Homelessness as viewed by incarcerated women: participatory research.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, by incarcerated women who were members of a prison participatory health research team, of a survey tool regarding homelessness and housing, the survey findings and recommendations for policy.

Design/methodology/approach: A survey was developed by incarcerated women in a minimum/medium security women's prison in Canada. Associations were examined between socio-demographic factors and reports of difficulty finding housing upon release, homelessness contributing to a return to crime, and a desire for relocation to another city upon release. Open-ended questions were examined to look for recurrent themes and to illuminate the survey findings.

Findings: In total, 83 women completed the survey, a 72 per cent response rate. Of the 71 who were previously incarcerated, 56 per cent stated that homelessness contributed to their return to crime. Finding housing upon release was a problem for 63 per cent and 34 per cent desired relocation to another city upon release. Women indicated that a successful housing plan should incorporate flexible progressive staged housing.

Research Limitations/implications: The present study focuses only on incarcerated women but could be expanded in future to include men.

Practical Implications: Incarcerated women used the findings to create a housing proposal for prison leavers and created a resource database of the limited housing resources for women prison leavers.

Social Implications: Lack of suitable housing is a major factor leading to recidivism. This study highlights the reality of the cycle of homelessness, poverty, crime for survival, street-life leading to drug use and barriers to health, education and employment that incarcerated women face.

Originality/value: Housing is a recognized basic determinant of health. No previous studies have used participatory research to address homelessness in a prison population.