TY - JOUR T1 - Homeless people preserved former identities, devalued current identities, and envisioned a non-homeless future JF - Evidence Based Nursing JO - Evid Based Nurs SP - 132 LP - 132 DO - 10.1136/ebn.3.4.132 VL - 3 IS - 4 A2 - , Y1 - 2000/10/01 UR - http://ebn.bmj.com/content/3/4/132.abstract N2 - Boydell KM, Goering P, Morrell-Bellai TL.Narratives of identity: re-presentation of self in people who are homeless.Qual Health Res2000 Jan;10:26–38OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science QUESTION: What is the lived experience of homelessness? Qualitative study using an interactionist analysis of the human lived experience.Toronto, Ontario, Canada29 single adults (age range 18–61 y, 70% men) who used homeless shelters. More than half (52%) had never been homeless before.Semistructured, individual interviews of 45 minutes to 2.5 hours were held in hostels, coffee shops, or the researchers' offices. The interview guide was based on the findings from a focus group of 8 homeless people. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Interviewer field notes were also transcribed. Analysis was based on a participatory team approach.Homelessness created identity problems for the participants, whereby positive former identities were preserved, current identity was devalued, and future identities were glimpsed.In terms of the past self, homelessness meant the loss of an established identity … ER -