People experiencing homelessness are one of the most vulnerable and deprived groups in Croatian society, and it takes care of them by providing various forms of assistance and support. One of the available forms of assistance to this vulnerable group are social services that seek to alleviate the
consequences of living in homelessness, enable the satisfaction of basic needs and integration
into society. Research to date on the quality of social services for the homeless is scarce, and
there is no systematic monitoring or evaluation of existing services. The most important social
service for the homeless is the accommodation service, which primarily relates to accommodation
in shelters and overnight stays. In order for the quality of the service to be adequate, it is
necessary to investigate the satisfaction with the quality of the service provided by those for
whom it is intended. Therefore, a study was conducted aimed at gaining insight into the quality
of services for the homeless in shelters and overnight stays from the perspective of the users
of the accommodation service. The study involved 24 users of shelters and overnight stays for
the homeless in the areas of the City of Zagreb, Rijeka and Split. The data were collected using
the semi-structured interview method, while the thematic analysis method was used for data
analysis.
The users of the accommodation service pointed to the lack of continuity in the provision of services within shelters and shelters, which can be attributed to project financing. The research results also confirmed the problem of the vicious cycle of homelessness. The results indicate the importance of including the user perspective in order to improve social services for the homeless, primarily those who use accommodation services.
You can read the full study here (in Croatian).