Staff Members’ Experience of Italian Shelters for LGBTQIA+ Homeless and Runaway People: An Exploratory Study-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Staff Members’ Experience of Italian Shelters for LGBTQIA+ Homeless and Runaway People: An Exploratory Study

Published:2023-06-24 Issue:13 Volume:20 Page:6214
ISSN:1660-4601
Container-title:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
language:en
Short-container-title:IJERPH

Author:

Tubertini Elena¹^ORCID,Carbone Agostino²³^ORCID,Santinello Massimo¹

Affiliation:

1. Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padua, 35131 Padova, Italy

2. Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy

3. Department of Health Policy–The London School of Economics and Political Sciences, CPEC–Care Policy and Evaluation Center, St Clement’s Ln, London WC2A 2HD, UK

Abstract

Background: Some LGBTQIA+ people, after coming out, experience marginalization and homelessness due to rejection and discrimination from their family and community. The increase in support requests led to the creation of LGBTQIA+ temporary shelter homes worldwide. This study aims to explore the functioning and effectiveness of shelters, analyzing the experiences of staff members in Italy. Methods: Focus groups were held with a total of 15 staff members (age range: 32–53) working in three shelters for LGBTQIA+ people. Data were analyzed qualitatively through the grounded theory methodology. Results: Data coding showed five final core categories: (1) user characteristics; (2) staff characteristics; (3) community relations; (4) activities carried out by services; (5) criteria for intervention assessment and staff satisfaction. Results revealed some criticalities in the effectiveness of these services, particularly the difficulty in achieving autonomy for users, a weakness attributable to the non-exhaustive training of staff members and the funding discontinuity. Conclusion: To improve the efficacy of shelters, this study emphasizes the necessity to (a) carry out an analysis of the vulnerability of the local LGBTQIA+ community, (b) establish a stable network with local services (NHS system), and (c) implement staff members’ psychological training.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Link

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/13/6214/pdf

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