Abstract
This study aimed to identify and compare major areas of met and unmet needs reported by 455 homeless or recently housed individuals recruited from emergency shelters, temporary housing, and permanent housing in Quebec (Canada). Mixed methods, guided by the Maslow framework, were used. Basic needs were the strongest needs category identified, followed by health and social services (an emergent category), and safety; very few participants expressed needs in the higher-order categories of love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. The only significant differences between the three housing groups occurred in basic needs met, which favored permanent housing residents. Safety was the only category where individuals reported more unmet than met needs. The study results suggested that increased overall access to and continuity of care with family physicians, MD or SUD clinicians and community organizations for social integration should be provided to help better these individuals. Case management, stigma prevention, supported employment programs, peer support and day centers should particularly be more widely implemented as interventions that may promote a higher incidence of met needs in specific needs categories.
Highlights
Homelessness is an increasing social problem [1]
As this study found little data on self-esteem and self-actualization, these were defined as a single category, personal mastery, which documented the transformative experience of moving from the streets toward housing and social reintegration
This study makes an original contribution to the literature on needs assessment in homelessness, as the first study to our knowledge to assess met and unmet needs among homeless and recently housed individuals recruited from three types of housing services, and using the Maslow framework in a mixed-method investigation
Summary
Homelessness is an increasing social problem [1]. It is difficult to estimate the real number of individuals experiencing homeless due to lack of participation from many communities in the count, and lack of consistency in methodologies. In 2016, an estimated 550,000 individuals in the US experienced homelessness [1], while in Canada, 235,000 individuals were homeless overall, or 35,000 per night [2].
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