Synen på de hemlösa och deras livssituation : - en kvalitativ studie

Abstract The intention of our study is to examine how the view of homeless people and their life situation looks according to a selection of persons, which in their work get into contact with homeless people. The study is based on a qualitative method that includes interviews. The result of the study is based on interviews with eight persons working in the social services, volunteer organisations, the police and a security organisation. The majority of the persons that have been interviewed are normalising homeless people; they do not look upon them as different. At the same time they have the opinion that homeless people live a tougher life and that they have to fight more for their living than other people. The persons that we have interviewed share the view that homeless people live under a constant pressure of finding a place to sleep. The results also show that there are differences in views among the persons that we have interviewed. That is, concerning how homeless people get money and how the relations between them are. On the basis of the view of homeless people we have discussed different views of people. The views that we have found among the persons that we have interviewed are the humanistic view, the comprehensive view, the psychoanalytic view and the existential view. We draw the conclusion that there are both similarities and differences among the persons that we have interviewed when it comes to the view of homeless people and their life situation. The leading similarities consists of that they see the life situation of homeless people as hard and tough and that you as a person have to be a survivor to manage the life of being homeless. The leading difference is the relation between the homeless people. Some of the persons that we have interviewed have the opinion that there is a fellowship between them and that the relation is strong. Others see the relation as brittle, based on drugs. There are also differences concerning how homeless people get money. Some have the opinion that homeless people get pension and other allowances while others have the opinion that they get money by crime