Helping People Experiencing Homelessness Toward In-Home Living through Residential Facilities for Daily Life Support

日常生活支援住居施設によるホームレス経験者を 居宅生活につなぐ支援

Helping People Experiencing Homelessness Toward In-Home Living through Residential Facilities for Daily Life Support

Abstract: the “Act on Special Measures concerning Assistance in Self-Support of Homeless” was enacted in 2002, and the national and local governments began providing full-scale support for homeless people. The national survey on homelessness conducted in 2003 identified 25,296 homeless persons in 581 municipalities nationwide, while the January 2024 national survey confirmed 2,820 homeless persons in 217 municipalities.
For more than a decade following the introduction of the Act on Special Measures, independence support centers have been the main providers of support. However, the enactment of the law to support the independence of people in need in 2013 has created a pathway for self-support, allowing homeless persons to make practical use of the welfare law. As support for homeless people became enhanced in this way, a new problem emerged: the free/low-cost lodging facilities were serving as a place, other than the temporary living support projects, to provide welfare coverage for homeless people based on independence support centers and the law to support the independence of people in need. However, their housing conditions were poor and facility usage fees were unreasonably high. One of the measures against this“ poverty business” is the newly established residential facilities for daily life support.
This paper discusses the support those residential facilities provide to the residents who are experiencing homelessness toward in-home living based on a survey of visits to the facilities and interviews with the residents.
The results showed that individuals experiencing homelessness have not only restored their health through the use of the facilities but also a sense of security and freedom thanks to the involvement of the staff. This stabilization of the body and mind allows them to imagine the transition from the use of the facilities to in-home living. When selecting a place for in-home living, it is also important to form a social support network for a life in the community after leaving the facilities. Therefore, it is necessary for the residential facilities to build good relationships with other facilities that assist people experiencing homelessness and with government agencies outside their jurisdiction, as well as to form networks among support personnel.

Creators UCHIDA Mitsunori

[EISSN]2189-4825