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Organization: Feantsa
Publication Date: 2021
Guided by Kingdon’s (1995) policy streams framework, the aim of this paper is to understand how social scientists can influence policy responses to those experiencing homelessness based on examples from Europe, Canada, and the United States.
This paper is open access.
Publication Date: 2020
The purpose of this study is to examine the parent–child experiences of Indigenous and non‐Indigenous mothers and fathers experiencing homelessness, mental illness, and separation from their children. A qualitative thematic analysis of baseline and 18‐month follow‐up narrative interviews was used to compare 12 mothers (n = 8 Indigenous and n = 4 nonindigenous) with 24 fathers (n = 13 Indigenous and n = 11 non‐Indigenous). First, it was found that...
Publication Date: 2020
At Home/Chez Soi was a Canadian research demonstration project that tested the impacts of the Pathways Housing First model on people experiencing serious mental illness and homelessness in 5 cities across the country. In this article, we tell the 10-year story of At Home/Chez Soi, its positive outcomes, and how it contributed to transformative change in public policy from “treatment first” to “housing first” to end homelessness for individuals wi...
Publication Date: 2019
We examined communities’ expressed needs for capacity building in the implementation of Housing First (HF) for persons experiencing homelessness. The findings are based on thematic analyses of qualitative data obtained from participants (n = 77) in 11 focus groups conducted in seven Canadian cities. We identified capacity building needs in the areas of training (e.g., HF principles, clinical services, landlord engagement) and technical assistance...
Organization: EENet Ontario Housing First Regional Network Community of Interest
Publication Date: 2017
The policy brief, A Portable Housing Benefit as an Indispensable Component of Ending Homelessness in Canada, describes why PHB is a critical part of services delivered by Housing First programs to assist people who have experienced chronic or episodic homelessness to become stably housed. The policy brief also presents the research that has demonstrated its effectiveness, along with a set of recommendations.
Current challenges in implementing a...
Organization: Wilfrid Laurier University
Publication Date: 2017
This report summarizes findings from a study conducted from 2013-16 of expanding Housing First (HF) in six Canadian communities: Fraser Valley, BC, Saskatoon, SK, Winnipeg, MB, Waterloo and York Regions, ON, and Halifax, NS. This research project, “Transforming Housing and Treatment Services for Chronically Homeless Persons with Mental Illness in Canada: A Systems Approach to Integrated Knowledge Translation,” was funded through the Canadian Inst...
Publication Date: 2017
The purpose of this study was to understand the sustainability of the At Home/Chez Soi (AHCS) project with respect to its wider impact on homelessness policy in Canada and internationally. Using a qualitative case study approach with 15 key informant interviews (with project leaders and decision-makers) and archival data, we examined the strategies adopted to achieve sustainability of the Housing First (HF) programs implemented during this demons...
Publication Date: 2013
An interesting question concerns how large-scale (mental) health services policy initiatives come into being, and the role of evidence within the decision-making process behind their origins. This paper illustrates the process by which motivation to address homelessness, in the context of the upcoming 2010 Vancouver Olympics, was leveraged into a pan-Canadian project including sites in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Moncton, New Bruns...
Publication Date: 2015
Objective:
To provide a review of the extant research literature on Housing First (HF) for people with severe mental illness (SMI) who are homeless and to describe the findings of the recently completed At Home (AH)–Chez soi (CS) demonstration project. HF represents a paradigm shift in the delivery of community mental health services, whereby people with SMI who are homeless are supported through assertive community treatment or intensive case ma...
Publication Date: 2016
Planning the implementation of evidence-based mental health services entails commitment to both rigour and community relevance, which entails navigating the challenges of collaboration between professionals and community members in a planning environment which is neither ‘top-down’ nor ‘bottom-up’. This research focused on collaboration among different stakeholders (e.g. researchers, service-providers, persons with lived experience [PWLE]) at fiv...
Publication Date: 2017
Abstract
This research examined the sustainability of Canada's At Home/Chez Soi Housing First (HF) programs for homeless persons with mental illness 2 years after the end of the demonstration phase of a large (more than 2000 participants enrolled), five-site, randomized controlled trial. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 142 participants (key informants, HF staff, and persons with lived experience) to understand sustainability outcomes a...
Organization: Mental Health Commission of Canada National Qualitative Research Team for the At Home/Chez Soi Project
Publication Date: 2017
Executive Summary
The current research examines the policy impacts of the AHCS project beyond the demonstration project period. Part of a larger study about the sustainability of the services and their long-term impacts, the current report examines AHCS’s wider impact on homelessness policy in Canada. The study describes how efforts to achieve sustainability in a limited sense – that is, to attain transitional funding and secure a “safe landing”...
Publication Date: 2016
ABSTRACT
Qualitative narrative interviews were conducted with 195 participants with histories of homelessness and mental illness at baseline and at an 18-month follow-up. Participants were randomly assigned at baseline to Housing First (HF; n = 119) or treatment as usual (TAU; n = 76) in five Canadian cities. Changes in consumers’ narratives over time were examined for 13 life domains (e.g., housing stability, typical day, social relationships)....
Publication Date: 2015
This article examines later fidelity and implementation of a five-site pan-Canadian Housing First research demonstration project. The average fidelity score across five Housing First domains and 10 programs was high in the first year of operation (3.47/4) and higher in the third year of operation (3.62/4). Qualitative interviews (36 key informant interviews and 17 focus groups) revealed that staff expertise, partnerships with other services, and...
Publication Date: 2015
Objective:
This study compared the life changes of homeless people with mental illness participating in Housing First or treatment as usual and examined factors related to various changes.
Methods:
Semistructured narrative interviews were conducted with 219 participants in five Canadian cities at baseline; 197 were interviewed again at 18 months after random assignment to Housing First (N=119) or treatment as usual (N=78). Interviews were co...
Publication Date: 2003
We examined the stories of empowerment and recovery of five psychiatric consumer/survivors who participated in supported housing programs. Interviews with these five participants and members of their social networks were used to gather qualitative data on their lives prior to supported housing, their experiences with supported housing, and the impacts/changes that they experienced through supported housing. Changes in personal empowerment, commun...
Publication Date: 2013
This research sought to determine whether the implementation of Housing First in a large-scale, multi-site Canadian project for homeless participants with mental illness shows high fidelity to the Pathways Housing First model, and what factors help or hinder implementation. Fidelity ratings for 10 Housing First programs in five cities were made by an external quality assurance team along five key dimensions of Housing First based on 84 key inform...
Organization: Mental Health Commission of Canada
Publication Date: 2012
This report presents a synthesis of the findings of the baseline consumer narrative interviews collected for the At Home/Chez Soi project1. This pan Canadian project, which is funded by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), is a five-year research demonstration study exploring interventions for homeless adults who have mental illnesses. At Home/Chez Soi applies evidence-based interventions in the Canadian context to better understand whi...
Organization: Mental Health Commission of Canada
Publication Date: 2011
This report presents the overall findings emanating from the planning and proposal development phase of the At Home/Chez Soi project. This pan Canadian project is funded by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) . It is a five-year research demonstration project exploring ways to help the growing number of homeless people who have a mental illness. It builds on existing evidence and knowledge and applies it in Canadian settings to learn...
Publication Date: 1998
without abstract.