Explaining the Unwillingness of the Homeless to Use Municipal Homeless Shelters in Tehran City, Iran: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: Some citizens are deprived from shelter, which is one of the basic needs of human. In this study, some barriers for the homeless in the use of municipal homeless shelters in Tehran City, Iran, were studied and then on the basis of them, the guidelines and recommendations were presented. Method: This study was undertaken using qualitative content analysis methodology. According to the purposive sampling and theoretical saturation criterion, ۲۰ homeless people who were reluctant to use the shelters, and ۱۰ employees working in the shelters and municipal emergency social services were participated in this study. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Results: Through data analysis, ۲ main themes were extracted, “escape framework and maintaining a distinct identity” (being free outside of the shelters, shelter use as an indication of weakness and antithetical to the conventions of the street life,…), and “dysfunctional shelter” (the unfavorable conditions in shelters, dissatisfaction of employees working in the shelters and lack of trust on them,...). Conclusion: The results showed that the homeless people in Tehran require planning and providing services and facilities based on the actual conditions, so that they can return to the social cycle; and only building a temporary shelter for them to stay at night, cannot be useful for these people.

Keywords:

Homeless persons , Emergency shelter , Municipalities , qualitative research