Introduction and methodology In self-managed residential homeless care, consumers, and their peers, are in charge. Former consumers (N=24) of a self-managed homeless shelter were interviewed with qualitative structured topic-lists on the benefits they experienced. Former consumers of the program participated as co-researchers, together with students and experienced researchers. This research is part of a larger program researching self-managed residential programs. ResultsIn the self-managed shelter consumers can work on their recovery towards independent living. For the respondents, the self-managed shelter is a place where they can stay for a longer period without the stress of having to look for another place and without the hassle from social workers telling them what to do and how to behave. How the former consumers used this stability and freedom differs. Some worked towards independent living on their own, others also developed skills, self-worth and new social roles (helper, friend) through participation and others used the shelter to stay free from stress and hassle. Moving on towards independent living isn’t an immediate goal for the latter, although many consumers in the end started working towards independent living.Most of the respondents state that their live has improved when it comes to mental health, living situations and social aspects, although some respondents report issues with finances and social contacts. DiscussionThere are two main limitations to our research. Firstly, consumers who only stayed for a short while, consumers who stayed in the shelter more than a few years ago and consumer who left the program are underrepresented in our data. Secondly, a lot of the respondents deflected questions about their personal recovery (self-worth, trust, self-efficacy), because this ‘was not relevant for them’. Anecdotal evidence from peer workers and social workers and some of the respondents suggests that staying in the self-managed shelter contributes to personal recovery of consumers as well, but more research is necessary to determine how and to what extend consumers work on their personal recovery within self-managed programs.
This thesis has increased our knowledge of the needs of homeless people using shelter facilities in the Netherlands and of the needs and wishes of people living in persistent poverty. It provides guidance for policy and further professionalization and quality improvements to the services and support provided to homeless people and people living in persistent poverty. The results underscore the importance of broad and integrated policy measures to strengthen socioeconomic security, and emphasize the need for including the views of clients and experts by experience in the development of policy. Our research also stresses the need for services to employ peer workers to support homeless people and people living in persistent poverty and to apply a more human-to-human approach.
The structure and financing of collective long-term care and support in the Netherlands changed dramatically with the introduction of the Social Support Act (WMO) the 1st of January 2015. This act arranged that municipalities assist people to live in their homes for as long as possible by providing various forms of aid and support. This aid and support however, is in addition to the help that people arrange for themselves and / or receive in the form of volunteer aid (mantelzorg) by family, friends and neighbours. Furthermore under this Act people only become eligible for state financed sheltered accommodation in the exceptional case of severe physical or mental illness. The fact that under the new regime of the Social Support Act municipal support is made additional to volunteer aid, it is important to understand what role family, friends and neighbours potentially can play and in fact do play. This is especially important in regions were unbalanced population decline through out-migration of young people, effectively changes social structures and accelerates the ageing of the population. For this reason we designed a limited pilot-study to test the possibilities and the necessity of a broader study focussing on potential and every day practice concerning volunteer aid for elderly in regions characterized by unbalanced population decline. In this pilot study we will focus on a rural municipality in the north of the Netherlands: Oldambt.Within the framework of this pilot-study we focussed on living arrangements and social network of two groups of senior citizens; one group of men and women aged 65-79 and one group aged 80 years and over. Based on demographic data kindly made available by the municipal office of Oldambt, in this paper we will draw a picture of these citizens living in the municipality. Going deeper into the material and the municipality’s structure we will than focus on one of the municipality’s communities, Finsterwolde, with its village, hamlets and surrounding rural area. For the purpose of this pilot-study we constructed a sample of 30 men and women aged 80+-elderly and asked them to fill in a questionnaire. Based on the outcomes of these questionnaires we than had five in-depth interviews with some of them. Finally, on the basis of the gathered material, we will draw some general conclusions while presenting some new questions for further research into the living conditions and social support systems for elderly in a region with unbalanced population decline and accelerated ageing.
