C H A P T E R 5 Conclusion In this concluding chapter we discuss the key findings of the research under the following headings: women’s homeless histories; women’s service experiences; and women’s service needs. Women’s Homeless Histories This research reveals considerable diversity in the age at which women first experienced housing instability as well as their circumstances at the point of becoming homeless. While each woman told a unique story, several shared strands of experience are nonetheless apparent. For example, practically all grew up with adversity and in family environments characterised by tension and/or conflict and where economic hardship was an everyday reality. The home-based challenges reported by a large number included experiences of domestic violence and/or child sexual abuse. Those women who reported experiences of gender-based violence were often severely traumatised and most talked at length about the negative impact of violence and abuse on their lives. It is significant that a number also reflected on the lack of intervention in their lives as children, which may have served to protect them and prevent further trauma and harm. At the point of becoming homeless, many of the women avoided service contact – often for periods of months or longer – because of the stigma of homelessness and their fear of hostels, which they invariably perceived as unsafe and unclean (Edgar and Doherty, 2001; Robinson, 2003; Wardhaugh, 1999). These periods of invisibility or ‘hidden’ homelessness served, in many cases, to exacerbate existing problems and also placed women in situations that very often diminished their physical and psychological health. Thus, at the point of first accessing a homeless or domestic violence service, women had frequently reached a crisis point in their lives and the vast majority had multiple, complex needs. The pressures associated with living in hostels, in particular, were significant for women due in large part to the transience and chaos that frequently characterises these environments. Most became more exposed to, and entrenched in, alcohol and/or drug consumption, sometimes quite quickly, and many also experienced harassment or further victimisation in these settings. A large number had homeless histories that spanned many years and a majority of the women had commuted in an out of homeless services over prolonged periods. Over time, these women embarked on an ‘institutional circuit’ characterised by protracted stays in hostel accommodation, interrupted by temporary exits to prison, acute and/or psychiatric hospitals and drug/alcohol treatment centres (Mayocket al., 2015). Many had secured private rented accommodation at some point, sometimes on more than one occasion, but ultimately did not maintain these living situations for a range of reasons including relapse, experiences of domestic violence, a general
Women, Homelessness and Service Provision
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