Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
Ph.D.Candiate, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allame Tabatabaee University
Abstract
Understanding the Lived Experiences of People Sleeping Rough in Tehran
Akbar Bakhshinia[1] , Habib Aghabakhshi[2] , Saeed Zokaei[3]
Received: 3/10/2018 Accepted: 27/1/2019
Abstract
In the recent two decades, a special kind of homelessness which is named ”rough sleeping” has appeared and paid attention to in Iran, especially in the great city of Tehran. Meanwhile, sleeping rough is seen as a social concern and could be transformed into social harm. It is a sign and results in other social concerns and harms in society. The aim of this study was to understand the lived experiences of rough sleeping individuals, discover and bring out theory within these experiences, and draw the related paradigm, including conditions (structure), action (process), and outcomes. The research is of qualitative type and follows the Grounded Theory (GT) method. Data were collected through deep and semi structured interviews with people sleeping rough on the surface of Tehran city, during the year 2016-2017. The sampling method was purposeful and with a sample size of 34 individuals, theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were coded and analyzed through phases of open, axial and selective coding suggested by "Strauss and Corbin".The disconnection-dependency limbo” appeared as axial category. This term means disconnection of the individual from the society, family and support sources and being dependent on the abnormal group of people sleeping rough for compensating for their losses and deprivations. The people sleeping rough confront this phenomenon by taking on survival, continuation and going-out strategies and face the consequences. Results indicate that rough sleeping is shaped in the context of
structural and macro factors interacting with individual factors. A solution is to change the social conditions of these persons, and the rough sleeping person can be an active agent in this process.
Keywords: Homelessness, Rough sleeping, Substance abuse, Lived experience, Empowerment.
[1]. PhD Candidate, Department of Social Work, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.
(Corresponding Author). akbar.bakhshinia@gmail.com.
[2]. Associate Professor, Supervisor, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences,
Tehran, Iran. haghbakhshi7@gmail.com.
[3]. Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tehran, Iran. saeed.zokaei@gmail.com
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