Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 92 No. 4, 2022.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.92.4.4
Quality of Services for the Homeless from the Perspective of Users of Shelters and Over-night Lodgings
Olja Družić Ljubotina
orcid.org/0000-0003-4298-0409
; Studijski centar socijalnog rada Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, zagreb, Hrvatska
Marijana Kletečki Radović
orcid.org/0000-0001-7647-8076
; Studijski centar socijalnog rada Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Jelena Ogresta
orcid.org/0000-0001-5235-3180
; Studijski centar socijalnog rada Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The homeless are one of the most vulnerable and deprived groups in the Croatian society, which takes care of them through various forms of help and support. One of the more available forms of help to this vulnerable group are social services that aim at mitigating the consequences of living without a home, at satisfying the most basic needs of life, and at the integration of the homeless into the society. The past studies of quality of social services for the homeless are few and there is no systematic monitoring or evaluation of existing services. The most important social service for the homeless is the service of accommodation, which primarily refers to accommodation in shelters and over-night lodgings. In order to ensure the quality of service, there is a need to study how satisfied its users are with the service. Thus, the authors of this article carried out a study whose aim was to gain insight into the quality of services for the homeless in shelters and overnight lodgings from the perspective of users of these services. 24 users of shelters and over-night lodgings in the area of the City of Zagreb, Rijeka, and Split took part in this study. The data has been gathered by using the method of semi-structured interview, while the method of thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The results suggest the general satisfaction with the service of accommodation among the homeless, although they point out the need for greater availability of certain services, such as basic health or psycho-social services within the frame of shelters and over-night lodgings. The users of the service of accommodation also pointed out the lack of continuity in providing services within shelters and over-night lodgings, which is due to project financing difficulties. Namely, such services are often financed through projects and are, therefore, largely financially dependent on official approval of such projects. The participants in the study have voiced different opinions on the possibility of exiting the status of being a homeless person, whereby some believe that they will not stay long in that status, while others do not see a possibility of leaving behind shelters and over-night lodgings, due to the impossibility of finding accommodation on their own. The results of the study, therefore, also confirmed the existence of the problem of the vicious circle of homelessness. The results point out the importance of including the perspective of users – primarily of those who use the service of accommodation – in order to improve the social services for the homeless.
Ključne riječi
homelessness; quality of services; social services; accommodation for the homeless; perspective of users
Hrčak ID:
299997
URI
Datum izdavanja:
14.4.2023.
Posjeta: 689 *