title: "Waiting to go home": narratives of homelessness, housing and home among older adults with schizophrenia.
abstract: This study used thematic narrative analysis to develop an understanding of how older adults with ongoing symptoms of schizophrenia who have experienced homelessness understand and express their life course and present-time narratives of homelessness, housing, and home. Findings were developed from 26 individual interviews with five study participants and 33 systematic field observations of their homes, treatment environments and neighborhoods. Presentation of the participants' narratives illuminates how participants experienced shared challenges in unique ways and the meaning they assigned to experiences of homelessness, housing and home, particularly in regard to identity and ongoing challenges. While all participants were housed, housing did not equate to a sense of being home. Implications for social work practice and policy, and directions for future research, are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University School of Social Work, 1255 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10027, United States. Electronic address: lydia.ogden@lehman.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Lydia P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Ogden
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology*; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011050:Policy Making; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012933:Social Identification; D012949:Social Work, Psychiatric / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States
keywords: Homelessness; Housing; Narrative; Older adults; Schizophrenia; Social services