Working with Individuals Who Are Homeless

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to give psychiatric/mental health nurses an overview of some of the issues they may need to consider when providing care for people who are homeless. Accordingly, the chapter begins by exploring the nature of the relationship between housing (homelessness) and mental health. It acknowledges how people with mental health and substance misuse problems are overrepresented among the homeless population. It recognizes that this situation has been reported in a number of European countries. The chapter then reports on a mixed-methods qualitative study with psychiatric survivors who have experienced homelessness. Selected findings from the study are presented under headings: gender issues, safety issues, preferences, and supports. One of the major findings from the study was that there is a lack of evidence to support continuing misperceptions that psychiatric survivors are a homogeneous group with similar needs. Consistent with the findings from previously published research, the study found the majority of people were unpartnered at the time of the interviews. We also found that homelessness and poverty are integrally related, and less than half of individuals who were sampled had completed high school. Issues for psychiatric/mental health nurses arising out of the findings include the need to understand that homelessness is a multifaceted issue and such nurses have to broaden their conceptualization and the foci of care with this population.