Common areas in group homes: arenas for different interests?

In Sweden, more than 5000 people with intellectual disabilities have moved from institutions into new types of integrated housing areas during the last decade. In order to safeguard the residents’ private lives, the role of the private sphere has been exaggerated and, subsequently, the importance of other more collective spheres has been underrated. This article examines the function, the use and the staffs’ ideas of common areas in various kinds of group accommodations in Sweden. The data consist of qualitative interviews with 34 individuals with intellectual disabilities, interviews with members of staff at the group homes and participant observations. The analysis focuses on the ways in which placement, architecture and decoration of the common areas as well as the staffs’ ideas and approaches influence the residents’ everyday lives. Three types of common areas were consequently identified: the restrictive, the familiar and the neutral room.