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TEMPLATE DESIGN © 2008 www.PosterPresentations.com COMMUNITY VOICES Insights on Calgary’s social and human services from people with lived experiences of homeless Natalie St-Denis, MSW (c); Christine A. Walsh, PhD; Liza Lorenzetti, PhD (c); TracyRay Lewis, Erin Pearce, MSW (c); Percy Murwisi, MSW Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary INTRODUCTION An estimated 160,000 Canadians experience homelessness every year 1 , but the exact prevalence is difficult to determine due to the challenges in defining and measuring homelessness 2-3 . Calgary has the largest homeless population in Alberta according to the most recent point-in-time homelessness counts. In August 2012, a total of 3,576 people were counted: 1,703 people in emergency shelters, 1,351 in short-term supportive housing, 189 with no fixed address; and 333 were rough sleepers, defined as residing on the streets 4 . The Calgary 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness endorses the housing first approach together with case management practices to house and support clients to maintain housing by addressing other factors that may have led to homelessness 5 . The aim of the Community Voices study was to collaborate with people experiencing homelessness in Calgary in order to better understand their experiences of social and human services in the context of the 10 Year Plan, and to provide relevant recommendations for existing programs, services, and policies. METHODOLOGY RESULTS RESULTS RESULTS RECOMMENDATIONS REFERENCES Community Voices, which began in 2011, was spearheaded by Homeless Awareness Calgary (now dissolved) in collaboration with researchers and students at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary and community experts. It adopted a participatory action research (PAR) framework 6 which asserts that experiential knowledge is a valid form of expertise 7 and that “given the proper tools, the people most affected by a problem are not only capable of better understanding their realities, but are also the best equipped to address their struggles” 8 (p. 1). PAR aims to eliminate power differentials between professional researchers and community experts, and uses critical reflection that legitimizes personal and emotional experience in the framing of knowledge 9 with the ultimate goal of influencing and affecting social change. Using convenience and snowball sampling techniques 10 people who were homelessness (n=41) were invited to participate in one of seven focus groups to share their experiences of accessing human and social services in Calgary. Focus groups were audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim, and transcripts analyzed by research team members and participants who were invited as co-researchers (n=21). The aim of this stage was also to deepen the research capabilities of the co-researchers. In order to address homelessness, action is needed at all levels of the spectrum 13 : at the micro level, which includes individuals and their families, and at the mezzo level, which includes agencies, communities and municipalities, as well as the macro level, which includes provincial and federal governments and social policies. Participants in this study identified the necessity of specialized supports, specifically case management together with addictions and mental health services. “I think people are warehoused a lot. There should be more one-on-one, than dealing with everyone at once where nothing gets done. We are all different, totally different. There should be more counselling rather than just feeding [homeless people] and shipping them off.” THEME 5: CRIMINALIZATION OF HOMELESSNESS Participants identified that homelessness is increasingly criminalized by society. Many cities use the criminal justice system to penalize homeless people for engaging in survival activities. The City of Calgary 15 has bylaws that prohibit loitering, panhandling and sleeping in public spaces. This leads to more criminal justice involvement which further disenfranchises an already vulnerable population. “There seems to be a double standard in society especially here in Calgary, where if you’re contributing, wear a suit, look the part, [the police] overlook you. But if you have a backpack or you look out of sorts, they’re right on you.” THEME 6: PROGRAMS & PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE Among the numerous dehumanizing experiences shared by people who have experienced homelessness, many also shared stories of hope and resilience and positive experiences with specific agencies or practitioners within agencies, which increased their potential to exit homelessness. “I have a worker that comes to see me once a week, or whenever right, and we go over how I’m doing and how I’m doing with my plan – short-term and long-term goals. So for me, that’s what working.” Peer-to-peer support and empowerment was the cornerstone of community building and survival. Participants spoke of their ability to share information and resources and to work together to navigate the system. RESULTS Once you become homeless, it is very challenging to exit. Although dynamic, the the homelessness trap is enforced by structural, cultural, and individual levels of oppression. As a result, individuals have fewer supports and resources to aid in exiting homelessness. Nine themes were identified, including five challenging factors and four strength factors, each of which are comprised on a number of sub-themes as presented with a diagram and an illustrative quote. Barriers to employment among homeless populations significantly contribute to an inability to exit homelessness. 11 Employment and income increases quality of life among homeless populations as it corresponds to a decrease in depression, psychosis, as well as alcohol and drug use. 12 Employment is a source of self-esteem and independence, as well as the primary means of re-integration or re-socialization into mainstream society. 3 “ Employers are not looking for guys that are sleeping on a mattress at the bottom of the [specific shelter]. You are not reliable to them as soon as they hear you’re homeless. The majority of the time it’s like, we have other guys looking for work who own their own homes. Basically they make a stereotype: if you’re in a homeless shelter then you’re not a reliable worker.” “The lack of compassion, understanding of what the plight you’re really going through, that keeps you down, keeps you depressed. So then you just say fuck it and go out and have a drink. Then bang, you’re worse off than you were because you went there for help and they said: oh we don’t have enough staff today.” THEME 1: SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION THEME 2: BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT THEME 3: LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY THEME 7: RESILIENCE Participants in this study outlined several factors that are successful in helping people meet the demands and challenges of the world on and off the streets. Creativity, resourcefulness and building a network of peers, were described as a means of fostering self-support and promoting resilience. THEME 8: PEER-TO-PEER EMPOWERMENT THEME 9: BEING A VOICE FOR CHANGE In sharing their stories, uncovering common experiences, and acknowledging their journey of homelessness, participants recognized that others might benefit from their insights and knowledge. “We want people to realize that we did not wake up and decide we wanted to be criminals and we didn’t grow up thinking we were going to be junkies and hookers. We had dreams just like everybody else when we were little girls. We’ve learned a lot as women and we’ve become a really good support for each other. As a group I think we stand really strong together and we have a really strong voice and we’re going to make people shut up and listen.” Community Voices provides a framework to both understand and take action to end homelessness from a humanizing framework that is accountable and inclusive of the voices and perspectives of those with lived experiences of life on the streets following these recommendations: 1. Adopt a human rights and social justice framework 2. Enhance training for all agency staff with anti-oppressive practices 3. Provide case management to all homeless individuals 4. Improve existing shelter conditions 5. Create an awareness campaign calling for social justice 6. Provide affordable and inclusionary housing 7. Address minimum wage and rent stabilization 8. Lobby for a national housing strategy THEME 4: IT’S MORE THAN HOUSING One of the core principals of the housing first model is that housing is offered in conjunction with individualized support services to address the diverse needs of “You don’t know the different resources that are available until you get together with a group of people that are homeless. You learn more from them and you don’t even need a cell-phone. We can just talk to each other.” “I am not data, a number, a unit of livestock or a child. Please treat me as the human being I am, and if you agree to help me, please help me with what I really need, not with what you think I need, the minimum you think I deserve, or the things you were going to throw away, anyway – as I can only make use of garbage for so long. I will not shoulder “I think the higher ups; the ones who are high up in those buildings should actually go in and see the homeless. Eat a meal with them, sit down with them and actually talk to and walk with the homeless, and live it. I think they would get a better idea of what needs to change.” 1. Trypuc, B., & Robinson, J. (2009). Homeless in Canada. Charity Intelligence Canada. Retrieved from www.charityintelligence.ca 2. Begin, P., Casavant, L., Miller Chenier, N., & Dupuis, J. (1999). Homelessness. (Government Report No. PRB 99 1E). Ottawa, Ontario: Library of Parliament. 3. Peressini, T. L., Hulchanski, J. D., McDonald, L., & Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. (1996). Estimating homelessness: Towards a methodology for counting the homeless in Canada: Background report . Ottawa: The Division. 4. Calgary Homeless Foundation. (2012a). Preliminary results of point in-time count done in August . Retrieved from http:// newsroom.calgaryhomeless.com/press-releases/correction-from-source-rise-in- calgary-s-homeless-201210250828919002 5 Calgary Homeless Foundation (2012b). Calgary Homeless Foundation Annual Report, 2012. Retrieved from http://calgaryhomeless.com/assets/Progress/Year4/CHF2012AnnualReport.pdf 6. Macdonald, C. (2012). Understanding participatory action research: A qualitative research methodology option. Canadian Journal of Action Research, 13(2), 34-50. 7. Altpeter, M., Schopler, J. H., Galinsky, M. J., & Pennell, J. (1999). Participatory research as social work practice: When is it viable? Journal of Progressive Human Services, 10(2), 31-53. doi:10.1300/J059v10n02_04 8. Koirala-Azad, S. & Fuentes, E. (2009-2010). Activist scholarship: Possibilities and constraints of participatory action research. Social Justice, 36(4), 1-5. 9. Fook J. & Askeland G. A.(2007). Challenges of critical reflection: ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’. Social Work Education, 26(5), 520-523. 10. Atkinson, R., and Flint, J. 2004. Snowball sampling. In The SAGE encyclopedia of social science research methods, ed. M. S. Lewis-Beck, A. Bryman and T. Futing Liao 1044-1045. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412950589 11. Shier, M. L., Jones, M. E., & Graham, J. R. (2012). Employment difficulties experienced by employed homeless people: Labor market factors that contribute to and maintain homelessness. Journal of Poverty, 16(1), 27-47.
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Transcript of TEMPLATE DESIGN © 2008 C OMMUNITY V OICES Insights on Calgary’s social and human services from...
TEMPLATE DESIGN © 2008
www.PosterPresentations.com
COMMUNITY VOICESInsights on Calgary’s social and human services from people
with lived experiences of homelessNatalie St-Denis, MSW (c); Christine A. Walsh, PhD; Liza Lorenzetti, PhD (c); TracyRay Lewis, Erin Pearce, MSW (c); Percy Murwisi, MSW
Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary
INTRODUCTION
An estimated 160,000 Canadians experience homelessness every year 1, but the exact prevalence is difficult to determine due to the challenges in defining and measuring homelessness2-3. Calgary has the largest homeless population in Alberta according to the most recent point-in-time homelessness counts. In August 2012, a total of 3,576 people were counted: 1,703 people in emergency shelters, 1,351 in short-term supportive housing, 189 with no fixed address; and 333 were rough sleepers, defined as residing on the streets4.
The Calgary 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness endorses the housing first approach together with case management practices to house and support clients to maintain housing by addressing other factors that may have led to homelessness5.
The aim of the Community Voices study was to collaborate with people experiencing homelessness in Calgary in order to better understand their experiences of social and human services in the context of the 10 Year Plan, and to provide relevant recommendations for existing programs, services, and policies.
METHODOLOGY
RESULTS
RESULTS RESULTS
RECOMMENDATIONS
REFERENCES
Community Voices, which began in 2011, was spearheaded by Homeless Awareness Calgary (now dissolved) in collaboration with researchers and students at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary and community experts. It adopted a participatory action research (PAR) framework6 which asserts that experiential knowledge is a valid form of expertise7 and that “given the proper tools, the people most affected by a problem are not only capable of better understanding their realities, but are also the best equipped to address their struggles”8 (p. 1). PAR aims to eliminate power differentials between professional researchers and community experts, and uses critical reflection that legitimizes personal and emotional experience in the framing of knowledge9 with the ultimate goal of influencing and affecting social change.
Using convenience and snowball sampling techniques10 people who were homelessness (n=41) were invited to participate in one of seven focus groups to share their experiences of accessing human and social services in Calgary. Focus groups were audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim, and transcripts analyzed by research team members and participants who were invited as co-researchers (n=21). The aim of this stage was also to deepen the research capabilities of the co-researchers.
In order to address homelessness, action is needed at all levels of the spectrum13: at the micro level, which includes individuals and their families, and atthe mezzo level, which includesagencies, communities and municipalities,as well as the macro level, which includes provincial and federal governments and social policies.
Participants in this study identified the necessity of specialized supports, specifically case management together with addictions and mental health services. “I think people are warehoused a lot. There should be more one-on-one, than dealing with everyone at once where nothing gets done. We are all different, totally different. There should be more counselling rather than just feeding [homeless people] and shipping them off.”
THEME 5: CRIMINALIZATION OF HOMELESSNESSParticipants identified that homelessness is increasingly criminalized by society. Many cities use the criminal justice system to penalize homeless people for engaging in survival activities. The City of Calgary15 has bylaws that prohibit loitering, panhandling and sleeping in public spaces. This leads to more criminal justice involvement which further disenfranchises an already vulnerable population.
“There seems to be a double standard in society especially here in Calgary, where if you’re contributing, wear a suit, look the part, [the police] overlook you. But if you have a backpack or you look out of sorts, they’re right on you.”
THEME 6: PROGRAMS & PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCEAmong the numerous dehumanizing experiences shared by people who have experienced homelessness, many also shared stories of hope and resilience and positive experiences with specific agencies or practitioners within agencies, which increased their potential to exit homelessness.
“I have a worker that comes to see me once a week, or whenever right, and we go over how I’m doing and how I’m doing with my plan – short-term and long-term goals. So for me, that’s what working.”
Peer-to-peer support and empowerment was the cornerstone of community building and survival. Participants spoke of their ability to share information and resources and to work together to navigate the system.
RESULTS
Once you become homeless, it is very challenging to exit. Although dynamic, the the homelessness trap is enforced by structural, cultural, and individual levels of oppression. As a result, individuals have fewer supports and resources to aid in exiting homelessness.
Nine themes were identified, including five challenging factors and four strength factors, each of which are comprised on a number of sub-themes as presented with a diagram and an illustrative quote.
Barriers to employment among homeless populations significantly contribute to an inability to exit homelessness.11 Employment and income increases quality of life among homeless populations as it corresponds to a decrease in depression, psychosis, as well as alcohol and drug use.12
Employment is a source of self-esteem and independence, as well as the primary means of
re-integration or re-socialization into mainstream society.3
“Employers are not looking for guys that are sleeping on a mattress at the bottom of the [specific shelter]. You are not reliable to them as soon as they hear you’re homeless. The majority of the time it’s like, we have other guys looking for work who own their own homes. Basically they make a stereotype: if you’re in a homeless shelter then you’re not a reliable worker.”
“The lack of compassion, understanding of what the plight you’re really going through, that keeps you down, keeps you depressed. So then you just say fuck it and go out and have a drink. Then bang, you’re worse off than you were because you went there for help and they said: oh we don’t have enough staff today.”
THEME 1: SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION
THEME 2: BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT
THEME 3: LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
THEME 7: RESILIENCEParticipants in this study outlined several factors that are successful in helping people meet the demands and challenges of the world on and off the streets. Creativity, resourcefulness and building a network of peers, were described as a means of fostering self-support and promoting resilience.
THEME 8: PEER-TO-PEER EMPOWERMENT
THEME 9: BEING A VOICE FOR CHANGEIn sharing their stories, uncovering common experiences, and acknowledging their journey of homelessness, participants recognized that others might benefit from their insights and knowledge. “We want people to realize that we did not wake up and decide we wanted to be criminals and we didn’t grow up thinking we were going to be junkies and hookers. We had dreams just like everybody else when we were little girls. We’ve learned a lot as women and we’ve become a really good support for each other. As a group I think we stand really strong together and we have a really strong voice and we’re going to make people shut up and listen.”
Community Voices provides a framework to both understand and take action to end homelessness from a humanizing framework that is accountable and inclusive of the voices and perspectives of those with lived experiences of life on the streets following these recommendations: 1. Adopt a human rights and social justice framework2. Enhance training for all agency staff with anti-oppressive practices 3. Provide case management to all homeless individuals4. Improve existing shelter conditions 5. Create an awareness campaign calling for social justice6. Provide affordable and inclusionary housing 7. Address minimum wage and rent stabilization8. Lobby for a national housing strategy
THEME 4: IT’S MORE THAN HOUSING
One of the core principals of the housing first model is that housing is offered in conjunction with individualized support services to address the diverse needs of individuals in housing services.14
“You don’t know the different resources that are available until you get together with a group of people that are homeless. You learn more from them and you don’t even need a cell-phone. We can just talk to each other.”
“I am not data, a number, a unit of livestock or a child. Please treat me as the human being I am, and if you agree to help me, please help me with what I really need, not with what you think I need, the minimum you think I deserve, or the things you were going to throw away, anyway – as I can only make use of garbage for so long. I will not shoulder the responsibility of manufacturing gratitude for second hand efforts and objects if I am neglected and deteriorate further. ”
“I think the higher ups; the ones who are high up in those buildings should actually go in and see the homeless. Eat a meal with them, sit down with them and actually talk to and walk with the homeless, and live it. I think they would get a better idea of what needs to change.”
1. Trypuc, B., & Robinson, J. (2009). Homeless in Canada. Charity Intelligence Canada. Retrieved from www.charityintelligence.ca2. Begin, P., Casavant, L., Miller Chenier, N., & Dupuis, J. (1999). Homelessness. (Government Report No. PRB 99 1E). Ottawa, Ontario: Library of Parliament.3. Peressini, T. L., Hulchanski, J. D., McDonald, L., & Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. (1996). Estimating homelessness: Towards a methodology for counting the homeless in Canada: Background report. Ottawa: The Division.4. Calgary Homeless Foundation. (2012a). Preliminary results of point in-time count done in August. Retrieved from http:// newsroom.calgaryhomeless.com/press-releases/correction-from-source-rise-in-calgary-s-homeless-2012102508289190025 Calgary Homeless Foundation (2012b). Calgary Homeless Foundation Annual Report, 2012. Retrieved from http://calgaryhomeless.com/assets/Progress/Year4/CHF2012AnnualReport.pdf6. Macdonald, C. (2012). Understanding participatory action research: A qualitative research methodology option. Canadian Journal of Action Research, 13(2), 34-50. 7. Altpeter, M., Schopler, J. H., Galinsky, M. J., & Pennell, J. (1999). Participatory research as social work practice: When is it viable? Journal of Progressive Human Services, 10(2), 31-53. doi:10.1300/J059v10n02_048. Koirala-Azad, S. & Fuentes, E. (2009-2010). Activist scholarship: Possibilities and constraints of participatory action research. Social Justice, 36(4), 1-5.9. Fook J. & Askeland G. A.(2007). Challenges of critical reflection: ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’. Social Work Education, 26(5), 520-523.10. Atkinson, R., and Flint, J. 2004. Snowball sampling. In The SAGE encyclopedia of social science research methods, ed. M. S. Lewis-Beck, A. Bryman and T. Futing Liao 1044-1045. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/978141295058911. Shier, M. L., Jones, M. E., & Graham, J. R. (2012). Employment difficulties experienced by employed homeless people: Labor market factors that contribute to and maintain homelessness. Journal of Poverty, 16(1), 27-47. doi:10.1080/10875549.2012.64052212. Lam, J. & Rosenheck, R. (2000). Correlates of improvement in quality of life among homeless persons with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 51, 116–118.13. Blankertz, L., McKay, C., & Robinson, S. (1998). Work as a rehabilitative tool for individuals with dual diagnosis. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 11, 113–123.14. Gaetz, S. (2012). The real cost of homelessness. Can we save money by doing the right thing? Toronto: Canadian Homeless Research Network Press. Retrieved from http://www.homelesshub.ca/ResourceFiles/costofhomelessness_paper21092012.pdf15 City of Calgary. (2013b). Bylaws. Retrieved from http://www.calgary.ca/CA/cityclerks/Pages /Legislativeservices/Bylaws.aspx
