Service restrictions from emergency shelters among people experiencing homelessness: Uncovering pathways into unsheltered homelessness and institutional circuitry

Service restrictions refer to temporary or permanent bans of individuals from a program or an organization's services, and are widely used in emergency shelter systems. Limited research exists on how service restrictions unfold and their impacts on people experiencing homelessness. This qualitative study used in-depth interviews with timeline mapping to examine the antecedents and consequences of service restrictions from emergency shelters among people experiencing homelessness in two cities in Ontario, Canada. A total of 49 people experiencing homelessness who had been restricted from an emergency shelter program in the past year were recruited and included in the study analysis. A pragmatic and integrative approach was used for data analysis that involved the development of meta-matrices to identify prominent and divergent perspectives and experiences with regard to service restriction antecedents and consequences. Study findings underscored that service restrictions were often the result of violence and aggression, primarily between service users. There were regional differences in other service restriction reasons, including substance use and possession. Service restrictions affected the shelter status of almost all participants, with many subsequently experiencing unsheltered homelessness, and cycling through institutional health, social, and criminal justice services (i.e., institutional circuitry). Other health and social consequences included substance use relapses and hospitalizations; cold-related injuries due to post-restriction unsheltered homelessness; suicidality; food insecurity; diminished contact with support network and connections; and intense feelings of anger, fear, and hopelessness. Overall, the study findings advance our understanding of the role of homeless services in pathways into unsheltered homelessness and institutional circuitry, which raise critical questions about how to mitigate the harms associated with service restrictions, while concurrently facilitating safety and upholding the rights of people experiencing homelessness and emergency shelter staff.