title: From homeless to housed: caring for people in transition.
abstract: This ethnographic study was conducted to determine what homeless people experience during the transition from street life into community housing. Data were gathered through participant observation at a program designed to secure housing and support services for homeless people upon discharge from a psychiatric hospital. Sixty homeless, mentally ill adults were followed from hospital discharge through their first 2 years in community housing. Homeless people interact with health care providers across a cultural divide produced by vast differences in their lived experiences. This cultural distance limits access to the services that these individuals require to achieve residential stability.
authors.affiliation: Lienhard School of Nursing, Pace University, New York, NY 10038, USA. ldrury@pace.edu
authors.forename: Lin J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Drury
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D019090:Case Management; D003152:Community Health Nursing; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019456:Health Transition; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011638:Public Housing; D012944:Social Support