There is no question that homelessness is one of the UK’s biggest social problems, and with the current cost of living crisis, the number of individuals experiencing homeless is only set to rise. Therefore, now more than ever it is vital that homelessness services are able to truly meet the needs of those they seek to help.
Most homelessness charities in the UK focus solely on providing accommodation, employment, and educational services. And whilst these are undeniably essential, so many key needs are being neglected. For instance, not enough focus is directed towards helping overcome the social isolation, care avoidance and mental health difficulties that are ever apparent in the homeless community.
However, some services are actively working to fill this gap. One example is the Opportunities Programme, run by SHP, a London-based organisation. The Programme consists of four strands: sports, art, gardening and music. Each strand organises field trips and classes, where clients can learn new skills and engage with hobbies, whilst also meeting new people.
To establish whether such creative-social programmes can be a success, I was lucky enough to sit with nine individuals to ask about their experiences and perceptions of the Opportunities Programme. Five of those interviewed engaged with the Programme directly, with the other four being support workers of programme service users. Then conducting a thematic analysis based on these conversations, I attempted to answer the question: “How successful is the Single Homeless Project’s Opportunities Programme in meeting its aims of improving service users’ engagement, relationships and mental wellbeing?” To clarify, by engagement I am referring to engagement with the Programme, other services and wider society.
My analysis produced three key themes (recurring ideas or patterns): keeping active, inclusion and shared experience. For the sake of this article, I will focus on the theme of shared experience as I believe it best addresses all three aims of the research question.
The findings
Within the theme of shared experience, there are two subthemes:
1) Learning about different people and their experiences
“It [working in a group] gives me confidence to express myself because I learn from other people. I think that’s the idea of a group meeting… it’s to unite people together” (P9, service user)
Learning from other people was a sentiment echoed by multiple participants, particularly service users themselves. For many, this was achieved by meeting new people on projects who had different lived experiences and interests.
One participant believed that this is an area where the Programme could develop, stating that she thinks it would be a great idea if service users could teach each other different skills, sharing their knowledge. For example, she told me that she would love to be able to approach other service users and ask “I don’t know how to do gardening, can you teach me?” (P1, service user).
Listening to other service users’ stories and developing an understanding of their different experiences allowed individuals to broaden their minds, with one interviewee explaining that her time on the programme has helped her to address preconceived judgements she makes about others. “I do actually see people differently because, you know, we’re all judgmental. And sometimes if you walk up the road, you think, oh, that, that, but you don’t realize there’s so many people out there that long for something like that [the programme], but they don’t have the opportunity to have it” (P3, service user). This is supported by research that suggests working closely with others allows individuals to develop a “meaningful interindividual link” with each other helping promote feelings of empathy.
2) Connecting with others
“social interaction and reducing isolation, building up confidence to be able to talk to other people and building friendships as well” (P4, support worker, when asked about the Programme’s benefits)
Both service users and support workers agreed that the Programme provided a great opportunity for service users to develop relationships, helping regain self-esteem and overcome the marginalisation often associated with homelessness. Meeting people with similar interests also brought comfort to service users, with one individual telling me “it’s actually nice to be able to meet people that like the same thing as you” (P3, service user).
Support workers were also keen to share the developments in their relationships with clients as a result of their time on the Programme. They discussed how sharing the experience of taking part in projects helped break down barriers, with one interviewee telling me about how her client was “engaging more” (P4, support worker). This also helped service users to see support workers, and other staff, as more than authority figures, but as people there to support them. This is key in rebuilding the trust homeless individuals have in service providers, something that is often lost due to past negative experiences.
“[the programme] really helps us as well to do the job because it’s way easier to start the conversation while doing an art activity, for example, rather than just telling someone to come and sit down and just me having a conversation which can be too direct and too overwhelming.” (P7, support worker)
What this research tells us
Should we invest in more social projects? Yes!
The hope is that this evaluation will help not only SHP, but other homelessness organisations to see the benefits of such programmes and how they can play a crucial role in helping individuals rebuild their lives and create a support network for themselves. And hopefully, just hopefully, other services may just consider investing in their own programmes.
So what’s next?
Well, all service users I interviewed were over 40, however, members of SHP’s youth service also engage with the Opportunities Programme. The thing is, the needs of young people experiencing homelessness often differ from older adults. So, it could be really useful to understand how these differences affect their experience on the programme, and whether changes are needed to meet their unique needs.
References
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