Abstract
This chapter draws upon data from a 5-year National Institute of Mental Health-funded qualitative study of homeless programs to describe how frontline providers experience the implementation and delivery of homeless services. Interviews with frontline workers and observations of practice in the field are used to elucidate common practice dilemmas, successes, and challenges from the perspective of those “on the ground.” Areas discussed include provider experiences with managing risk and recovery in their work with service users who have active addiction and psychiatric issues, approaches for working with and around limited resources and policy constraints, implementation strategies for the delivery of harm reduction and “treatment first” program orientations, and how providers work to honor consumer choice and self-determination within the confines of program rules.
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Notes
- 1.
Frontline provider accounts in this chapter are derived from a National Institute of Mental Health-funded study of supportive housing for formerly homeless adults with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse diagnoses (NIMH R01MH084903).
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Tiderington, E. (2019). Practice Dilemmas, Successes, and Challenges in the Delivery of Homeless Services: Voices from the Frontline. In: Larkin, H., Aykanian, A., Streeter, C.L. (eds) Homelessness Prevention and Intervention in Social Work. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03727-7_18
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