Perceptions of Home and its Meanings from Previously Homeless Social Housing Clients

Kristina Wilamova

OBJECTIVES: The article provides an answer to the question of how ontological (un)certainty manifests in the conceptualisations of home from social housing clients who have had experiences with homelessness. THEORETICAL BASE: The idea of homelessness relates to not only the loss of housing, but also the loss of a home, which is a source of ontological certainty. Feeling the absence of home has had negative impacts on individuals who have had experiences with homelessness in other, related domains of their lives. Social housing is a concept that is intended to provide both a home and standard housing. METHODS: The research was conducted through qualitative analysis using a constructivist grounded theory. It involved 21 interviews with clients of social housing in Ostrava who have had experiences with homelessness; they are the actors whose constructions of meanings of home through their subjective experiences. OUTCOMES: Within the data, we found constructed meanings of home from the perspectives of those social housing clients who have had experience with homelessness and their experiences of ontological security. SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS: The article offers an understanding of interpretations and meanings of home from the subjects’ perspectives. This understanding is essential to better and adequately target people who are experiencing homelessness with social work interventions.

Keywords
homelessness, meaning of home, ontological certainty, social housing

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