Is Housing Enough? Researchers study impact of the Bridging experience

02/22/2021 This post was written by arcstone

Is Housing Enough?

A pair of St. Catherine’s University researchers recently published a study of the impact of the Bridging experience on people seeking housing stability.

Associate Professor Kari Hartwig and former graduate student Fatma Mohamed conducted a qualitative evaluation of Bridging. They published the study, titled, “From Housing Instability to Home: The Effects of Furniture and Household Goods on Well-Being,” in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. What they found in their interviews with 20 Bridging clients and 15 partnering caseworkers showed that while having a home is crucial to finding stability, having items to fill that home with, is just as important for people’s emotional well-being.

“That sense of home that they are creating their own sense of home and identity by what they choose is so important,” says Hartwig. “We all have our idiosyncrasies about what we enjoy… those I talked to say it gave them a place where they could move on and deal with other issues… This is a simple thing that’s not so simple!”

Hartwig says the idea for the paper came from speaking with a volunteer about their experience at Bridging.

What they found

What they found in their interviews was that because of the disconnection of being homeless or having unstable housing situations, it’s difficult to break the cycle of poverty.

“When most of your friends and family are also poor- that network isn’t there… you have to rely on others to fill the gaps.”

Several conversations highlighted in the study, but some of the most memorable came from social workers who had talked about themselves going through Bridging 10-or 15 years ago. They say it made such a difference in their quality of life– that they too could go out and help others in similar situations.

“[The furniture gave them] physical comforts they hadn’t even realized they were missing,” says Hartwig. “They thought they ‘had a bad back’—and that’s just the way it is…’ but then they got a chair and were like, ‘oh it’s not as bad as I thought!’—that physical comfort that people get is so important.”

Usefulness for other nonprofits

She says she hopes other nonprofits use these types of program evaluations and qualitative studies to analyze whether they are meeting their goals and focusing on their mission.

“If you don’t set goals and have a way of evaluating them, you don’t know if you’re achieving your objectives.”

The study showed the value of having a network of social services that provide access to furniture and household goods. It also highlighted the need for those programs to be part of housing support programming.

“I think in terms of what needs to happen—within the social welfare system— there need to be more supports in place for consistency when families are being housed. [Simply providing] housing is not enough.”

Read the Report: From Housing Instability to Home: The Effects of Furniture and Household Goods on Well-Being

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