Abstract
The present investigation used qualitative methods to explore the response to housing and experience of community integration of formerly homeless individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness recently housed in both independent and staffed residential settings. Findings indicate that entering into housing after a long period of homelessness is associated with improvements in community integration for most individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness. However, for a meaningful minority, the adaptation to housing may also be associated with challenges that can complicate the integration process. Implications of findings are discussed in the context of how best to tailor programs to meet the complex needs of persons diagnosed with severe mental illness and to maximize community integration.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Arons, B. S., & Weiss, S. R. (1997). Role of the public sector. In R. K. Schreter, S. S. Sharfstein, & C. A. Schreter (Eds.), Managing care, not dollars: The continuum of mental health services. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press.
Carling, P. J. (1995). Return to community: Building support systems for people with psychiatric disabilities. New York: Guilford.
Goffman, E. (1968). Asylums. Chicago: Alding.
Gulcur, L., Stefarcic, A., Shinn, M., Tsemberis, S., & Fischer, S. (2003). Housing, hospital, and cost outcomes for homeless individuals with psychiatric disabilities.
Hopper, K., & Barrow, S. M. (2003). Two genealogies of supported housing and their implications for outcome assessment. Psychiatric Services, 54, 50-54.
Hopper, K., Jost, J., Hay, T., Welber, S., & Haugland, G. (1997). Homelessness, severe mental illness, and the institutional circuit. Psychiatric Services, 48, 659-665.
Howie the Harp. (1990). Independent living with support services: The goals and future for mental health consumers. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 13, 85-89.
Lehman, A. F. (1988). A quality of life interview for the chronically mentally ill. Evaluation and Program Planning, 11, 51-62.
Levy, J. S. (2000). Homeless outreach: On the road to pretreatment alternatives. Families in Society, 81, 360-368.
Lipton, F. R., Siegel, C., Hannigan, A., Samuels, J., & Baker, S. (2000). Tenure in supportive housing for homeless persons with severe mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 51, 479-486.
Metraux, S., Marcus, S. C., & Culhane, D. P. (2003). The New York-New York housing initiative and use of public shelters by persons with severe mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 54, 61-71.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Nelson, G., Hall, G. B., & Walsh-Bowers, R. (1999). Predictors of the adaptation of people with psychiatric disabilities in group homes, supportive apartments, and board-and-care homes. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 22, 381-389.
Nelson, G., Wiltshire, C., Hall, G. B., Peirson, L., & Walsh-Bowers, R. (1995). Psychiatric consumer;survivors' quality of life: Quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 216-233.
Newman, S. J. (1994). The effects of independent living on persons with chronic mental illness: An assessment of the section 8 certificate program. The Millbank Quarterly, 72, 171-197.
Newman, S. J. (2001). Housing attributes and serious mental illness: Implications for research and practice. Psychiatric Services, 52, 1309-1317.
Newman, S. J., & Reschovsky, J. D. (1996). Neighborhood locations of section 8 housing certificate users with and without mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 47, 392-397.
Newton, L., Rosen, A., Tennant, C., & Hobbs, C. (2001). Moving out and moving on: Some ethnographic observations of deinstitutionalization in an Australian community. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 25, 152-162.
Schensul, S. L., Schensul, J. J., & LeCompte, M. D. (1999). Essential ethnographic methods: observations, interviews, and questionnaires. Ethnographers toolkit, volume 2. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Schutt, R. K., Goldfinger, S. M., & Penk, W. E. (1997). Satisfaction with residence and with life: When homeless mentally ill persons are housed. Evaluation and Program Planning, 20, 185-194.
Segal, S. P., Baumohl, J., & Moyles, E. W. (1980). Neighborhood types and community reaction to the mentally ill: A paradox of intensity. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 345-359.
Shern, D. L., Wilson, N. Z., Coen, A. S., Patrick, D. C., Foster, M., & Bartsch, D. A. (1994). Client Outcomes II: Longitudinal client data from the Colorado treatment outcome study. Milbank Quarterly, 72(1), 123-148.
Srebnik, D., Livingston, J., Gordon, L., & King, D. (1995). Housing choice and community success for individuals with serious and persistent mental illness. Community Mental Health Journal, 31, 139-152.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Susser, E., & Roche, B. (1996). Coercion and leverage in clinical outreach. In D. L. Dennis, & J. Monahan (Eds.), Coercion and Aggressive Community Treatment. New York: Plenum Press.
Tsemberis, S., & Asmussen, S. (1999). From streets to homes: The Pathways to Housing consumer preference supported housing model. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 17(1/2), 113-131.
Tsemberis, S., & Eisenberg, R. F. (2000). Pathways to Housing: Supported housing for street-dwelling homeless individuals with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatric Services, 51, 487-493.
Ware, N. C., Desjarlais, R. R., AvRuskin, T. L., Breslau, J., Good, B., & Goldfinger, S. M. (1992). Empowerment and the transition to housing for the homeless mentally ill: An anthropological perspective. New England Journal of Public Policy, 8, 297-315.
Wolf, J., Burnam, A., Koegel, P., Sullivan, G., & Morton, S. (2001). Changes in subjective quality of life among homeless adults who obtain housing: A prospective examination. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 36, 391-398.
Wong, Y-L. I., & Solomon, P. L. (2002). Community integration of persons with psychiatric disabilities in supportive independent housing: A conceptual model and methodological considerations. Mental Health Services Research, 4, 13-28.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yanos, P.T., Barrow, S.M. & Tsemberis, S. Community Integration in the Early Phase of Housing Among Homeless Persons Diagnosed with Severe Mental Illness: Successes and Challenges. Community Ment Health J 40, 133–150 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:COMH.0000022733.12858.cb
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:COMH.0000022733.12858.cb