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Emerging research suggests autistic people are disproportionately represented in homeless populations. Less is known about how autistic people experience homelessness and what prevents them from exiting homelessness. This article presents findings from a narrative enquiry investigating the link between autism and homelessness. Ten autistic adults consented to participate in narrative interviews which explored their life histories and pathways through homelessness. This article considers how participants experienced rough sleeping and sofa surfing before attempting to access hostels. It then examines how participants navigated support systems, arguing that barriers to accessing services perpetuated homelessness. Because of these barriers, some participants disengaged with services, preferring to sleep rough. The extent to which participants could be said to have 'chosen' homelessness is balanced with consideration of the lack of autonomy autistic adults are able to exercise over their lives. This article concludes with discussion of practical implications for services and policy in England.

Background: Police custody sergeants have a duty to secure an AA to safeguard the rights and welfare of vulnerable people detained or questioned by the police. This study focuses on the role of the AA in supporting vulnerable adults and seeks to examine what stakeholders would expect from an effective AA service. Methods: This was a qualitative study of four AA services in England. Interviews were undertaken with 25 professionals, and two focus groups were held with service-user groups (13 participants). Results: There is disparity between the expectations of professionals, and service users, on what comprises an effective service. Professionals tend to prioritise the availability and response time of AAs, while service users prioritise their personal attributes and demeanour. Conclusions: Professionals involved in commissioning and management of AA services should monitor whether the rights of vulnerable adults in custody are protected and better engage vulnerable adults beyond service delivery.

This article discusses findings from a qualitative longitudinal study of dignity in later life, which focused on the perspectives of older people at a time when their need for help and support was increasing as a result of long-term illness. It reflects critically on the methodology for its ability to generate knowledge about this eventful and unstable period of the life-course. It is argued that a longitudinal qualitative approach provides the optimum conditions for researching older people's perspectives on their health and illness as well as on their experiences of being helped and supported. It sheds light on the changes they faced in their relationships, their home environments and their daily lives as well as how they dealt with these changes while maintaining their dignity.

In 2007, "self-directed support" was introduced in adult social care in England to establish choice and control--in the assessment process itself and over service provision--for "all" service users. The personalisation agenda is underpinned by a range of ideologies, particularly a civil rights empowerment approach and neoliberal market discourses. This research sought to explore how tensions between these discourses are reflected in the operation of self-directed support, particularly in the light of the changing political and economic climate. The small-scale study involved semi-structured interviews with 13 participants: six professionals from a local authority social care transformation team, five from a user-led organisation and two national experts. The findings suggest that whilst the choice and control agenda may be consistent with market discourses, it is not compatible with neoliberal aspirations of cost-cutting. To maintain trust and provide as much opportunity for choice and control as possible, the adjustments being made to the personalisation agenda in the light of the current budgetary pressures need to be made explicit to service users.

Using data from the Department of Health funded study "Making the most of policy evaluations", this paper explores the views of those working within the policy process about the role of evidence. It highlights a tension between formative and summative uses of research, which appeared to be exacerbated by a lack of clarity surrounding the objectives that policy leads had for the research. Additionally, the data reveal an uncertainty about the status of "pathfinder", "demonstration" and "pilot" sites within the policy process.