Staff members’ experience of Italian shelters for LGBTQIA+ homeless and runaway people: an exploratory study

Tubertini, Elena, Carbone, Agostino and Santinello, Massimo (2023) Staff members’ experience of Italian shelters for LGBTQIA+ homeless and runaway people: an exploratory study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20 (13). ISSN 1661-7827

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Abstract

Background: Some LGBTQIA+ people, after coming out, experience marginalization and homelessness due to rejection and discrimination from their family and community. The increase in support requests led to the creation of LGBTQIA+ temporary shelter homes worldwide. This study aims to explore the functioning and effectiveness of shelters, analyzing the experiences of staff members in Italy. Methods: Focus groups were held with a total of 15 staff members (age range: 32–53) working in three shelters for LGBTQIA+ people. Data were analyzed qualitatively through the grounded theory methodology. Results: Data coding showed five final core categories: (1) user characteristics; (2) staff characteristics; (3) community relations; (4) activities carried out by services; (5) criteria for intervention assessment and staff satisfaction. Results revealed some criticalities in the effectiveness of these services, particularly the difficulty in achieving autonomy for users, a weakness attributable to the non-exhaustive training of staff members and the funding discontinuity. Conclusion: To improve the efficacy of shelters, this study emphasizes the necessity to (a) carry out an analysis of the vulnerability of the local LGBTQIA+ community, (b) establish a stable network with local services (NHS system), and (c) implement staff members’ psychological training.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Health Policy
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date Deposited:	03 Jul 2023 10:42
Last Modified:	18 Nov 2024 19:21
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/119617

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