Published In
Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless
Document Type
Pre-Print
Publication Date
6-25-2024
Abstract
In recent years, alternatives to congregate shelters have emerged, including tiny home villages and motel conversions. Existing research indicates that these alternative shelter modalities are associated with positive outcomes for shelter guests. This qualitative study was conducted with 11 participants staying in three alternative shelters tailored to support specific groups: lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) people, women, and medically vulnerable people. Participants reported a number of facilitators and barriers to meeting their personal goals (e.g., permanent housing, medical care). Key facilitators included the relative privacy, autonomy, and safety of alternative shelters, and support for guests with marginalized identities. Barriers included difficulty navigating housing systems, and lack of internet and mail access. Given the drawbacks of congregate shelters, these new models are promising options to support unhoused people when permanent housing is not yet available.
Rights
© Copyright the author(s) 2024
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1080/10530789.2024.2367354
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42391
Citation Details
Published as: Leickly, E., Greene, J., & Ferry, T. (2024). “It feels like I’m a step closer to my ultimate goal of stable housing:” a qualitative study of unhoused people’s experiences in alternative shelters in Portland. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 1–9.
Description
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published as: “It feels like I’m a step closer to my ultimate goal of stable housing:” a qualitative study of unhoused people’s experiences in alternative shelters in Portland. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 1–9.