Bread and Shoulders: Reversing the Downward Spiral, a Qualitative Analyses of the Effects of a Housing First-Type Program in France

This paper is a qualitative analysis of the effects of accompagnement, a support framework, on recovery trajectories of people with long-term homelessness and severe psychiatric disorders during 24 months in a Housing First-type program in France. A comprehensive methodology based on grounded theory was used to construct an interview guide, conduct multiple interviews with 35 Housing First participants sampled for heterogeneity, and produce memos on their trajectories before and after entering the program based on interview information. Thematic analysis of a representative subsample (n = 13) of memos identified 12 objective factors and 6 subjective factors key to the recovery process. An in-depth re-analysis of the memos generated four recovery themes: (1) the need for secure space favorable to self-reflexivity; (2) a “honeymoon” effect; (3) the importance of even weak social ties; (4) support from and hope among peers. Three challenges to recovery were identified: (1) finding a balance between protection and risk; (2) breaking downward spirals; (3) bifurcating the trajectory. This study provides new insight into the recovery process, understood as a non-linear transformation of an experience—the relationship between objective life conditions and subjective perception of those conditions—which reinforces protective support over risk elements.