Health, happiness and your future: using a “men’s group” format to work with homeless men in London

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe an intervention with a group of homeless men from the Horn of Africa, service users of the Horn of Africa Health and Wellbeing Project in London. The group was conceived by the second author who noted the presence of significant psychosocial issues for her clients, but equally their reluctance to access mainstream mental health or social care services. Design/methodology/approach Designing the group and introducing it to the men involved threw up some challenges which are explored, and the impact of the group on participants is evaluated. Findings Overall both the participants and the facilitators evaluated the group positively and it appeared to have led to lasting change for some of the group members, and this is described. The authors argue that this sort of group may be a more acceptable way to work on psychosocial issues than something more directly focused on mental health intervention. The group protocol is outlined along with suggestions for future work in this area. Originality/value This intervention represents a creative alternative to more mainstream psychological interventions for homeless or exiled men.

Public Health Interventions to Address Housing and Mental Health amongst Migrants from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds Living in High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review

“…For example, social connections, including family and friends, were important in providing housing and informal sources of information about housing options for migrant and refugee populations at risk of homelessness [ 54 , 58 ]. Similarly, the value of group-based activities for addressing mental health in people who are homeless, including people from CaLD backgrounds, was noted by Thompson et al [ 52 ] and Travis et al [ 74 ].…”

“…The study sample size ranged significantly from 20 [ 52 ] to 853,012 [ 53 ] participants. A majority of studies were published from 2010 onwards; around one in five studies (22.4%, n = 11) were published prior [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ].…”

“…All articles referenced ethnicity, cultural background, race, or related identities. Less than a quarter of studies (20.4%, n = 10) specifically addressed outcomes or insights related to CaLD status [ 52 , 54 , 58 , 69 , 77 , 78 , 86 , 93 , 95 , 97 ]. Only 14.3% (n = 7) of the studies were purposefully designed to explore or address the needs of people from CaLD backgrounds (as opposed to reporting on outcomes against cultural and linguistic diversity) [ 52 , 54 , 58 , 77 , 93 , 95 , 97 ].…”

“…Less than a quarter of studies (20.4%, n = 10) specifically addressed outcomes or insights related to CaLD status [ 52 , 54 , 58 , 69 , 77 , 78 , 86 , 93 , 95 , 97 ]. Only 14.3% (n = 7) of the studies were purposefully designed to explore or address the needs of people from CaLD backgrounds (as opposed to reporting on outcomes against cultural and linguistic diversity) [ 52 , 54 , 58 , 77 , 93 , 95 , 97 ]. Table 6 provides an overview of the cultural and linguistic classifications used by studies and corresponding citations.…”

“…The literature highlighted experiences of shame, stigma, and discrimination for migrants from CaLD backgrounds at risk of or experiencing homelessness and mental health challenges [ 52 , 64 , 86 ]. For example, Mejia-Lancheros et al [ 86 ] identified that adults experiencing homelessness and mental illness faced discrimination in healthcare settings, while Thompson et al [ 52 ] also found that migrants from CaLD backgrounds in the UK experienced shame when asking for assistance with housing. Conversely, Wenzel et al [ 64 ] found that permanent supportive housing provision reduced everyday discrimination against people previously experiencing homelessness.…”