“I would rather be here than anywhere else”: A Case Study of Awo Taan Healing Lodge
Date
2022-01
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Abstract
This thesis focuses on Awo Taan Healing Lodge (ATHL) - an Indigenous women’s emergency shelter located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This research assesses how ATHL serves the needs of Indigenous women (and other women) who seek refuge in times of distress. What are ATHL successes and its shortfalls? By analyzing numerous quantitative and qualitative data sources, this research takes the form of an explanatory mixed methods case study of ATHL across three time periods: 2010, 2015, and 2019. This research intends to expand the literature on Indigenous women’s experiences with homelessness and service access. There is a lack of research regarding Indigenous women’s experiences of homelessness and domestic violence and how these impact their interactions with service agencies and service providers. This lack of attention leads to invisibility, ineffective service delivery, and inadequate funding for specific groups and their needs. This research found certain trends that impact ATHL and their clients, such as increased instances of mental health concerns for clients, clients staying for longer periods of time at ATHL, and increasingly violent instances of domestic violence. Longitudinal trends found in the quantitative data created a framework for qualitative data analysis. Four key themes emerged from the qualitative data, including: (1) ATHL’s cultural services were beneficial to their clients, (2) clients’ needs were changing, (3) clients needed continued support after they exited ATHL, and (4) ATHL needed more funding and support. Based on the findings of this research I propose recommendations for improvement to services accessed by Indigenous women seeking shelter.
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Indigenous, Homelessness, Women's Shelter
Citation
Magnussen, J. (2022). “I would rather be here than anywhere else”: a case study of Awo Taan Healing Lodge (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.