Community integration (CI) has been identified as a key outcome of programs designed to improve the lives of homeless and recently housed individuals (Gaetz, The State of Homelessness in Canada 2016, 2016). Although researchers have explored the extent to which Housing First (HF) impacts on social integration (Quilgars & Pleace, Soc. Incl., 4, 2016), little is known about the range and effectiveness of other interventions on CI more broadly. We conducted a systematic review of experimental studies using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines. Our search strategy was deployed in six databases: EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Medline, Sociological Abstracts, and Proquest Dissertations and Theses. Our search was initiated in 2017 and updated on May 5, 2019. Using the definition of CI identified by Wong & Solomon (Ment. Health Serv. Res., 4:13-28, 2002), two independent raters screened 14,158 titles and abstracts after the removal of duplicates. A total of 157 articles were subjected to full-text review. Studies published in the English language and involving participants of any age were included. We conducted a critical appraisal of 25 studies using the JBI checklists for quasi-experimental and randomised controlled trials (Tufanaru, Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers Manual, 2017), and subsequently excluded four studies as they did not meet a pre-established quality threshold score of 50/100. A total of 21 studies were included in a narrative synthesis. Critical appraisal scores ranged from 53.8-100 (Mdn = 69.2). Interventions evaluated in existing literature included housing and housing support interventions (n = 9), HF (n = 5), psychosocial interventions (n = 5), and employment interventions (n = 2). A meta-analysis could not be performed due to the heterogeneity of outcomes in included studies. Aspects of CI measured by researchers included social (n = 17), psychological (n = 6), and physical (n = 4) integration. Studies that evaluated HF and housing and housing support interventions demonstrated surprisingly mixed or a lack of effectiveness for promoting CI. Psychosocial interventions were the most promising, specifically those which incorporated an element of peer support. Findings of literature included in this review suggests that there is inconsistency in the extent to which existing interventions are effectively targeting CI as an outcome. Furthermore, we contend that existing systems-level interventions, including HF and permanent supportive housing alone may not be enough to promote CI among homeless and formerly homeless individuals. Future research should focus on the development and evaluation of interventions that more effectively target this critical construct.

Effectiveness of interventions targeting community integration among individuals with lived experiences of homelessness: A systematic review.

Background: Although systematic and scoping reviews have identified a range of interventions for persons experiencing homelessness, no known reviews have captured the range and quality of intervent...

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A systematic review of occupational therapy interventions in the transition from homelessness.

AIMS This study explored community integration among women participating in a Housing First program. Physical, social, and psychological dimensions of community integration were examined. METHODS This study used neighborhood walk-along and photo-elicitation interviews to explore 16 formerly homeless women's experiences of community integration. RESULTS Participants described limited community integration. Health, poverty, service inaccessibility, and safety concerns shaped how they took part in activities in their neighborhoods. Participants primarily socialized with people in their buildings, though some preferred to keep to themselves. There was minimal sense of neighborhood belonging, with participants not interested in belonging to a community and being judged by others. CONCLUSION Housing First promoted housing stability but did not contribute to community integration. Participants did not express a strong desire to integrate in their communities. Future research should consider the extent to which community integration remains a priority for marginalized populations, such as formerly homeless women.

Finding home: Community integration experiences of formerly homeless women with problematic substance use in Housing First

Do persons with low socioeconomic status have less access to greenspace? Application of accessibility index to urban parks in Seoul, South Korea

There are growing calls for Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a means of reducing poverty and addressing the changing nature of work. UBI involves the provision of a cash payment to all adult citizens, which is sufficient to live on and either does not phase out as earnings increase or does so slowly for higher incomes. Despite many theorized benefits and beneficiaries of UBI, its implications for preventing and ending homelessness have not been explored. Accordingly, this article provides an overview on UBI and its evidence base, and then discusses how UBI could help to structurally prevent and end homelessness by reducing values-based exclusion in the provision of income supports, promoting choice in housing, facilitating workforce returns and buffering against automation job losses, and improving health and well-being. Like any transformative policy shift, there are also risks associated with UBI, which largely lie in the details of how it is designed and the political context in which it is implemented. Nevertheless, given its potential, now is the time to properly trial UBI as a structural intervention for preventing and ending homelessness.

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The Role of Universal Basic Income in Preventing and Ending Homelessness

Background. Tenancy sustainment—maintenance of a tenancy to avoid a premature end of tenure—is fundamental to prevention of homelessness. Understanding what enables a successful tenancy is essentia...

Leonie Boland

Papers

Determinants of tenancy sustainment following homelessness: a systematic review