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Social Services for Homeless People from Employees' Perspective
PĚKNICOVÁ, Barbora
This thesis deals with social services for homeless people from the perspective of their employees. The aim of this paper is to chart the barriers which influence providing social services to homeless people. The main question is asked about what barriers are perceived by social workers whilst working with the homeless. This is followed by four subquestions concerning the ways in which the employees perceive the barriers from their personal, the users' and the society's perspective as well as regarding the employees' work environment. In the theoretical part, the following terms are defined: homelessness, social work with homeless people, social services for the homeless. Furthermore, selected organizations helping the homeless are mentioned. The research is described in the empirical part of the thesis, including the hypotheses, research questions, methodology and results. The research utilizes qualitative methods, survey methodology and the semi-structured interview method. The basic data sample has been comprised of social workers employed in registered social services for the homeless in the town of České Budějovice. The final results show that there is a large number of barriers in all the aforementioned areas. Some of them are e.g. the clients' psychical difficulties, their addiction to alcohol and drugs. According to the social workers, a significant barrier are some prejudices of the society. The homeless are often perceived as the main instigators of their current situation, who do not want to find a solution to the problem, and they are judged by their appearance. Furthermore, the research has shown that, from the social worker's experience, the society's perception of the social services for the homeless and the profession of social workers is rather negative. Other barriers are observed by the social workers in their working environment, primarily in equipment and working space. The workers do not feel as unsafe while working as it may seem, however they sometimes feel helpless and disappointed when their clients do not do what they should. Other barriers found include system barriers connected to deficiencies in providing medical care and deficiencies in social services for homeless people. The results of this thesis can serve as a complementary study material, as feedback for social workers, or as a basis of improving a specific service to a provider of social services.
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