Despite the common use of supported accommodation projects to house homeless youth, there are a relatively small number of studies which fully explore the experiences and social systems of those within and more specifically, the role of the institution itself in those experiences. In response to this gap in the research, this thesis uses an ethnographic approach to build on the existing research and examine the complex day-to-day diverse experiences, attitudes, and relationships of both the young people housed in temporary supported accommodation and the staff members who act in the capacity of key workers and managers. Drawing on interactionism as a theoretical foundation combined with classical theories such as Goffman’s Total Institution Theory (1961) and Stark’s later seminal application to homeless hostels, along with wider theories of hard (Crewe 2015), soft (Nye 1990), and shared power, the thesis explores the meanings of the resident and staff interpersonal relationships, interactions and engagement and recognises that they are implicitly linked not only with approaches to control and regulations of space, but also to the resident's responses to the power mechanisms and their levels of resistance.

The findings primarily derived from in-depth semi-structured interviews although general informal conversations noted as part of participant observation also complemented the analysis. Together these methods explored the experiences and complex interactions between residents and staff members as they navigated the social and physical environment. In total, ten residents of the hostel between the ages of 16-24 participated, along with three staff members and two managers. One of the managers interviewed was in position in 2015, and the second was newly appointed in 2016.

Due to substantial changes brought on by austerity and funding cuts during the study, interviews with participants were conducted over an extended period, with a pause in data collection part way through. First beginning in 2015, followed by the pause, interviews recommenced in 2016 shortly after the changes had taken effect. The twelve-month gap in the data collection presented some unexpected and unique challenges, primarily as this period of change brought about the departure of several staff members and the introduction of new management personnel and a new management style. These challenges included difficulty in re-accessing the research site and, upon returning, difficulty in interviewing staff members.

To reflect the changes in the culture and environment of the hostel during this period, the findings are organised into three distinct chapters: Care and Making a Home, Power and Control in the Hostel, and The Staff Perspective. Care and Making a Home concentrates almost entirely on the data collected prior to the pause in fieldwork, where the hostel operated primarily, although not exclusively, as a space of care; and where social relationships and positive social interactions were used as a base to achieve compliance. Conversely, the second chapter of the findings - Power and Control in the Hostel - concentrates on the data collected following the pause, capturing the changes in the environment, the emphasis on hard power techniques to replace social relationships and the consequences of this change. The final chapter of the findings looks at the perspective of the staff members and explores their feelings towards the changes experienced, along with other aspects of their role, including the challenges of its complex nature, team culture and self-legitimacy.

This study is distinctive in that the rare set of circumstances during data collection rapidly changed the environment from one predominantly focused on being a space of care to one that focused more on control. Consequently, unlike other studies which look at the hostel environment as a snapshot in time and which observe a single management style, this study is able to capture and compare the contrasting experiences and realities of residents and staff within the same hostel but experiencing different control methods. The findings, therefore, although generally applicable to wider institutional environments and other settings, provide a unique contribution to our knowledge of the hostel environment and working with young people experiencing homelessness.