Turvattomuus yhteiskunnallisessa häiriötilanteessa: Asunnottomuutta kokeneiden toimijuus palvelujärjestelmäsuhteissa koronapandemian aikana

The study examines the agency of people with experiences of homelessness in service system relations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected in 2021 and consist of 18 individual interviews with people who had experienced homelessness. Analysing the interviews through the lens of relational agency revealed that some interviewees’ agency was strengthened during the pandemic as their relations with the service system became closer. The pandemic did not impact agency if the interviewees had close, supportive relations with particular services before the pandemic, if their relations with services before the pandemic had been distant, rejecting or conflicted, or if their everyday lives had already been insecure. In many cases, the interviewees’ agency had become more limited relative to that experienced before the pandemic. The pandemic revealed the existence of a relation of subordinated dependency, in which the agency of those experiencing homelessness is heavily dependent on social and healthcare services, while they have very limited power over how those services are delivered. In preparing for future disruptions, it is essential to examine and dismantle policies that expose people to precarity.