The Housing First strategy was developed in the USA in the 1990s and was introduced as a key
strategy in the field of homelessness in Denmark in 2008. The Housing First strategy was intended
as a new way of overcoming homelessness by offering housing and support as the first step in the
process rather than as the last step in the process.
In this thesis, I examine how the understanding of the good social worker in the homeless hostel
field (in Danish: Forsorgsområdet) has changed after the introduction of the Housing First strategy.
It is a case study where I examine the understanding of the good social worker as a phenomenon.
The context in which the phenomenon takes place consists of several dimensions, including a
political context, the homeless hostel area as a context, and the geographical context in the form of
Aarhus municipality. The thesis' method is qualitative document analysis, where I examine the
phenomenon as it is expressed in job advertisements before and after the introduction of the
Housing First strategy. I am a social constructivist and understand the documents as sources of the
understanding of reality that have prevailed before and after the introduction of the Housing First
strategy. I use institutional theory to analyze changes in the phenomenon.
The analysis consists of two parts. The first part is an exploratory analysis of the changes reflected
in the job advertisements from before and after introducing the Housing First strategy. In the second
part, I use institutional theory to identify changes that influence the understanding of the good social
worker within the field of homeless hostel. In the discussion, I point out that the period before the
Housing First strategy was introduced reflects characteristics from a “staircase” approach whereas
the period after reflects a Housing First approach, without the thesis examining whether there is a
causal connection.
The conclusion indicates that the understanding of the good social worker in the field of homeless
hostel has changed after the introduction of the Housing First strategy. The social worker must no
longer deal with people in homelessness but deal with homelessness itself. Therefore, cooperation
with other actors who can help overcome homelessness becomes important. I also find that the
understanding of people in homelessness is changing as well as the interaction between them and
the social worker. The social worker is now expected to cooperate with and involve people in
homelessness more actively than before. Finally, I find that there is a scientificization of the social
worker's practice.