Occupational therapy for persons who are homeless

The homeless population is growing in the United States (Mitchell & Jones, 1997). The relevance of occupational therapy in addressing the needs of persons who are homeless is documented in literature (Tryssenaar, 1999). However, the specific role of occupational therapy is not clearly defined. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of occupational therapy in the treatment of homeless people as perceived by occupational therapists. A naturalistic type inquiry with a phenomenological design was used. Five occupational therapists working in acute mental health settings were interviewed. Their interview transcripts were analyzed using the constant comparison method (Miles & Huberman, 1994). The finding of this study indicated that homelessness negatively affects occupational functioning. Occupational therapy was believed to contribute to a decrease in the incidence of homelessness. It was concluded that occupational therapists perceive their services to be beneficial to person