Voluntariness as legitimation for social work interventions: a case study in Flemish homelessness care

Based on research into homelessness care, in this article we discuss the dominant interpretation of voluntariness as an individual characteristic. It will be demonstrated that this conceptualization runs the risk of becoming a tool to select those clients for whom short-term reachable goals can be set, and that clients are obliged to accept the conditions which are set by social work initiatives. We argue for an understanding of voluntariness as an appeal to social work's commitment to social problems and aim to encourage dialogue about the grounds for, and meaning of, interventions in people's life stories