Challenges

Loss featured frequently in group discussions. Indeed, the group has lost multiple members since the beginning of the project. However, often, loss was categorized as more figurative. For instance, photographers who came from more affluent backgrounds frequently lamented the loss of their former lives.

Maintaining healthy boundaries between new lives in housing and former lives on the street was a constant struggle. Photographers often felt a responsibility to help old friends who had helped them in the past. This concern for their friends put them in situations in which loyalty to friends threatened to pull them back into harmful lifestyles and/or to upset their relationship with landlords.

Frequently, photographers discussed feeling stigmatized by landlords, community members, and public safety officials. Although housing provided a buffer against this stigma, they continued to struggle with the effects of stigma from their time on the streets. Many photographers continued to refer to themselves as “homeless” and at times, echoed common negative public sentiments.

Although they were grateful for housing, photographers felt disconnected from others. Maintaining a distance from former friends and family on the street sometimes meant being lonely.

Photographers were concerned about their futures and the future of the program. At the time of the PhotoVOICE project, many photographers felt that they had finally turned a corner in their recovery and were making significant progress toward their goals. Not knowing how long the program would last (at the time funding had not been renewed) was incredibly distressing. Despite the fact that Housing First is labeled “Permanent Supportive Housing,” photographers emphasized that the program was only “permanent” so long as it was funded. This lack of a sense of permanence heightened anxiety and hindered progress toward their goals.