Participatory community action research in homeless shelters: Outcomes for shelter residents and service-learning research assistants.

The article reports empirical outcomes of an ongoing transdisciplinary participatory community action research project that implements behavioral activation in homeless shelters. The overall goal of this Project is twofold: (1) to improve psychosocial functioning of shelter residents and enhance their opportunities to overcome homelessness; and (2) to enhance civic development of service-learning students who assist in Project implementation. Two studies are reported, representing these goals. Study 1 found that residents of a men's shelter (n = 892), women's shelter (n = 433), and transitional housing (n = 40) perceived behavioral activation sessions as immediately beneficial (i.e., important, meaningful, worthy of repeating, and enjoyable), and over the course of shelter stay, they perceived behavioral activation as contributing to their hope, empowerment/self-sufficiency, quality of life, purpose/meaning in life, wellbeing, social support, shelter social climate, and relationships with staff. Quantitative findings are supported by qualitative data (comments by residents on forms). Study 2, which replicates and extends past research on civic-development in service-learning students, used a new quasi-experimental design to compare service-learning students (n = 41) in an interdisciplinary course on homelessness versus non-service-learning students (n = 16) in a psychology course. Service-learning students showed pre- to post-semester improvements in community service self-efficacy, decreases in stigmatizing attitudes, and increases in awareness of privilege and oppression, but students not engaged in service-learning did not show these civic-related changes. These quantitative results are supported by qualitative data (written reflections by students). Results and implications are discussed within the context of the concept of psychopolitical validity.

Building Resilience through Intervention, Direct Guidance, and Empowerment (BRIDGE): A demonstration project to assist youth aging out of foster care in Poland.

Building Resilience through Intervention, Direct Guidance, and Empowerment (BRIDGE) is an innovative program designed to prevent homelessness and other negative outcomes among youth aging out of foster care. BRIDGE was pilot-tested on youth aging out of two orphanages in a city in southern Poland in 2009-2012. Youth were recruited at age 17, before aging out at age 18. Quasi-experimental methods were used to evaluate program outcomes among nine BRIDGE clients compared to two matched groups (n = 9 and n = 18) of youth who had recently aged out of orphanages in the same Polish region. Consistent with Hypothesis 1, results of chi-square tests showed that, over an 18-month follow-up period, BRIDGE clients experienced superior housing outcomes relative to both matched groups. Consistent with Hypothesis 2, the results of a between-subjects ANOVA showed that BRIDGE clients received significantly greater income relative to the matched groups. Within-subjects effects of BRIDGE from baseline across 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-ups were examined with repeated-measures ANOVAs. Consistent with Hypotheses 3-5, results showed that across time BRIDGE clients experienced a general increase in income and decrease in psychological distress (i.e., total distress, obsessive-compulsiveness, interpersonal sensitivity, and paranoia). The study's findings support the further development of BRIDGE and similar programs.