| Abstract [eng] |
The subject of the study is the accessibility of social services for homeless persons with disabilities in Lithuania and Ukraine. The aim of the study is to analyze the accessibility of social services for homeless persons with disabilities in Lithuania and Ukraine. The tasks of the study shall be: 1. In the context of a theoretical analysis of scientific sources, uncover homelessness as a social phenomenon and theoretical aspects of access to social services for homeless people with disabilities. 2. Uncover the life experience of homeless people with disabilities in Lithuania and Ukraine. 3. To reveal the peculiarities of the potential and realized accessibility of social services for homeless persons with disabilities in Lithuania and Ukraine. 4. Analyze the assumptions and factors of access to social services for homeless persons with disabilities in Lithuania and Ukraine. 5. Develop practical guidance on institutions providing social services to homeless persons with disabilities in the context of an improvement in the accessibility of services, on the basis of the results of a qualitative study. Methods of analysis. The following research methods shall be used for the study: 1. Analysis of scientific literature 2. Structured written survey using open-label questions 3. Semi-structured interviews 4. Narrative-interpretative analysis 5. Qualitative content analysis Study participants. In order to analyse the accessibility of social services for homeless people with disabilities in Lithuania and Ukraine, a total of 12 social workers and 8 homeless people with disabilities participated in the study. In Lithuania, 11 social workers providing social services to homeless persons with disabilities and 6 homeless persons with disabilities were interviewed; In Ukraine, there are 1 social worker with homeless people and 2 homeless people with disabilities. Conclusions : The phenomenon of homelessness in different countries shall be treated according to the state's policy approach to the existing problem and the direction of its resolution. In Lithuania, this phenomenon is understood in a very narrow sense, i.e. the absence of housing and home life in hostels, but in many developed countries of the world first emphasize the level of poverty and the social exclusion experienced, i.e. the phenomenon is analysed in the context of socioeconomic, psychosocial and sociocultural perspectives. Although, from a legal point of view, this group of persons has a number of rights and opportunities for assistance, each state is faced with the guarantee of these rights and opportunities. Social exclusion has a negative impact on homeless people, both in terms of health and psychological and social terms. In the context of social assistance to this group of persons, social workers face several main challenges in both general and specific social services: lack of interinstitutional cooperation, negative attitudes of society, low professional wages, lack of motivation to change, addiction, various diseases, fear, mistrust, lack of change. The takeover of foreign good practices changes the social security system of this group of clients, but despite the changes that have taken place, the provision of social services to the homeless requires organisational, legal and human changes in the social services system. The current changes in the social system are more likely fragmented, not covering all social services that lack the continuity of the social services provided. In the context of the changes, the availability of social services is identified as a key element, ensuring the timely and targeted provision of social services to homeless people. A qualitative study analysing the experience of homelessness survival among people with disabilities has shown that there is no single root cause for the emergence of homelessness, most often with several factors such as childhood violence, difficult financial situation, toxic relationships with parents and the environment, loss of work, etc. Interaction. One essential repetitive detail is the consumption of alcohol before and during homelessness. It has also been revealed that homeless people with disabilities have personal characteristics such as low self-esteem, self-confidence and the environment, low motivation, lack of responsibility, anger and aggressiveness. In the context of social work, individuals in this exclusion group apply and receive both general and special social services that meet their basic needs. One of the main services received is the temporary flooding, i.e. the provision of accommodation and essential services (personal hygiene, household) to persons in crisis situations or family problems that threaten a person's health or life. The study revealed that people with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness receive different types of funds: social, disability or incapacity benefits. The potential availability of social services must be understood as a precondition for the willingness and access to a wide range of social services for persons experiencing homelessness. The particular emphasis on the contextual aspect suggests that homeless people have lost contact with loved ones, lack social skills, do not make self-decisions, have low self-esteem, are angry, violent or have experienced violence in childhood themselves, do not be motivated, etc. Homeless people are characterized by individuals as having no source of stable income and living space. The pronounced social exclusion experienced by homeless people highlights the potential for social services, i.e. these persons are in the 'outdoors' of social services and need targeted social assistance. The prospect of realised access to services is linked to the experience of service users. The study revealed a very wide range of referrals from shelter to job development, from conditions for personal hygiene to the provision of social skills services. However, the subjects highlight both the inaction and passivity of the homeless person himself in order to receive social assistance or support and its refusal in the face of difficulties encountered in meeting strict bureaucratic requirements. The presumptions of accessibility of social services shall be linked to the context of dissemination of information, sociocultural, economic and organisational aspects. The assumptions of access to sociocultural social services focus on building and maintaining a relationship with a homeless person, using motivation tools, and changing the attitudes of the community and society towards homeless people. In the context of organisational conditions, access to social services must be ensured by developing and strengthening teamwork between professionals in different fields, providing complex services, organising the formation of self-help groups and promoting their functioning, reducing the apparatus and stages of a bureaucratic system, in order to obtain social services, and creating as a precedent for bodies that operate under more liberal conditions and in more customer-oriented forms of services. In the context of the dissemination of information, it stresses the need to increase the awareness and awareness of homelessness survivors of such services as to meet their needs. However, it is noted that the availability of services is weakened by economic factors. One of the main is the lack of financial resources, ensuring a wide network of social services institutions and specialists and a smooth process of providing social services. The results of the study illustrate the structural perspective of access to social services. Social workers highlight the factors of accessibility, relevance and adequacy of social services. The availability of social services is understood as the availability of social services for homeless people in each neighbourhood, providing them with both general and special social services. The study highlights the need to set up more organisations and bodies to respond to the needs of individuals in this group of customers, but stresses that as much range of services as possible would be provided within the same body, thus reducing the problem of funding/affordability or acceptability of the provision of social services. |
