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FINAL EVALUATION OF THE ROUGH SLEEPERS
INITIATIVE
APPENDIX FOUR: TOPIC GUIDE FOR SERVICE
USERS
Topic guide for people sleeping
rough
Explain study. Ask if the respondent has any further
questions about the study. Tell respondent that interview
will be recorded and confirm that they are in agreement
with this. Inform respondent that their answers are in
confidence and will not be used in any form that will
identify them as an individual. However, the content of
their interview will be referred to and they may be quoted,
in an anonymous form, within the report of the
research.
Introduction
Please can they give age, name (just for the tape, does
not have to be actual name) (note ethnicity).
How long have you been in contact with X service/going
to the hostel/day centre?
What made you first get in touch or go along?
How did you find out about this service?
Was it easy to find out about?
Sleeping rough
Can I ask if you are currently sleeping rough or if you
have been sleeping rough recently?
Have they all slept rough regularly?
Are they new to sleeping rough?
How long (broadly) have you been sleeping rough? (By
that I mean when did you first sleep rough and how many
times have you done it since?)
And how long have you been homeless?
Where you are living now?
- Still homeless/sleeping rough?
- House, flat?
- direct access shelter or hostel
- hostel
- move-on accommodation
- Temporary accommodation/permanent.
- How long living there?
(Anyone else live with you? Who?)
How would they describe where they are living now?
Do you like where you live now?
What is it that you like or don't like?
Enough room?
Feels safe?
Warm and dry?
Sharing with others? (what is that like, if so)?
Anything else?
Is the location of where you are living OK?
Convenient/not convenient?
Support and Support needs
What do people who are rough sleeping need in order to
help them out of homelessness?
What accommodation would they like?
What help would they need to get that?
What support do people who are rough sleeping need?
What would make the most difference to them? What are
the gaps in services?
What help do they need (if any)?
Try to establish
which services they are in contact with, and
who provides them
- Any hostels?
- Supported accommodation?
- Support or resettlement workers (delivered to
homeless people living in any housing setting and in
any tenure);
- drug or alcohol workers?
- Health workers?
- Outreach workers?
- Anyone else in contact with; Which organisation are
they from?
Are they in contact with any other housing
providers?
Are they in touch with services for employment training
or education?
What support are they getting? Check against list below.
If they are receiving it, can they talk about
how useful it is? If
not receiving a form of support, is this something
they
would like to receive? (
why?)
- Help with finding appropriate accommodation and
moving. A worker may pursue the most appropriate
accommodation available on behalf of a household, visit
offered accommodation with households and may also help
with the move itself.
- Practical assistance in setting up and maintaining
a home such as help in getting furniture, sorting out
decoration needs or help with accessing assistance from
local volunteers or voluntary sector groups.
- Training and support in daily living skills.
Including how to manage finances, to prepare and cook
food, to shop and to clean.
- Help with accessing health, care and other
services. GPs, drug and alcohol services, social work,
other support.
- Help with accessing benefits. Homeless households
may need help in accessing all the benefits to which
they are entitled if resettlement or the prevention of
homelessness is going to be successful.
- Self-advocacy. Learning how to claim benefits or
get services on their own, make applications and deal
with appeals or complaints on their own.
- Support in developing social skills and social
networks. (help establishing new social networks,
helping people access opportunities for socialisation
and work on developing friendships, peer support,
befriending and other relationships)
- Emotional support and facilitating access to
counselling services. Direct emotional support to
homeless people and help with access to services
providing emotional support.
Overall do you think that the right sort of help is
available in this area for people sleeping rough?
- Which services were best and most
helpful?
- Which services were least helpful?
- That there was enough help?
- What other types of help would you have liked?
Do you think things round here have got better or not
when you use services like:
- Housing
- Health
- Benefits
- Social work
Do services talk to each other and link together or do
you find that you have to do this for yourself?
Anything else they would like to say?
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