Development and validation of a supported housing programme for homeless women with severe mental illness.

Background: The bidirectional phenomenon of homelessness and Mental Illness (MI) creates a vicious circle that is hard to escape. In India, Homeless Women with Severe Mental Illness (HWSMI) often rely on institutional care due to the absence of family or community alternatives, which distances them from socio-economic, cultural, political resources and the right to live with dignity. Hence, there is a need to develop a model that will help reintegrate HWSMI into the community.

Aim: We aimed to develop and validate (content and face validity) a supported housing programme (SHP) for HWSMI in Bengaluru, India.

Method: We developed the SHP using 1) a needs assessment from HWSMI (n = 14), 2) qualitative interviews with Mental Health Professionals (MHPs) (n = 18), and 3) visits to organizations (n = 3) involved in reintegration and supported housing for HWSMI. We articulated a Theory of Change (ToC) for the program. Three international experts and seven Indian experts reviewed the same.

Results: Five themes- Causes of homelessness/barriers to reintegration, consequences of homelessness, models/processes, facilitators, and needs of HWSMI and eighty sub-themes emerged from the qualitative thematic analysis of the interviews and observational visits. The themes and subthemes were organized as interventions in each phase of the SHP: Interventions in the tertiary care setting, transit home, and community.

Conclusion: We describe the development and validation of a comprehensive need-based SHP. We will implement and test the feasibility of the SHP for HWSMI.