Citation

Whitley R, Harris M, Drake RE. Psychiatr. Serv. 2008; 59(2): 165-169.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, 2 Whipple Pl., Suite 202, Lebanon, NH 03766, USA. rob.whitley@dartmouth.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

10.1176/appi.ps.59.2.165

PMID

18245158

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the lived experience of residents with severe mental illness in a small-scale recovery-housing building in the inner city. They attempting to identify and understand factors that influenced adjustment and stability. METHODS: Four focus groups with 17 residents and participant observation with residents, case managers, and supervisory staff were conducted longitudinally over a two-year period. Data were analyzed according to the tenets of qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Safety and security was the most prominent issue raised by residents. Serious concerns about this issue could be divided into three categories: threats raised by the behavior of other residents (and their associates), threats raised by strangers, and threats related to loss of self-control. A related theme involved ongoing tension between residents' desire for communal connections and their conflicting desire for a bounded private life. CONCLUSIONS: Ongoing attention to the issue of safety and security should be a key component of recovery-oriented housing in inner-city residential areas. Further research may need to compare the experience of safety and security among residents living in recovery housing with the experience of those in independent scatter-site housing and traditional congregate housing.

Language: en