Evaluation of supportive services for homeless women

Abstract

Every evening over 20 women are bused to a basement of a schoolhouse, where they will spend the night and wake up at 5:00 a.m. to face the streets as a homeless woman. These women feel as if they are invisible and their life stories and experiences are not important. This thesis will provide an outlet for the women stories to be told and also examine the effectiveness of the services where the women are residing - Father Bill's Place in Quincy, Massachusetts. I used focus groups and in depth personal life sharing interviews to investigate the homeless shelter's services. This method enabled me to relate to the clients and to make them feel comfortable enough to share their experiences at the shelter. I used interviews to examine the staff at Father Bill's Place. The clients at Father Bill's Place are seriously affected by the quality of services that are being offered.. Each day that the women feel confused about case management, disrespected by a direct care staff worker, dissatisfied with the lack of healthy food options, sicken by the poor ventilation of the shelter's public space, and feel less than a human there is a crisis situation. The women do not demand luxury items, they only want to have the accurate information to be able to make inform decisions about their personal service plans and to be treated like women, not homeless women.