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The paper aims to describe the specific context of the homeless children's living environment and to show the consequences that this context has on the sibling relationships of homeless children in Czechia. The text is based on a psychosocial perspective. The context of the space, where homeless children live strongly affects their socialisation. Sibling relationships, which are transformed in such an environment, become increasingly important. Using a qualitative research strategy, we carried out 30 sets of interviews with homeless parents and children (a total of 60 interviews). We found that the environment of homelessness alters sibling roles in the family, reinforces sibling closeness as a compensation for material deprivation, makes it more difficult for children to detach, escalates sibling conflicts, and generally reinforces a certain exclusivity in relationship. The results show that social work and other helping professions should focus on supporting sibling relationships in the homelessness environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work is an emotionally stressful profession and social workers are expected to cope with their emotions according to the practice requirements. Numerous authors anticipate that reflexivity in relation to one´s own emotions is absolutely essential for quality execution of social work. However, there are opinions that believe that even the ability not to reflect in some (primarily demanding) situations of social work practice is also essential to cope with them. In this context, the paper aims at understanding the use of reflexivity in the strategies of construction and reconstruction of emotions in social work with families. In order to meet this objective, a qualitative research strategy has been used, particularly semi-structured interviews with 30 social workers. The acquired data describes the strategies using emotions (re)construction (internal supervision, effective persona, reflexive obsession), as well as not using reflexivity (defensive self). The created data are inserted in the context of coping and defence mechanisms, and implications for practice, education and research in social work are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The needs of homeless children living in shelters and hostels in the Czech Republic have been not sufficiently explored yet. The paper therefore aims to analyse and describe the needs of homeless children living in shelters and hostels in the Czech Republic, thus creating a basis for social work with homeless children and their families. As part of a qualitative research strategy carried out through interviews with parents, children and their social workers, five categories of homeless children's needs (based on Matějček's theory) were identified and described in detail based on a data analysis using Charmaz's Grounded Theory; these categories were the need for stimulation, the need for a meaningful world, the need for love and emotional safety, the need for identity and finding one's own place in society and the need for a life perspective and open future. Based on the identified needs, implications for social work with families were identified, strengthening a sensitive approach of helping professions to the needs of homeless children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]