A Narrative Inquiry of a Program That Provides Permanent Housing With Supports to Homeless Individuals With Severe Mental Illness

This paper describes an empowering program narrative identified in a study about the experience of “moving on” for individuals with a major mental illness who had been homeless before obtaining permanent housing with support. Personal stories are idiosyncratic but involve the integration of individual, unique experiences with narratives from various communities of membership. Multiple sources of data were obtained to identify the program narrative (participant and staff interviews, participant observation, and document analyses). This research contributes to knowledge about what works when a program works—how to identify what is effective, and what can be learned in assessing and developing other programs.

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