Women, Homelessness and Service Provision 13 Case Studies Three case studies were completed, based on semi-structured interviews with homeless or recently homeless women in Dublin, Galway and Cork. Case studies produce a first-hand and nuanced understanding of people’s lives and situations (Stake, 2003). As Yin (2006: 111) argues, “compared to other methods, the strength of the case study method is its ability to examine, in- depth, the ‘case’ within its ‘real-life’ context”. Thus, the use of case studies helped to address the exploratory aims and questions of this research by supplementing the data garnered as part of the larger study (see previous section). The three participating women were recruited through a number of services – including aftercare, emergency accommodation and drug/alcohol treatment support services – targeting homeless, or recently homeless, women.2 Access to the recruitment sites was negotiated by the researchers with the support of Simon Communities in Ireland national office contacts. In keeping with the selection criteria of the larger study, the inclusion criteria for participation were that the women had to be over the age of 18 years and have had a recent or current experience(s) of homelessness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants and focused on the following topics: 1. The women’s paths to becoming homeless; 2. Their experiences of, and interactions with, services and service providers; and 3. Their perspectives on their service needs. The semi-structured interviews were flexible in nature and allowed participants to discuss their perceptions, experiences and understandings freely and in their own words and to raise issues that were personally relevant. This focus on personal experience allowed the research to capture important details by inviting the women to articulate their views and to elaborate on ‘critical moments’, transition and change in their lives. The interview schedule was designed to complement the instrument used in the larger study of homeless women (Mayock and Sheridan, 2012a, b) and to ensure a relationship between the larger data set and the additional data collected (Fielding et al., 2008). Focus Groups with Service Providers Two focus groups were undertaken with staff members from a number of Simon Community services nationally. Focus groups are informal discussions or “collective conversations” among a group of selected individuals that are facilitated by a moderator in order to examine a particular topic (Kamberelis and Dimitriadis 2008: 375). These group interviews encourage participants to start a dialogue with each other and allow for the examination of group dynamics as well as the experiences, perspectives and opinions of groups of people with similar or shared experiences (Liamputtong, 2007). The focus groups explored practitioners’ experiences of working with homeless women as well as their perspective on the challenges that women face, particularly in terms of exiting homelessness and securing stable housing. Service provider perspectives on the needs of homeless women and current gaps in service provision were also discussed. Efforts were made to achieve diversity among those who participated in the focus groups in terms of staff roles (e.g. managerial, outreach, key worker etc.) and service types (e.g. supported temporary accommodation, long-term supported housing etc.). A total of ten practitioners participated in the focus groups. 2 Ethical Approval for the conduct of interviews with homeless women and focus groups with service providers was received from the Research Ethics Committee (REC), School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin in August 2014.
Women, Homelessness and Service Provision
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