Background
The approach adopted by the Israeli authorities to the rehabilitation of street dwellers is the linear approach, which advocates graded rehabilitative care. It is based on the assumption that independent housing requires a personal ability and skills that street dwellers lack but may acquire. The linear approach is designed to streamline the provision of services for street dwellers, outlining a graded course of care, where progress is made in stages. At each stage, the clinical status of the service recipient is expected to improve and further stabilize, and he has to acquire specific skills. The graded course of care includes the following stages: (1) reaching out to potential service recipients, admission, and evaluation; (2) accommodation in an emergency facility; (3) accommodation in transitional housing; (4) provision of supportive housing; (5) transition to affordable housing. This report is focused on the stage of accommodation in a transitional housing facility, known in Israel as a rehabilitation hostel. Under the linear approach, the hostels serve as an interim stage between the emergency facilities and the supportive housing and are designed to offer provisional housing solutions for extended periods of time along with support at varying levels of intensity.
In August 2021, the Court Assistance and Correctional Administration at the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs asked the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute for help in establishing and evaluating a procedure for managing the hostels by developing monitoring and outcome measurement tools.
Goal
The goal of this report is to map the rehabilitation policy and the management procedure adopted with regard to the hostels for street dwellers in Israel. The mapping is intended to serve as a basis for the future development of a logic model and an ongoing measurement system for rehabilitation hostels.
Method
To map the management of the hostels for street dwellers in Israel, eight in-depth interviews were conducted with officials and professionals involved in the provision of services for street dwellers and a rehabilitation hostel for street dwellers was put under observation. In addition, a tender for managing a rehabilitation hostel for street dwellers that offers integrated occupational training was evaluated. To examine the monitoring and outcome measurement tools and the outcome indicators used in various countries in the context of the rehabilitation of street dwellers, the current professional literature as well as open access reports and policy papers of international and national organizations (Internet websites, official documents, and media publications) were reviewed.
Findings and Conclusions
The study showed that the street dwellers referred to hostels are motivated, at least initially, to make a change and rehabilitate their lives. However, the rehabilitation process is no easy task. The population of street dwellers has a wide range of needs in all areas of life. Furthermore, in most cases, street dwellers have no family backing or supportive community, which are both key factors in any rehabilitation process. It was also found that housing is not in itself a magic solution. Of no less importance is the development of abilities and skills that would allow the street dwellers to lead an independent life, achieve quality of life, and integrate into the community. Moreover, the expectation that the street dwellers will mange to complete the rehabilitation process in a limited time period is not always feasible. In fact, many of the street dwellers who leave the rehabilitation hostels once their stay time is over are still in need of a supportive framework as they cope with the challenges of managing a household and leading an independent life. The study findings are intended to serve as a basis for the future development of an ongoing measurement system for rehabilitation hostels.
Citing suggestion: Lento, T., Beserman-Navon, L. & Dolev, H. (2022). Development of an Ongoing Measurement System for Hostels for Street Dwellers, for Monitoring and Outcome Measurement: Evaluation of the Current State. RR-902-22. Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute. (Hebrew)