 |
 |
 |
| Friday, 13 January 2006: 10:00 AM-11:45 AM | |||
| New Directions in Homelessness Research: Innovative Methods and Findings | |||
| Organizer: | Deborah K. Padgett, New York University | ||
| Innovative Services for the Dual Diagnosed Homeless: Substance Abuse and Service Use Outcomes from a Randomized Experiment Deborah K. Padgett, Leyla Gulcur, PhD | |||
| Gender Differences in the Use of Social Capital in the Dual-Diagnosed Homeless Robert Hawkins, PhD, Deborah K. Padgett | |||
| Beyond Neighborhood: a Mixed-Method Approach for Understanding Community Integration Yin Ling Irene Wong, PhD, Roberta G. Sands, PhD, Phyllis Solomon, PhD | |||
| Do Service Users Move to Be Close to Their Services? Testing NIMBY in a Homeless Drug Abusing Population David E. Pollio, PhD | |||
| Abstract Text: The plight of the mentally ill homeless has been the subject of numerous studies documenting the widespread prevalence of co-occurring problems such as substance abuse, victimization and injuries, social isolation, and poor health. Previous methods for studying this population have relied upon epidemiological surveys and standardized measures. Emphasizing accuracy in counting the homeless and measuring the extent of their problems, these studies have provided valuable descriptions of the homeless mentally ill and their unmet needs. This symposium is designed to highlight the use of innovative methods to go beyond description and address critical issues affecting this population in achieving desirable outcomes including residential stability and higher quality of life in the community. Among these issues are stigma and social rejection, traumatic life events, weak social supports, and a lack of service integration for those with co-occurring substance abuse. Each of the presentations will focus on a specific problem area paired with a methodological approach designed to maximize learning. Presentation 1 addresses optimal service delivery for ‘dual diagnosed' homeless and reports the results of a four-year randomized trial testing the effects of two distinct approaches to service provision. The experiment yielded findings that raised methodological questions about the limitations of standardized measures of substance abuse and other sensitive aspects of homeless persons' lives. Presentation 2 addresses these limitations by using qualitative methods to examine social capital among ‘dual diagnosed' homeless men and women. Using case study analyses and grounded theory, themes are presented that illustrate the prevalence of ‘negative social capital' (e.g., family abuse) as well as gender differences in the ways that women and men respond to treatment programs whose tacit goal is to increase positive social capital. Presentation 3 is a study that addressed social and community integration using mixed methods to explore mental health consumers' views of the meaning of ‘community' as well as their group and organizational involvement. It found that conceptions of belonging rarely coincided with the local neighborhood but instead extended to communities based upon ‘mainstream' social organizations as well as stigmatized identities (e.g., psychiatric, lesbian/gay, etc.). Presentation 4 goes ‘up and out' from the insider standpoints of Presentations 2 and 3 to address stigma and social rejection. The study used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and advanced statistical analyses to test the ‘NIMBY' hypothesis that locating services in neighborhoods draws the homeless mentally ill to reside nearby. Instead, the study found no increase in clustering of service consumers over a 12-month period. The symposium will conclude with a discussion of ‘best practices' in research, practice and policies related to the homeless mentally ill.
| |||
See more of Symposium
See more of Meeting the Challenge: Research In and With Diverse Communities (January 12 - 15, 2006)