"Det är så lätt att sållas bort" - röster från livet på gatan
(2025) SOPB63 20251School of Social Work
- Abstract
- This study aimed to explore how individuals with experience of homelessness perceived the available support services, as well as how they experienced their encounters with social workers, highlighting effective current practices and identifying areas needing improvement. Based on narrative interviews with six formerly homeless individuals in Stockholm, Sweden, their experiences were analysed using theories of recognition on both a relational level through Axel Honneth's three forms of recognition, and on a structural level through Beverley Skeggs´ concept of capital and its role in structural exclusion. The focus was on how recognition - or the lack of - shapes self-relation, life conditions, and a sense of belonging in society. We found... (More)
- This study aimed to explore how individuals with experience of homelessness perceived the available support services, as well as how they experienced their encounters with social workers, highlighting effective current practices and identifying areas needing improvement. Based on narrative interviews with six formerly homeless individuals in Stockholm, Sweden, their experiences were analysed using theories of recognition on both a relational level through Axel Honneth's three forms of recognition, and on a structural level through Beverley Skeggs´ concept of capital and its role in structural exclusion. The focus was on how recognition - or the lack of - shapes self-relation, life conditions, and a sense of belonging in society. We found that a lack of recognition in encounters with the social services through mistrust, high demands, and lack of individual adaptation had a negative effect on participants’ self-image, trust in welfare systems, and sense of belonging in society. Many described feeling forced to adapt to institutional expectations to receive help, which harmed their self-worth. We also found that the encounters characterised by empathy, individual adaptation to the needs, and trust had a significant positive impact on their well-being and self-perception. The ”Housing First” model was frequently highlighted as a functioning support system, as it offers stable housing without requiring sobriety. This provided participants with a sense of safety and inclusion and enabled recovery.
The study shows that recognition is not only about respectful interactions but also about access to material resources and the right to be seen as an equal member of society. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9201006
- author
- Nygren, Vera LU and Mahdi, Aya LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SOPB63 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- homelessness, social work, recognition, structural exclusion, Housing First
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9201006
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-17 15:36:29
- date last changed
- 2025-06-17 15:36:29
@misc{9201006,
abstract = {{This study aimed to explore how individuals with experience of homelessness perceived the available support services, as well as how they experienced their encounters with social workers, highlighting effective current practices and identifying areas needing improvement. Based on narrative interviews with six formerly homeless individuals in Stockholm, Sweden, their experiences were analysed using theories of recognition on both a relational level through Axel Honneth's three forms of recognition, and on a structural level through Beverley Skeggs´ concept of capital and its role in structural exclusion. The focus was on how recognition - or the lack of - shapes self-relation, life conditions, and a sense of belonging in society. We found that a lack of recognition in encounters with the social services through mistrust, high demands, and lack of individual adaptation had a negative effect on participants’ self-image, trust in welfare systems, and sense of belonging in society. Many described feeling forced to adapt to institutional expectations to receive help, which harmed their self-worth. We also found that the encounters characterised by empathy, individual adaptation to the needs, and trust had a significant positive impact on their well-being and self-perception. The ”Housing First” model was frequently highlighted as a functioning support system, as it offers stable housing without requiring sobriety. This provided participants with a sense of safety and inclusion and enabled recovery.
The study shows that recognition is not only about respectful interactions but also about access to material resources and the right to be seen as an equal member of society.}},
author = {{Nygren, Vera and Mahdi, Aya}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{"Det är så lätt att sållas bort" - röster från livet på gatan}},
year = {{2025}},
}