Women, Homelessness and Service Provision 33 “We feel we are not being treated properly. Well, we go into places referring to homeless services and they are just giving us the run around … I can’t properly read or whatever and I’m not brainy or whatever but like I know what’s going on around me, I’m not stupid, you know what I mean? When we go in, it’s like they’re treating us like kids, like they’re talking to us like kids – kids that have kids. You know what I mean? It’s not nice like. It’s horrible.” (Nicole, 28) While homeless hostels provide residents with shelter and access to many practical services (laundry and washing facilities, for example), much of the emphasis is on managing ‘crisis’ or basic and immediate needs (Busch-Geetstema and Sahlin, 2007). In this context, it is perhaps unsurprising that women frequently felt side-lined and claimed that their needs were not adequately addressed, particularly with the passing of time. These experiences also cultivated a sense of disempowerment and, perhaps paradoxically, appeared to galvanise women’s sense of dependence on the service system. It is significant that women who perceived that they were cared for and treated with dignity and respect within service settings recounted a stronger sense of autonomy and control over their lives. This was particularly the case for those who faced the multiple stigmas of being a female who is out of home, drug or alcohol dependent, a victim of domestic violence and/or whose children were not in her care. Perceived Service Needs Throughout the interviews, efforts were made to ascertain the women’s perceived service needs. Indeed, women frequently talked about their needs spontaneously as they recounted their life experiences and the chronology of their homeless histories, in particular. In general, most conveyed an awareness that they needed help and support to address and resolve what were sometimes long-standing issues and problems. The specific service needs raised by the women were diverse and included supports in relation to physical and mental ill-health, substance use, training, education and employment. A large number articulated a need for support in relation to their children (whether or not they were caring for their children at the time of interview) and also in relation to trauma related to experiences of physical and/or sexual violence and abuse. Thus, there were clear gender-specific dimensions to the women’s perceived needs. There was also strong evidence to suggest that women’s needs changed over time and that those who had lengthy homeless histories had multiple and complex needs. This section documents the dominant issues and themes to emerge from the women’s narratives of their perceived needs. Above all else, women expressed a need for housing and housing stability. Furthermore, housing - and the perceived barriers to housing - was possibly the greatest source of anxiety and stress for many women. Like a majority of others, Fionnula and Dianne’s expressed need for housing were replete with references to instability, stress and fear about the future. “My housing situation is my biggest worry … I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder so I worry with that. Agitated, I get very agitated easily ... I know that if I lived in a peaceful environment … it’s to do with the way my life is at the moment – I don’t feel settled, terribly unsettled.” (Fionnula, 58)
Women, Homelessness and Service Provision
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