Narratives by health professionals on solvent use and housing insecurity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how service professionals involved in the provision of services to clientele who use solvents and are often without stable housing understand the process of healing and recovery in their work. Design/methodology/approach – Using a narrative methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 human service professionals (i.e. social workers, case managers, etc.) employed in providing recovery-based services to individuals who use volatile solvents. Findings – Despite the dominant cultural story about “street addicts” and solvent users’ limited possibilities for recovery, professionals indicate that they view their clients as “just like everyone else.” The dominant storyline was that of advocating for the capability of the client group. These stories are discussed in relation to hope for professionals who provide health and housing services to clientele with complex and multi-systemic needs. Originality/value – The findings have implications for how human service providers maintain hope and purpose in their work with stigmatized populations (e.g. homeless individuals, those with alcohol or other drug-related problems). This study highlights how human service professionals make sense of their role in their work and how they maintain hope for themselves and for the recovery of the clientele they work alongside.