Shared housing and long-term mental illness

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to give an account by a rehabilitation psychiatrist of many years of involvement in shared housing for former long-stay hospital residents and other long-term mental health service users. Design/methodology/approach – The paper offers a personal view based on developments in one locality of East London, blending case study narrative with cited earlier published papers that confirm and/or give greater detail on specific aspects of the experience gained. Findings – Long-term mental health service users, given the opportunity via shared housing to develop more lasting and natural relationships, proved to have social and interactive capacity that was obscured by both the conditions of hospital wards and by isolating accommodation “in the community”. The experience provides lessons for a better understanding of patients’ problems. Practical implications – Shared housing is often seen as simply a poor substitute for independent living; but the experience recounted here suggests that shared living may have particular value for some client groups. Originality/value – The housing developments and the associated research remain unusual and of potential value for planners of long-term services.