‘It’s messing with my head that I can’t be neat’: storage for permanent supportive housing dwellings

Using participant-generated video-elicitation methods, this study examines storage space in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) and how it contributes to or challenges the elusive and multi-dimensional sense of ontological security for people who experienced homelessness in the United States. The results of the study show that sufficient and flexible storage affords hallmarks of ontological security such as re-establishing day-to-day routines; constructing identity through the cultivation of meaningful creative endeavors; controlling the surveillance inherent to PSH; and accommodating changing needs over the course of tenancy to support a post-homelessness sense of constancy. The empirical evidence provides a rare and visceral understanding of the lived experience of PSH residents. Participants placed particularly high value on storage designed to support cleaning and organizing, which facilitated identity construction as a tidy person and control over false perceptions of hoarding. These findings provide valuable guidance for interior designers, architects, planners, and developers seeking to create dwellings that support the path from homelessness to ontological security. Through these findings, policymakers can advocate for appropriate storage in PSH apartments for those who are rebuilding housing stability and wellbeing after periods of homelessness.