Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Barragan, Armando

Abstract

Homelessness is a serious social problem influenced by various factors, specifically serious mental illnesses (SMI’s). Based on past studies, there is limited research that explains the quality of mental health services for individuals who are unhoused with SMI’s. The purpose of this research was to explore mental health services among the unhoused population who have serious mental illnesses (SMI’s) (from the perspective of social service providers). The study was a qualitative method design which provided a rich in-depth description through interviews. The study answered the following research questions: What is the perception of mental health services among homeless groups in California? What are effective ways to make homeless services accessible for the population? The researcher conducted the study on a single point of time to focus on social service providers and their interactions with the unsheltered population. The researcher recruited five participants for sampling, using snowball sampling, who were licensed clinical social workers and social service providers. Findings were that five major themes were gathered from the interview data which were barriers to access, building trust, stigma around mental health, effectiveness of outreach and flexibility, and comprehensive and collaborative care. The study established a better understanding of the quality of mental health services, specifically by identifying how homeless individuals perceive mental health services and ways to make homeless services accessible to the population. Findings from this research can contribute to positively informing better social work practices when providing support to the unhoused population.

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