New report on homelessness in Europe

Experiences of ‘support’ from the housing service

Participants were commonly given information about landlords and lettings agencies. However, information alone was unhelpful:

“[The Housing Officer] just said that they would also keep an eye out for me, and if they find anything suitable they would contact me, but just to keep doing what I was doing. It hasn’t got me anywhere, it’s not working.”

Several participants felt that support for ‘working and homeless’ people was inappropriate. One explained how a need to stay ‘professional’ meant the offer of a hostel was unsuitable:

“When you’re working in a professional place and you’ve got to wear a shirt and tie to work with shoes and ironed and pressed I don’t really want to [stay in a hostel]… I don’t even know if the shoes are still going to be there in the morning.”

Falling through the safety net

Many participants felt they were ‘on their own’: “You’re working full-time and you’re trying to make

Without other options, some alternated between rough sleeping, sofa-surfing, and sleeping in cars and caravans. Others moved into unsuitable accommodation:

“We’ve actually found a house, even though I don’t think it’s suitable. It’s got no central heating in it and it’s got damp in it, my son’s got asthma.”

One participant had taken on debt to access accommodation. Whilst alleviating the immediate threat of homelessness, they were now in a property they struggled to afford:

“It feels like I’m squatting in this flat…I’m constantly fighting the battles of my overdraft… I’m housed but financially I’m not in a good place… [but] I was in a situation where I didn’t have any options.”

Conclusion

Our paper challenges simplistic policy assumptions that employment provides the ‘solution’ to homelessness. In emphasising the responsibilities of individuals to engage in paid work to escape homelessness, policymakers fail to pay adequate attention to broader structural issues including low pay and insecurity and a lack of affordable housing.

The European Observatory on Homelessness (FEANTSA) has published comparative research from 16 European countries on homelessness. The latest analysis provides a detailed insight into the regulation and quality of services provided to homeless people across the EU, including the UK.

While the report found unacceptable quality in some services, it praises the move in several countries to Housing First models which separate housing from support and harm reduction services. Even where resources are scarce, it says, the approach does seem to work in terms of alleviating homelessness for people with complex needs.

The report says most countries have elements of the homelessness sector that operate without detailed or indeed any regulatory framework.

It concludes: ‘The existing evidence base, while not perfect, increasingly indicates that the greater the degree of choice and control and the more flexible the support offered, the more effective a homelessness or preventative service is likely to be.’

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