Changes in the lives of formerly homeless individuals in supportive housing S/A

A significant portion of homeless individuals suffer from mental illness, substance abuse disorders, or both, but are without access to health care or social support. Supportive housing has been proposed as a solution to address the housing and health needs of the homeless, as well as to reduce the public cost burden of high levels of hospital and emergency department use. Since 1999, Direct Access to Housing (DAH) in San Francisco has housed over 1000 chronically homeless people living with mental illness, substance use disorders and chronic medical problems. Quantitative analyses have struggled to demonstrate the impact of supportive housing on both the residents' lives and the health care system. This study will use qualitative methods to further explore the impact of supportive housing on concepts of community, identity and social relationships for recently housed formerly homeless adults in San Francisco. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews of staff and residents will be conducted over a period of 6-8 months to address this question. A grounded theory approach will be used for data analysis. By discussing the role of supportive housing with residents, a deeper understanding of the positive and negative aspects of housing, as well as suggestions for improvement will be identified.