Issues and Service Access Barriers for Homeless Women with Complex Issues: A Scoping Review

This literature review was completed as part of an action research project commissioned by Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) which aims to explore the issues and challenges surrounding access to homeless, addiction and health services for women, with a view to creating and implementing initiatives that will improve access and possibly outcomes for women experiencing multiple levels of disadvantage or exclusion. This report presents the findings of a rapid literature scoping review conducted in November/ December 2019, which aimed to characterise the body of literature describing the presenting issues and services available for women experiencing homelessness in Dublin and Ireland. Specifically, we sought to build understanding of how client presentations and service provision issues would affect entry into services, and to gain insight into the breadth of potential needs and mechanisms of support after leaving services.