{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T19:16:20Z","timestamp":1775675780541,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,22]],"date-time":"2025-05-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1747872000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000024","name":"Canadian Institutes of Health Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000024","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosmentalhealth.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLOS Ment Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Having access to good quality housing is a key determinant of well-being. Little is known about experiences of housing quality following homelessness from the perspectives of persons with lived experience. To build on existing literature, we conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative interviews with 19 individuals who had experiences of transitioning to housing following homelessness. Interview transcripts were drawn from a community-based participatory research study exploring the conditions needed for thriving following homelessness in Ontario, Canada. We analyzed these transcripts using reflexive thematic analysis. We coded transcripts abductively, informed by theories of social justice and health equity. Consistent with reflexive thematic analysis, we identified a central essence to elucidate experiences of housing quality following homelessness: \u201cnegotiating control within oppressive structural contexts.\u201d This was expressed through four distinct themes: 1) being forced to live in undesirable living conditions; 2) stuck in an unsafe environment; 3) negotiating power dynamics to attain comfort and safety in one\u2019s housing; and 4) having access to people and resources that create home. Overall, our findings indicate that attaining good quality housing following homelessness is elusive for many and influenced by a range of structural factors including ongoing poverty following homelessness, a lack of deeply affordable housing stock, and a lack of available social support networks. To prevent homelessness, it is essential to improve access to good quality housing that can support tenancy sustainment and well-being following homelessness. Policymakers need to review existing housing policies and reflect on how over-reliance on market housing has imposed negative impacts on the lives of persons who are leaving homelessness. Given the current economic context, it is imperative that policymakers devise policies that mitigate the financialization of housing, and result in the restoration of the social housing system in Canada and beyond.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmen.0000297","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,22]],"date-time":"2025-05-22T17:40:22Z","timestamp":1747935622000},"page":"e0000297","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pmen.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["\u201cI just don\u2019t know what will be better other than an apartment which I can\u2019t afford\u201d: Experiences of housing quality following homelessness in Ontario, Canada"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"2","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0592-7716","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Carrie Anne","family":"Marshall","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9860-1925","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Patti","family":"Plett","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-9231-1348","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jessica","family":"Allen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Corinna","family":"Easton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8128-0424","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Rebecca","family":"Goldszmidt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-4340-0445","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Elham","family":"Javadizadeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1399-6575","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Shauna","family":"Perez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Brooklyn","family":"Ward","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"pmen.0000297.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112571","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socscimed.2019.112571","article-title":"Housing as a determinant of health equity: A conceptual model","volume":"243","author":"CB Swope","year":"2019","journal-title":"Soc Sci Med"},{"issue":"6","key":"pmen.0000297.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1111\/hsc.14035","article-title":"\u201cWe stick people in a house and say okay, you\u2019re housed. 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