Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Oct 27;12(11):416.
doi: 10.3390/bs12110416.

In My New Home: The Daily Lives of People Living in Public Houses after a Long Period of Homelessness

Marta Gaboardi  1 , Chiara Bonechi  1 , Eleonora Zamuner  1 , Massimo Santinello  1
Affiliations

In My New Home: The Daily Lives of People Living in Public Houses after a Long Period of Homelessness

Marta Gaboardi et al. Behav Sci (Basel). .

Abstract

Homelessness refers to a loss of social relationships and a condition of isolation and stigma that affects a person's well-being. Although the literature has revealed the crucial role of a home in a person's well-being, few studies have explored the daily lives of people who transition from homeless services to an independent home. People who experience homelessness are at risk of remaining connected to homeless services even after finding a home. This study aimed to explore the daily lives of people who have obtained public housing, focusing on their daily relationships and the places they frequent. Data were collected through interviews with quantitative and qualitative measures involving 14 people with a history of homelessness who had obtained a public house in a medium-sized Italian city. Several themes concerning social relationships and places were identified. Regarding social relationships, people experience loneliness or a connection with the community and homeless services. They spend their time alone at home or around the city. The implications of the results are discussed with respect to practice and research on homelessness.

Keywords: community; homelessness; housing; interviews; relationships.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Frequency of responses to the question: ‘With whom do you meet/do something/get help?’.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Generated themes concerning social relationships and places.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dupuis A., Thorns D.C. Home, home ownership and the search for ontological security. Sociol. Rev. 1998;46:24–47. doi: 10.1111/1467-954X.00088. - DOI
    1. Padgett D.K. There’s no place like (a) home: Ontological security among persons with serious mental illness in the United States. Soc. Sci. Med. 2007;64:1925–1936. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.02.011. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Swanson H.L., Ferrari J.R. Older Adults and Clutter: Age Differences in Clutter Impact, Psychological Home, and Subjective Well-Being. Behav. Sci. 2022;12:132. doi: 10.3390/bs12050132. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Romoli V., Cardinali P., Ferrari J.R., Migliorini L. Migrant perceptions of psychological home: A scoping review. Int. J. Intercult. Relat. 2022;86:14–25. doi: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2021.10.009. - DOI
    1. Sigmon S.T., Whitcomb S.R., Snyder C.R. Psychological home. In: Fisher A.T., Sonn C.C., Bishop B.J., editors. Psychological Sense of Community. Springer; Boston, MA, USA: 2002. pp. 25–41.

LinkOut - more resources