Community Mental Health Journal

, Volume 50, Issue 5, pp 604–611 | Cite as

Community Participation and Belonging Among Formerly Homeless Adults with Mental Illness After 12 months of Housing First in Vancouver, British Columbia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

  • Michelle L. Patterson
  • Akm Moniruzzaman
  • Julian M. Somers
Brief Report
First Online:
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Accepted:

Abstract

This study examines community integration among homeless adults with mental illness 6 and 12 months after random assignment to Housing First (independent apartments or congregate residence) with support services or to treatment as usual (TAU). Residence in independent apartments was associated with increased ‘psychological integration’ for participants with less severe needs; however, no significant improvement in ‘physical integration’ was observed among any of the intervention groups. Analysis of individual items on the Psychological Integration subscale revealed that, compared to TAU, participants assigned to independent apartments were more likely to endorse statements related to the emotional components of community but not statements related to neighboring. Participants assigned to the congregate residence were more likely to endorse knowing their neighbors, but not interacting with neighbors or the emotional components of community. Findings are discussed in terms of housing program as well as broader contextual factors.

Keywords

Community integration Homelessness Severe mental illness 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the service teams who are working with participants to increase their sense of community. The authors also thank the At Home/Chez Soi Project collaborative at national and local levels; National project team: J. Barker, PhD (2008–2011) and C. Keller, National Project Leads; P. Goering, RN, PhD, Research Lead; approximately 40 investigators from across Canada and the US; 5 site coordinators; numerous service and housing providers; and persons with lived experience.

Conflict of interest

This research was funded by Health Canada and the Mental Health Commission of Canada. The views expressed herein solely represent the authors.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  • Michelle L. Patterson
    • 1
  • Akm Moniruzzaman
    • 1
  • Julian M. Somers
    • 1
  1. 1.Faculty of Health SciencesSimon Fraser UniversityBurnabyCanada

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