What does ‘feeling at home’ mean for adults with intellectual disabilities living in group homes in England?

Abstract

BackgroundShared housing for adults with intellectual disabilities with staff support, is a common housing model internationally. We explored an overlooked aspect of group homes, namely the extent to which they enable a sense of ‘feeling at home’ for residents.MethodA diverse group of 19 housemates participated in a photovoice study. Participants took photos in their homes and discussed them in individual interviews and in groups. Data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsResidents' experience of home was multi‐dimensional. ‘Feeling at home’ related to home as a site of identity cultivation (personal home); physical comfort or ‘misfitting’ (physical home) and home as the locus of key relationships (social home).ConclusionAchieving a sense of ‘feeling at home’ requires engagement in practices of home‐making. Many of our participants required support from staff to engage in these practices. For some housemates their experience of home was conditional and precarious.