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Changing Social Networks Among Homeless Individuals: A Prospective Evaluation of a Job- and Life-Skills Training Program

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Abstract

Social networks play important roles in mental and physical health among the general population. Building healthier social networks might contribute to the development of self-sufficiency among people struggling to overcome homelessness and substance use disorders. In this study of homeless adults completing a job- and life-skills program (i.e., the Moving Ahead Program at St. Francis House, Boston), we prospectively examined changes in social network quality, size, and composition. Among the sample of participants (n = 150), we observed positive changes in social network quality over time. However, social network size and composition did not change among the full sample. The subset of participants who reported abstaining from alcohol during the months before starting the program reported healthy changes in their social networks; specifically, while completing the program, they re-structured their social networks such that fewer members of their network used alcohol to intoxication. We discuss practical implications of these findings.

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Notes

  1. A total of 317 students began MAP during this time period. Therefore, this dataset represents a 82.6% response rate.

  2. Participants indicated whether they were “lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and/or having a primary nighttime residence that is (a) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill); (b) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or (c) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings).”

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the St. Francis House guests and staff members who made this research possible, particularly Andrea Ryan and Patricia Stebbins. This project was supported by Award Number R03AA020187 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism or the National Institutes of Health.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors report conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division on Addiction, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, 101 Station Landing, Suite 2100, Medford, MA, 02155, USA

    Heather M. Gray, Sarah E. Nelson & Howard J. Shaffer

  2. School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Paige M. Shaffer

  3. Synthesis Health Systems, Inc., Boston, MA, USA

    Paige M. Shaffer

Authors
  1. Heather M. Gray
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  2. Paige M. Shaffer
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  3. Sarah E. Nelson
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  4. Howard J. Shaffer
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Correspondence to Heather M. Gray.

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Gray, H.M., Shaffer, P.M., Nelson, S.E. et al. Changing Social Networks Among Homeless Individuals: A Prospective Evaluation of a Job- and Life-Skills Training Program. Community Ment Health J 52, 799–808 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-014-9817-5

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