Rob Whitley1, Maxine Harris, Robert E Drake. 1. Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, 2 Whipple Pl., Suite 202, Lebanon, NH 03766, USA. rob.whitley@dartmouth.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the lived experience of residents with severe mental illness in a small-scale recovery-housing building in the inner city. They attempting to identify and understand factors that influenced adjustment and stability. METHODS: Four focus groups with 17 residents and participant observation with residents, case managers, and supervisory staff were conducted longitudinally over a two-year period. Data were analyzed according to the tenets of qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Safety and security was the most prominent issue raised by residents. Serious concerns about this issue could be divided into three categories: threats raised by the behavior of other residents (and their associates), threats raised by strangers, and threats related to loss of self-control. A related theme involved ongoing tension between residents' desire for communal connections and their conflicting desire for a bounded private life. CONCLUSIONS: Ongoing attention to the issue of safety and security should be a key component of recovery-oriented housing in inner-city residential areas. Further research may need to compare the experience of safety and security among residents living in recovery housing with the experience of those in independent scatter-site housing and traditional congregate housing.
OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the lived experience of residents with severe mental illness in a small-scale recovery-housing building in the inner city. They attempting to identify and understand factors that influenced adjustment and stability. METHODS: Four focus groups with 17 residents and participant observation with residents, case managers, and supervisory staff were conducted longitudinally over a two-year period. Data were analyzed according to the tenets of qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Safety and security was the most prominent issue raised by residents. Serious concerns about this issue could be divided into three categories: threats raised by the behavior of other residents (and their associates), threats raised by strangers, and threats related to loss of self-control. A related theme involved ongoing tension between residents' desire for communal connections and their conflicting desire for a bounded private life. CONCLUSIONS: Ongoing attention to the issue of safety and security should be a key component of recovery-oriented housing in inner-city residential areas. Further research may need to compare the experience of safety and security among residents living in recovery housing with the experience of those in independent scatter-site housing and traditional congregate housing.
Authors: Benjamin F Henwood; Ana Stefancic; Robin Petering; Sarah Schreiber; Courtney Abrams; Deborah K Padgett Journal: J Soc Social Work Res Date: 2015-09
Authors: Sima Sandhu; Stefan Priebe; Gerard Leavey; Isobel Harrison; Joanna Krotofil; Peter McPherson; Sarah Dowling; Maurice Arbuthnott; Sarah Curtis; Michael King; Geoff Shepherd; Helen Killaspy Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2017-07-11 Impact factor: 2.655