Understanding the experience of exiting homelessness among women without children
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2009
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Abstract
The issue of homelessness has come to the fore front of social ills plaguing the Canadian society. There is an overwhelming consensus among researchers and social scientists that the numbers of the homeless are on the increase, their average age is dropping, and more women and family units are becoming part of this population. Although it has been observed that women experience homelessness in ways that are vastly different from men, they are generally underrepresented in published literature on homelessness. The few studies that have focused on homeless women often study those with children and rarely explore the meaning of the exiting experience from homelessness among them, especially those without children. The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of the lived experience of exiting homelessness among women without children. Convenience and snow ball sampling techniques were used to recruit 12 women exiting homelessness in Calgary and who lived in transitional type accommodations. The texts resulting from audio-taped interviews, participant observations, and reflective journal entries by the researcher constituted data for analysis. Gadamerian hermeneutics informed the interpretive method used for data analysis. An overall meaning of the experience of exiting homelessness among women without children that emerged from the study was that the experience represented a journey through loosing oneself, self discovery, and hopefulness. The findings yielded 5 subthemes that supported the overall meaning and described the journey through exiting homelessness; (1) loss of self at home: the trigger, (2) Non-feeling of 'at-homeness': dissociation, (3) Disconnection and aloneness: homelessness, (4) Simulating home, transitional shelter living, and (5) Finding oneself: hopefulness. These findings suggest that exiting homelessness for women was not a journey in search of a house; rather it was a journey in search of hope, and connection with the self and others. The study is significant in that it validated narratives and literature indicating that exiting the homelessness situation is not just about finding a home, it is about assisting the homeless reconnect with themselves, rediscover personal identities, and find hope. This perspective suggests a new approach for nursing practice, and possibilities for further research, and public policy reviews.
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Bibliography: p. 185-217
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Citation
Osuji, J. (2009). Understanding the experience of exiting homelessness among women without children (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/3155