‘There’s no hope for any kind of decent life’ : A qualitative study to explore the perspectives of people experiencing homelessness with a recent non-fatal overdose in Scotland

Tools

Farmer, Natalia and McPherson, Andrew and Thomson, Jim and Reilly, Francis and Williamson, Andrea and Lowrie, Richard (2024) ‘There’s no hope for any kind of decent life’ : A qualitative study to explore the perspectives of people experiencing homelessness with a recent non-fatal overdose in Scotland. British Journal of Social Work, 54 (2). pp. 548-567. ISSN 1468-263X (https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcad160)

[thumbnail of Farmer-etal-2023-A-qualitative-study-to-explore-the-perspectives-of-people-experiencing-homelessness]
Preview
 Text. Filename: Farmer-etal-2023-A-qualitative-study-to-explore-the-perspectives-of-people-experiencing-homelessness.pdf
Final Published Version
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 logo
Download (273kB)| Preview

Abstract

The past ten years has seen a marked increase in the numbers of people experiencing homelessness globally and an associated public health epidemic of drug-related deaths. Drawing from qualitative interviews as part of a wider pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) conducted in Glasgow, Scotland with National Health Service pharmacists and third sector homeless outreach caseworkers, insights from those with living experience of both homelessness and a recent non-fatal drug overdose will be presented. Twenty people experiencing homelessness with at least one drug overdose in the past six months were interviewed in person, in a homeless ness drop in centre or in emergency accommodation between November 2021 and January 2022. Findings from our study indicate that participants’ drug use and overdose risk were exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic due to the pervasive availability of illicit drugs for those placed in emergency accommodation, alongside reduced support and access to health and social care services. Additionally, multi agency stressors such as a lack of autonomy and dehumanising experiences were reported, leading to a significant sense of powerlessness. Furthermore, the necessity of advocacy-based services as critical aspects of support was identified, with importance placed upon dedicated, homelessness staff and access to safe environments.

ORCID iDs

Farmer, Natalia, McPherson, Andrew, Thomson, Jim, Reilly, Francis ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3742-6668, Williamson, Andrea and Lowrie, Richard;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)