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Abstract
Within the ranks of the homeless are individuals who are also coping with substance addiction recovery and/or chronic physical or mental disability. Their special needs often pose significant barriers to securing affordable housing and achieving the sense of self-efficacy necessary to sustain re-integration into society (Booth, Sullivan, Koegel, & Burnam, 2002; Breakey & Thompson, 1997; Kyle, 2005). For these individuals, simply securing a roof overhead may not be an adequate solution. Supportive housing combines affordable housing with access to on-site social services to assist persons coping with such special needs. Using theoretical constructs from environmental psychology that reinforce the ecological systems perspective, this study investigated whether an association could be found between length of residency in supportive housing and subjective well-being. For the purposes of this study, well-being was measured by length of sobriety, self-efficacy and employment status. The author compared outcomes from participants that were divided into three housing groups. The participants in two of the groups were residents of two distinct supportive housing developments. Their outcomes were compared to those of the third group comprised of residents from various housing sites that do not offer any on-site services. One of the three hypotheses was fully supported. One hypothesis was partially supported and findings for the third were not found to be statistically significant. The findings are presented and discussed in the final chapters.