En omsorgsfull förvaring? : En narrativ studie av livsberättelser från ett lågtröskelboende

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to examine how people who live in supported housings for active addicts shape their life stories based on their current geographical and social position. And how their stories can be understood in relation to prevailing political discourses on homelessness and substance abuse. A combination of unstructured life story interviews and ethnographic methods where used to collect the empiricism, and a narrative approach, mixed with elements of discourse analytical tools, were used during the analysis. The conclusion of this study was that the three men, who was interviewed in the study, all go against the prevailing institutional preconception that people who live in supported housings for active addicts are passive victims of addiction, exposed and excluded. Contrary to this, the men construct themselves as strong and resourceful men, with control of their lives and with the power to choose where they go in life. However, when it comes to their stories in regard to the supported housing-solution they presently are experiencing, their stories differ. The conclusion from their stories is that the supported housing-solution can be understood in many different ways and that the men use already existing and well established ways to explain their current situation, such as Sahlin’s (1996) ‘lodging staircase‘ or the harm reduction model. The housing was also described as a prison, limiting the individual freedom and legal certainty of t’s residents. The implications of using harm reduction were then critically discussed.