New approaches to ending the homelessness cycle amongst ex-offenders
By Joanne McGrath, 2021
Fellow’s Profile
Fellow’s Profile
New approaches to ending the homelessness cycle amongst ex-offenders
Preventing homelessness cycles among ex-offenders by linking practitioners and prisons
2017
North East
I am currently studying for a PhD in public health and I work freelance for Comic Relief. My Fellowship was about breaking cycles of homelessness and reoffending. Homelessness, mental health issues, offending and substance misuse are often interlinked and individuals without support will likely remain chronically homeless.
The idea for the Fellowship came from a project I was working on at the homeless charity Crisis. The project aimed to better engage with prison leavers who were at risk of homelessness, which revealed the scale of need. The main themes of my research in the USA and Norway were criminal justice, housing-first models, peer support, co-production and better use of data. Following my research, I travelled north to the Arctic Circle to see the Northern Lights, another long-held dream of mine.
After returning home, I worked with women in HMP Low Newton to implement some of my findings. My PhD represents a continuation of my research as it is focused on intersectionality and women with multiple disadvantages. My Fellowship broadened my horizons, in terms of what is possible for me and for my sector and I feel incredibly fortunate to have had this opportunity.
Progression Coach, Joanne McGrath (CF 2017), published the second paper from her PhD. Her paper is about how women with multiple disadvantage (homelessness, substance use, poor mental health) are often subject to both stigma in society and stigmatising interactions with services. In the case of women involved in the family courts system, rates of child removal are far higher in economically disadvantaged areas. Joanne explores women's experiences of losing custody of their children and highlight how stigma has shaped these experiences. Find out more here.
By Joanne McGrath, 2023
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Progression Coach, Joanne McGrath (CF 2017), published the second paper from her PhD. Her paper is about how women with multiple disadvantage (homelessness, substance use, poor mental health) are often subject to both stigma in society and stigmatising interactions with services. In the case of women involved in the family courts system, rates of child removal are far higher in economically disadvantaged areas. Joanne explores women's experiences of losing custody of their children and highlight how stigma has shaped these experiences. Find out more here.
By Joanne McGrath, 2023
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.