Transforming Worker–Client Identities: From Shelters to Housing First

The Housing First (HF) approach to counteracting homelessness, stemming from the USA, is advocated as a blueprint for homelessness policy change in Europe, including Nordic countries. In contrast traditional policies based on shelters first step towards ending HF discourse regards access one’s own housing basic human right that should not be conditional upon good or acceptable behaviour. Building ethnographic research Swedish unit striving implement ‘by book,’ which includes both focus group interviews with workers and observations of worker–client interactions during home visits, we show how new challenges clients, who used encounter each other but now meet clients’ homes, transforming their identities. We demonstrate account transformations identities by referring they clients think, talk act, thus contrasting former selves. Moreover, efforts accomplish actual work tasks within framework homes formerly homeless struggle when practice. accounts change, embraced pleasure, practice, were hesitant dealing issues concern, such use tobacco, alcohol drugs. sum, it becomes complicated