The Development of a 'Good Enough' Shelter and a "Secure Base"

In April 1996, Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, a settlement house on NYC's Upper East Side, took over operation of the Park Avenue Armory Women's Shelter in response to New York City's Department of Homeless Services privatization initiative. The shelter was transformed to serve women with mental health needs using a Winnicott-based approach with emphasis on providing a "good- enough" environment to meet individual needs within the context of a shelter setting. There were two hypotheses: The women who moved would have higher levels of functioning in the areas of basic living skills and social support relationships as measured on three scales of functioning. And, the women who stayed would have made progress in enhancing their basic living skills, developing and strengthening of social support relationships; and progress towards permanent housing. This study looks at the 100 women who were in the shelter when LHNH assumed direction of it, who they were, and how they have fared over a period of three years.