Homeless Children and Their Families’ Perspectives of Agency Services

While numerous programs aim to mediate the risks for children experiencing homelessness, there is a lack of research representing the children’s and parents’ perspectives in supportive housing programs. With this phenomenological qualitative study, the authors share the voices of 22 participants, including children and their families, regarding their experiences while receiving services from a homeless agency. Participating parents perceived that the program provided resources to the children that they could not provide themselves, opportunities for exposure to positive new experiences, and improved psychosocial outcomes for their children. Participants also discussed desired program changes and the responsiveness of agency staff regarding unmet needs of the children. Implications for policies and programs are discussed.