Abstract
Rooming houses are often considered last resort accommodation for people affected by homelessness. However, some rooming houses aspire to provide safe, affordable, good-quality accommodation. This article reports on research into an activity program Women Achieving New Directions (WAND) in one such rooming house for women in Melbourne, Australia. Women-only homelessness programs are important because of women’s specific, gendered experiences of homelessness. Five main themes relating to program impact and structure were identified from the data, namely, reducing isolation, the importance of leaving choice to the women, the vital role of staff support, the emerging sense of program ownership, and experiences of building community connection.
Introduction
Rooming houses occupy a contentious position in the Australian housing spectrum. For the most part, rooming houses, particularly private for-profit ones, have been perceived as a necessary evil (Adler & Barry-Macaulay, 2009), providing last resort housing to people affected by homelessness (Leveratt, 2011). They offer accessible, low-cost, but frequently substandard accommodation to people experiencing homelessness. Rooming houses have been considered so inadequate that residents of many rooming houses are still counted as homeless according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) definition of homelessness which states that: [A] person is homeless if they do not have suitable accommodation alternatives and their current living arrangement: is in a dwelling that is inadequate, or has no tenure, or if their initial tenure is short and not extendable, or does not allow them to have control of, and access to space for social relations. (ABS, 2011, pp. 4–5).
This article reports on research conducted in relation to an activity program, Women Achieving New Directions (WAND) initiated at a YWCA rooming house that aspires to provide safe, affordable, good-quality accommodation for women. The WAND activity program facilitated recreation and participation for residents with a view to stabilizing tenancies and fostering the residents’ personal development and social experience. The research aimed to explore women’s participation in the WAND program and what the experience meant to them. While providing some evaluative feedback for the organization delivering the program, the research sought to go beyond program evaluation to understand, from the participants’ own perspectives, what part the activity program played in their lives and what it meant to them, thus adding to understandings of the role of activity programs in gender-specific homelessness services for women, and drawing conclusions about the implementation of activity programs in rooming houses.
The following section of this article reviews relevant literature, providing a brief overview in relation to gender-specific homelessness services for women, and activity programs in these services. The next section introduces the WAND program and includes the findings that could be seen as program evaluation. This is followed by a description of the research design, the research findings, and finally a discussion of the findings including implications for practice, policy, and future research.
Women, Homelessness, and Gender-Specific Services
In the 1970s, public awareness of women’s experiences of homelessness in places such as Australia was strongly linked with rising consciousness of domestic violence and its impact on women. The establishment of refuges for women and children escaping domestic violence was a signature achievement of the women’s movement in the 1970s, and feminism has had a strong presence in family violence-related and homelessness services since that time. Women’s experiences of homelessness and social work service responses to those experiences have received some attention in the international literature since the 1980s (Johnson & Cnaan, 1995). Johnson and Cnaan’s (1995) review article refers to differences between women accompanied by dependent children and those who are not, and the commonality of abuse and victimization in the lives of homeless women. In particular, research into subgroups experiencing homelessness has identified that single women accessing homelessness services experience particularly high levels of stress related to sexual assault, family violence, and psychiatric services-related hospitalization (Zugazaga, 2004). Meanwell’s (2012) literature review drew attention to the importance of providing interventions and treatments specific to the needs of single homeless women.
Lewison, Thomas, and White (2014) conducted feminist narrative research with 21 women residents of budget hotels in Atlanta in the United States. They found that gender-based violence and victimization contributed to cumulative trauma for their participants. The women’s experiences of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in childhood and beyond, financial exploitation, crime exposure, and systematic subjugation contributed to their becoming homeless, and continued after their first episode of homelessness. The authors conclude that there is a need for trauma-informed intervention approaches for women affected by homelessness, including ongoing intensive support services associated with permanent housing.
Brown and Ziefert (1990) show how, at least in some instances, the research into the characteristics and common experiences of homeless women was combined with a feminist social work approach to shape services. However in 2001, Wendy Weeks, a noted Australian feminist social worker, drew attention to the invisibility of women in homelessness service provision, and despite attention since then to gender specific issues, Darab and Hartman (2013) reiterate this concern more than a decade later.
The past decade has seen increasing calls for attention to the complexity of homeless women’s lives and the need for innovation in services (Adkins & Greenhalgh, 2003), but little publication in the international peer reviewed literature regarding frontline service provision for women affected by homelessness. A 2009 special edition of the Australian magazine Parity published a number of short articles about women, homelessness, and services. Murray (2009a, 2009b), Geddes (2009) and Gallagher and Gove (2007), note the impact of violence, specifically family violence, and state that because of the dangers women are exposed to while homeless, including in mixed-gender boarding houses, gender-specific programs, and spaces are vital. Baker, Billhardt, Warren, Rollins, and Glass (2010) and Geddes (2009) call for greater policy recognition of women’s experiences of violence and marginalization.
There is some literature regarding the provision of gender-specific women’s services, but little in relation to activity programs and none that is specific to women who become rooming house tenants. Adkins and Greenhalgh (2003) and Holmes (2010) emphasize the importance of addressing social isolation and building connection with community as pivotal for women experiencing homelessness. However, in an environment of scarce resources, there has been a strong focus on the provision of essential services such as housing, case management, support, and material aid for extremely vulnerable populations (De Vet et al., 2013; Rivera, 2004). Nevertheless, working with women to address the legacy of homelessness is a necessary part of reducing future vulnerability to homelessness and increasing education and employment options in the longer term (Bawden, 2010; Finfgeld-Connett, 2010; Gordon, 2009).
Some work has been undertaken identifying the value of programmatic approaches to build educational and vocational skills as a pathway to employability for women who are homeless (Ellis, Syngajewski, Ryan, Walsh, & Owen, 2008). However, the idea of education as assisting people to develop vocational pathways is different from the idea of assisting people affected by homelessness to gain self-esteem, increase social interaction, and improve engagement and confidence, although the two are not mutually exclusive. For women, the linear view of vocational education as a pathway out of homelessness fails to acknowledge the incremental nature of skill and confidence building. A holistic and gender-sensitive approach to service provision begins with building engagement, reducing isolation, and increasing rates of participation across a range of activities (Bawden, 2010; Finfgeld-Connett, 2010, Holmes, 2010). Pedersen, Andersen, and Curtis (2012), with reference to social isolation; note that limiting contact with other residents is a common characteristic of individuals who have experienced trauma, drawing attention to the importance of interventions that enable and encourage social contact in a safe, supportive environment.
There is growing recognition of the importance of facilitating recreation and participation through social inclusion activities for homeless and marginalized people, particularly women (Adkins & Greehalgh, 2009; Holmes, 2010; Shier, Jones, & Graham, 2011; Wolf Klitzing, 2003). These activities are reported to have had significant outcomes in relation to promoting engagement with service providers, reducing conflict in shared accommodation, creating social networks both within mainstream and immediate social networks, building trust, social connectedness, self-esteem and confidence, assisting in transition to mainstream education, and contributing toward reducing future vulnerability to homelessness (Howard et al., 2012; Parkinson, 2004; Rivera, 2004). This is particularly relevant in high pressure, tense, and challenging environments with little privacy (Connell, 2007; Ellis, 2005). Recreation and activity programs can provide opportunities to make decisions about small things, building confidence in people whose self-esteem has been eroded by homelessness (Canty-Waldron, 2006). There is some evidence that such activities build an appreciation for others with whom they might be sharing space, including stronger cultural awareness (Thomas, Gray, McGinty, & Ebringer, 2011).
The literature in relation to women, homelessness, and gender-specific services shows that women’s experiences of homelessness are gendered and concludes that there is a need for gender-specific services. However, continuing calls for gender-specific service delivery indicate that there is a need for ongoing research and service development. The literature suggests that engagement, reducing social isolation, and building community connection are important aspects of providing services for women affected by homelessness. There is some evidence of the benefits of activity and recreation programs, but providing these programs in the context of a rooming house has not been explored previously.
The WAND Program
The WAND Program was established, and is delivered, within a rooming house based in an Australian capital city. The rooming house seeks to provide medium to longer term accommodation for up to 67 women in a comfortable and safe environment, for single women who have experienced homelessness. There is no time limit on the length of stay. The WAND program, supported by a Program Coordinator, provides a range of activities including art and craft sessions, cooking classes, yoga, and evening get-togethers. Excursions to events and activities in the community, such as markets, dance and theater performances, and the local gym, are also facilitated and supported. A partnership with a registered vocational training provider offers women the opportunity for more formal vocational education and training.
The YWCA rooming house that hosts the WAND program is grounded in a feminist philosophy that is consistent with contemporary critical feminist approaches in social work (Fook, 2012). It acknowledges the gendered nature of women’s experiences of homelessness and emphasizes the importance of services that take account of women’s particular experiences of homelessness. In the planning stages, the program aims were expressed in terms of prevocational training that would set women on a pathway to vocational outcomes and transition out of the rooming house and into the private rental market once they were employed and earning sufficient income. However, by the time of implementation, the program aims included tenancy stabilization, recreation and community participation, and the provision of learning, particularly vocational learning. Group activities were provided within the rooming house, excursions were organized, and local gym memberships were encouraged. The evaluation of the first year of implementation found that the prevocational classes were the least viable of the activities because of the diversity of interests and existing skills of the residents. In addition, residents who undertook specific prevocational training said that they were disappointed that they did not receive a recognized certificate. For these reasons, the YWCA formed a partnership with a not-for-profit training provider with experience of providing training for people affected by homelessness. The role of WAND in relation to vocational and formal prevocational training changed to that of facilitating access to the courses offered by the partner provider. This meant that the women could have access to a broad range of courses for which they could receive certificates following successful completion.
As the WAND staff delivered the activity program, they came to better understand the needs and interests of the women. Because of their feminist orientation to program delivery, they were committed to developing a program that would respond to the women’s interests, their criticisms of the program, and what they found to be of value. The voluntary participation meant that attendance at particular activities, as well as feedback from the participants, became a guide for the YWCA in developing their understanding of the value of WAND. In the formal evaluation of the first year of program delivery, WAND staff reflected on the importance and value of developing learning opportunities that build on the previous experiences of the participants. This approach provides a validation of what women bring to the learning environment and facilitates the sharing of this skill and knowledge base for the benefit of all those involved in the program, for example, in the cooking classes. The importance of connection with community and supported participation for involvement in activities that enhance health and well-being outcomes for women became increasingly apparent over the course of the program delivery.
There was a range of regular activities offered in three terms, January to September in the second year of program delivery. These were as follows: Art Café Connect, a daytime drop-in art and craft activity run in the downstairs foyer of the rooming house—Run 26 times over the year: average attendance 4.6. Wednesday Night Live, evening social events—Run 10 times over the year (Terms 1 and 2 only): average attendance 7.2. Yoga—Run 17 times over the year: average attendance 2.4. Cooking Classes—Run 11 times over the year (Terms 1 and 2 only): average attendance 4. Gardening—Run 7 times over the year (Term 3 only): average attendance 2.4. A series of single session activities that were made up of cool drinks in the foyer, WAND consultation and planning meetings, picnic in the Botanical Gardens, visit to the sprout garden, visit to Boutique Beds, BBQ at Carlton House, Op shopping, Body Shop Pampering, NAIDOC Week walk, theatre performance, Football, Gym demonstration, morning tea, photo session, and cookbook launch. Participation in these activities ranged between 5 and 22 residents.
There was a total of over 300 instances of participation in the second 12 months of the program. This level of voluntary participation indicates that the women found the program relevant and accessible. The women had been consulted about the activities to be offered, and the program coordinator took account of the positive and negative feedback from participants at the end of the first 12 months. The program coordinator promoted and conducted the activities with sensitivity. The strategies for encouraging participation, such as the visibility of the art and craft group, along with availability of hot drinks, and being allowed to drop in and participate at whatever level was comfortable, proved successful.
The following sections present the design, findings, and discussion of our research, which aimed to explore the firsthand experiences of the participants and staff of WAND, in order to contribute to understandings of what an activity program can contribute to the lives of women affected by homelessness, in the context of gender-specific services in general and rooming houses in particular.
Research Design
This research was conducted within the tradition of feminist critical social research that has a clear political intention of making life better for disadvantaged women (Liamputtong, 2013). It was guided by the following research questions: What did women’s participation in the WAND Program mean to them? What are the implications of these findings for future practice, policy, and research?
The research was approved by the Victoria University Human Research Ethics Committee, Approval HRETH 12/123. The research methods included document review, focus groups, and individual interviews. Following the review of program documents, the researchers prepared the quantitative analysis included earlier.
Recruitment of participants for focus groups and interviews was undertaken by placing posters on notice boards at the rooming house, inviting residents to contact the researchers by telephone or e-mail if they were interested in participating. One of the authors, who was working as a research assistant on the project at the time, undertook individual interviews with six residents and the WAND program coordinator. The interviews and focus groups were conducted at the rooming house in suitably private rooms in October 2013. Two focus groups were conducted with a total of 14 women who were all residents involved with the program.
Interviews and focus groups were digitally recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically in accordance with procedures described by Liamputtong (2013). In addition, the research assistant attended activities on a number of occasions to observe the nature of the programs being delivered. This was unstructured observation and was used to develop familiarity with the program rather than to produce data for analysis. The residents who participated in the research had resided at the rooming house for a period between a few months and 5 years.
Limitations of this small exploratory research include that it was conducted at one location only and findings in other places, with other programs could be different. However, the trustworthiness of this study (Liamputtong, 2013) is evident in its consistency with other research in this field, particularly in relation to the findings regarding social isolation and building community connection. Another limitation was that the voluntary participation in the research might have attracted mainly people who were satisfied with the program, thus limiting any angry or hostile feedback. A further limitation was that the research focused specifically on what participation in the WAND activity program meant to the women, and it did not explore more broadly their life experience or what circumstances had led to their becoming rooming house tenants. These topics are relevant for future research.
Findings
This section reports on the women’s experiences of participating in the WAND program and what it meant to them. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified five themes, namely, reducing isolation, the importance of participation on the women’s own terms, the vital role of staff support, the emerging sense of program ownership, and experiences of building community connection. We also discuss the idea of stabilizing tenancies.
Participation and Reducing Isolation
Isolation was a key issue for women residing in the rooming house, with many of the women having very limited connection with other residents. The WAND research participants reported that the activity program provided an important mechanism through which to begin reducing levels of isolation. The ability to be part of informal, regular recreational activities was identified as a way to make friends and to provide relief from boredom and social isolation in a safe manner. The following quotes from WAND participants illustrate the women’s experiences of isolation and how their participation in the activity program reduced that isolation, enabling them to feel engaged and to develop social contacts: I just really look forward to it. That for me is like where I get to socialise.… You know I spent the first three weeks in my room. It was like I knew no better and was sort of too scared to even step out of my room type thing. Then when the Program Coordinator got me along to that arts and crafts group, I just sort of came out of my shell and you know there's just other people around me. I just feel like I’m much more social now and getting back to the real me and living a healthier lifestyle. Just enjoying all the different people and you know everyone is sort of different. [Toula] All different characters and you know I’ve met people through the group but then you might go outside and know someone through the group and they introduce you to someone that they know from their floor and you end up just meeting so many more people. It's just something that I haven’t had in my life for really the last six years. So I’ve really been alone. [Nicole] I used to suffer a bit from social anxiety and just being able to be in a group that has allowed me to overcome a lot of that fear of being in a group. Also my psychologist, every time I say I feel like moving, I’m feeling restless, she says ‘No, you’re in the perfect place. You’ve got social connection, you’re creating great things’. She says ‘You’re in the right place for you.’ [Andrea]
Given the level of disconnection of many of the women from social relationships and community, the on-site location of the program was important. Simply coming downstairs was a much more manageable step toward engaging in an activity than leaving the rooming house to travel off-site. The on-site location fitted well with the drop-in nature of some of the activities—an important component of the program which seemed to facilitate program participation. The opportunity for participation in a familiar environment was an important stepping-stone for the women in the process of building trust and reducing social isolation.
Participation on the Women’s Own Terms
The informality and on-site delivery of the WAND program meant that the activities were very visible and accessible. Women were invited to participate, but their choice to participate was consistently left with the women themselves. Pivotal to building participation in the WAND program was having an atmosphere in which participants did not feel pressured to participate but could simply enjoy the benefits of contact with other women, on their own terms. As stated by the women themselves: Yeah, moving from one place to another going well I don’t really know anyone. So having something like formal activity where people could just walk by. But one week if I don’t want to do anything I’m not pressured to do anything either. [Mary] Good to come down and have a chat and coffee even if you don’t feel like doing art. [Shana] But I pass by quite often. Like I don’t do it but I often sit and chat and yeah, she always makes you welcome. Even if you don’t actually make something, you just sit and enjoy and watch everybody else and what they’ve done. So I’ve done that a bit. [Giovanna]
Participation and Staff Support
The establishment of a safe, welcoming environment, and participation on the women’s own terms occurred in parallel with high levels of staff support. Program staff worked within the rooming house environment to encourage and support participation in the WAND program. The women spoke enthusiastically about the professional and personal qualities that the staff and trainers brought to the activities including respect, good listening, and treating all residents equally: Beautiful [Program Co-ordinator]. When I get bored, I talk to her, not just me everybody here and she listens to us, very patient and with respect. She is lovely, lovely. [Fatima] Yeah you can be quite isolated here, in this building. Like I said, I still don’t know everyone on my floor and they keep saying we’ll have a floor meeting and bladdie, blah. I meet most people through either the Christmas barbecue or one of the social functions that the Program Co-ordinator has organised. Or in—or the craft afternoon in the foyer walking past. So yeah—and I catch up on the news by reading the newsletter. So—or banging on—or the Program Co-ordinator will wave at me as I walk past because she's really good at—yeah she's really good at getting people connected. [Emma] I spent the first three weeks here in my room too scared to come out. But I heard about the Program Co-ordinator through my worker and I was outside and I don’t know how she knew who I was but she just approached me and said you must be [Tamara]. We’re going to be doing the arts and crafts, would you like to just come for a cup of tea or coffee? So I did and I just sort of sat and found that I started talking to people that I’d sort of seen in the lift or you know just conversations struck up. I was sitting with another participant and just playing with her beads and matching colours. Then I was just inspired to start doing things myself and [participant’s name] showed me how to do some things and [another participant] showed me how to do some things [Tamara].
Participation and Program Ownership
The philosophy of the WAND program to ensure that program development was sensitive to the experiences of women within the rooming house meant that there was a close parallel between program development and the needs, interests, and concerns of the women. This reflected a conscious decision by program staff to consult with and involve women—a process described by program staff as an organic one in which the program was able to change in response to both positive and negative feedback from the women. This philosophy is captured in the following extract from an interview with program staff: Once that [cooking] course started, we were responding much more to the women—what the women were wanting. They didn’t want to sit and discuss food in the classroom, they wanted to cook, so the program took on, from initially planning to cook two or three times within that five weeks, it became very obvious that that wasn’t how the women wanted—they would be disengaged, so we cooked every week. But I think, well certainly on the program side of things, women are starting to take the initiative to do things as a group. [Alicia—Program Coordinator]
A significant activity, driven by the residents and supported by the Program Coordinator, was a garage sale/pop-up Opportunity Shop that was held at the rooming house to sell clothing and goods that had been donated. The activity itself reflected the significant growth in confidence and social connection that had occurred as a result of involvement in the WAND program. Some of the residents worked to encourage the participation of others, organize the meeting space, organize tea and coffee for participants, and clean up afterward. This level of involvement, built on a foundation of trust building and informal connection, offered opportunities for some women to take leadership or informal mentoring roles with other tenants and WAND participants. It provided the catalyst for other activities, as described by program staff: One woman in particular—she was the person in that kitchen that we all looked up to, that we all got information from, and if we needed to know how to do something, she would know how to do it. She could fix things. That was just fabulous, and she took on a brilliant role when we came to launching the cookbook. She was very much involved in the planning of it, so she was one who really said, ‘I don’t want to sit around a lot, I want to cook’, but when it came to those stages of planning the cookbook, she was really, again, quite a leader and she came to me for a planning meeting. She came to me and said: ‘We need to sit down and talk about what we’re going to cook for the launch’. So she took over that whole thing, and when it came to the launch, just ran that kitchen. It was like a professional kitchen. [Alicia—Program Coordinator]
Participation and Building Connection With Community
The WAND program has been able to foster connections and friendships within the rooming house that would otherwise be difficult to establish in the rooming house environment. WAND provided a supported opportunity for building a sense of community within the rooming house. When people come in and out on the floor and you don’t know who they are, it doesn’t feel like you’re home. You sort of think oh gosh, how is that? This way we know. We can put our finger on the pulse and it's like family on each floor. Everyone still brings their friends up from other floors without any trouble. [Aishia]
Participation and the Link to Tenancy Stabilization
This research did not specifically seek to track a direct link between the WAND program and sustaining tenancies. However, the research findings highlight how participation in WAND influenced participants’ lives. The friendships and connections facilitated through WAND and the opportunities to participate and relieve isolation and boredom resulted in the building of a rooming house community. While this particular rooming house offers safe and affordable housing, both tenants and staff told the researchers about tensions relating to sharing facilities, a lack of control in terms of rules of the tenancy, and conflict between tenants over a range of issues. The shift in the atmosphere of the rooming house from an environment in which women experienced high levels of social isolation to one in which reference was made to it being “like family on each floor” has implications for tenancy stability. Women involved in WAND were specifically asked to explain the ways in which the program made a difference to their lived experience and they provided insights into the ways in which the rooming house had become a viable accommodation option for women, whether transitional or longer term. For example, one participant stated: It's like a starting point here. People all have different plans and that. Other people use it because they want to be in here and they love it because they interact with all the lovely people. Other people are here until they can get on their feet and move on and all that sort of stuff. So it is great. [Dai]
Discussion
The experiences of the women involved in the WAND program illustrate the benefits of a gender-specific, feminist inspired programmatic approach that works to support women who are rooming house tenants to become involved in social and recreational activities in order to address issues of isolation and disengagement. Our research supports the findings of previous research regarding the value of building connection and reducing isolation through social and recreational activity as part of the process of providing longer term solutions for chronic homelessness (Canty-Waldron, 2006; Ellis, 2005; Shier et al., 2011; Wolf Klitzing, 2003). The WAND research identified the importance of providing support for participation and valuing the experiences that women bring to a program as integral to the process of staged engagement and skill building. Women clearly viewed the program as a catalyst for building friendships and connections and therefore reducing isolation and boredom, learning new skills, and building self-esteem.
Previous research (Adkins & Greenhalgh, 2003; Pedersen, Andersen, & Curtis, 2012) draws attention to links between traumatic life events, homelessness, and social isolation. While our research did not specifically ask about past experiences with homelessness and life traumas, the participants identified social isolation, and the role of the activity program in reducing social isolation, as important aspects of their experience with the program. It became clear that the way the program was delivered was vital to its success. Consistent with contemporary critical feminist social work service delivery principles (Fook, 2012), the program was participatory and supportive, with an emphasis on the dignity of the participants, commitment to treating them with respect, and building on their existing skills and interests. The role of the staff in understanding and implementing this approach was acknowledged. The importance of accommodation as a safe haven for women who have experienced trauma, marginalization, and isolation has been identified within the literature (Bridgman, 2002) and WAND provided the catalyst for program participants to build relationships and a sense of community, increasing their sense of the rooming house as home, a welcoming and safe place. The findings regarding what the program meant to the women and the value they placed on the way it was delivered are consistent with what previous authors such as Lewison et al. (2014) have said regarding gendered experiences of homelessness, the impacts of cumulative trauma, and the need for supportive services to be associated with accommodation for women affected by homelessness.
An unexpected finding of the research was that the women themselves shared leadership roles, building involvement, encouraging other women to attend, articulating specific interest in how activities were organized and running activities. Engaging women, particularly isolated and disengaged women, in activities requires an understanding and accommodation of the incremental nature of building social connection and the sense of belonging. The study found that participation in WAND can be incremental for some participants—from observing, to having a coffee or cake, to participating and finally to organizing. The value in having informal activities is that it supports a “step-by-step” approach to participation for women who might not otherwise participate, while supporting others to take a leadership or mentoring role. The WAND coordinator played a crucial role in ensuring that the atmosphere in WAND activities was positive and safe and encouraged all levels of participation. This reflects the kind of trauma-informed care advocated by Lewison et al. (2014).
It is reasonable to conclude that the facilitation of positive connections contributed to participants’ capacity to maintain their tenancies as a result of reducing social isolation, improving well-being and sense of community through the building of pro-social relationships, and creating a network of supportive neighbors and friends.
For some of the women, participation continued to have an impact on building self-esteem by offering opportunities to learn and excel and to create tangible achievements through craft and cooking that can be shared and valued. The capacity of this type of approach to build longer term interest in vocational education and training was demonstrated through the building of social connection and program ownership. By the end of the research project, there were women who sought to maintain and pursue an interest in some formal, skill-based learning such as computer classes and in accessing tailored vocational advice and support.
Practice, Policy, and Research Implications
The findings of this research add to understandings of what recreation and activity programs can contribute to the quality of life of women affected by homelessness. It provides examples of activities that were successful, and others that were less successful. While the specific activities may or may not be successful in another setting, they provide a starting point for consultation and planning. This research illustrates the importance of a critical feminist social work approach (Fook, 2012) that is consultative, participatory, and treats participants with respect and encouragement.
At the policy level, this research reinforces the importance of gender-specific services for women, and the need for funding for activity programs. Service providers and researchers have been advising governments for many years that providing accommodation alone is insufficient when it comes to ending long term homelessness. The provision of support services is usually understood as ensuring access to health, legal, and counseling services. However, this research illustrates the importance of gender-specific services that recognize the long-term impacts of trauma and homelessness. Programs that enrich the environment and promote residents’ long-term well-being should not be seen as optional extras, but as integral to holistic service provision that gives women the best chance of overcoming the legacy of homelessness, stabilizing their tenancies, and preventing future episodes of homelessness with their associated personal and public costs.
This research sought to understand what the activity program meant to the women, and what they valued about it. Previous research has found that long-term impacts of trauma and homelessness include the tendency to avoid social contact and become socially isolated, and the need to feel safe and have a sense of control over their environment and activities (Lewison et al., 2014; Pedersen et al., 2012). We found that our participants valued reducing isolation, the role of staff support, and participation on their own terms. However, we did not focus on the life experiences that had led to the women becoming rooming house tenants and having the needs that were implied in our findings. More research into the life stories and experiences of women who become rooming house residents would assist service providers to develop a better understanding of this group of women. Better understanding of their past experiences, present desires, and future aspirations would provide a well-informed basis for future service design and delivery.
Conclusion
This research highlights the benefits of working with women who are rooming house tenants to create an accommodation environment in which participation is facilitated and supported. It has shown the ways in which an activity program can enhance social connection and build skills assisting women to overcome the legacy of homelessness and reducing their future vulnerability to homelessness. The study reinforces the importance of working incrementally with women, recognizing that empowerment and engagement with community occurs over an extended timeframe and within a framework of support, and acknowledgement of the value of women’s past experiences. It reinforces the need for the provision of gender-specific accommodation and programs to occur in environments that are safe, inclusive, and connected. While some valuable insights have been gained through this study, the lack of comparable research specific to women in rooming house accommodation indicates the need for further exploration of the role of community rooming houses in the context of affordable housing, and in particular, how activity programs can support the goals of homelessness prevention.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by YWCA Victoria, Australia.