Homelessness
There are many definitions of homelessness and depending on which of these categories a person falls into, the help that is available varies hugely. A person can be legally homeless, officially recognised as homeless, statutorily homeless, hidden homeless or a rough sleeper.
For more information on what these definitions mean please go the Crisis Policy Watch pages on their website, where all this is explained in more detail:
http://www.crisis.org.uk/policywatch/pages/hidden_homeless.html
The Crisis website also explains how housing statistics are calculated; this is a summary:
- Housing figures are generally per household rather than individuals.
- Priority need for housing: categories include: unintentionally homeless households/people within specific groups such as parents with children, pregnant women and people with disabilities.
- Single adult males without disability are not normally regarded as priority.
- Different methodologies are used to count rough sleepers.
- Households accepted as being in need by local authorities.
What homeless people are entitled to
In England and Wales, all households officially recognised as homeless, are entitled to advice and support from their local authority under the 2002 Homelessness Act which also stipulates a minimum level of advice to be given.
However, a household is only entitled to accommodation from their local authority if they are classified as unintentionally homeless, in priority need, and with a local connection. Having a local connection means that applicants can be denied help from the local authority if they are seen to have a stronger local connection with another local authority. A local connection is determined if a person is or was a resident in the area because of employment (in both cases for 6 of the previous 12 months). If the person has family associations there they qualify or if the person has special circumstances that require them to be in the area (e.g. health needs).
Households are classified as in priority need either if they have dependent children or if they are classified as 'vulnerable'. If households do not have dependent children and are not deemed to be 'vulnerable', then they are classified as not in priority need and are only entitled to advice and support. In practice, this means that around a third of households officially recognised as homeless are not entitled to accommodation.
Homelessness in London
Research by the New Policy Institute for Crisis estimates that there may be in total as many as 150,000 single homeless people in London, of which under a tenth are recorded in official statistics. See the above Crisis website
- 20,000 people live in hostels and other accommodation for homeless people in London, and this does not include people in bed and breakfasts and squats and sleeping on the floors of friends and family - the vast majority of whom are single people without dependent children known as the hidden homeless.
Why do people become (and stay) homeless?
The main cause of homelessness is relationship breakdown with family and partners.
Unemployment:
- 2% of homeless people work full-time
- 12% work part-time.
- Over 50% have been unemployed for 3 years or more.
77% would like to work now and most have worked at some point in the past.
Health
- 70% per cent have mental health issues
- 50 - 75% have a history of substance misuse
Homeless people are still 40 times less likely than the general public to be registered with a GP.
Affordable Housing
There is a shortage of affordable housing for single people. Around 45% of hostel residents are ready to move-on but are not able to.
Homeless people are 13 times more likely to be a victim of violence - much of it perpetrated by the general public.
For further information about homelessness and its effects, and the help available please go to the following websites.
- Homeless Link - www.homelesslink.org.uk
- Look Ahead - www.lookahead.org.uk
- St Mungos - www.mungos.org.uk
- Shelter - www.england.shelter.org.uk
It has been shown very clearly by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, that educational achievement is the most effective route out of poverty. http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/2123.asp. However if someone has experienced homelessness as a child then they are more likely to experience homelessness as an adult. Poor housing leads to poor performance at school and as a result:
37% of homeless people have no qualifications
33% have qualifications equivalent to five GCSEs or above.....and so the cycle continues.
The state of London's Children Report 2007- Supporting Families gives the number of children and families who are homeless in London.
http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/children/docs/solc07-chapters/chapter7.pdf
According to shelter there are 400,000 children living in bad housing in London. Those growing up in bad housing have up to a 25% higher risk of severe ill-health and disability during childhood and early adulthood and homeless children are up to 4 times more likely to suffer mental health problems than other children.
The 2006 Barnardo's report 'Do my kids have to live like this forever?' by J. Reacroft December 2005 which looks at life in temporary accommodation says that: ’children in temporary accommodation have real problems obtaining access to health, education and play facilities.’ http://www.barnardos.org.uk/homelessness_report.pdf
6230 households accepted as homeless in London in 2006 were young people between the ages of 16 and 24.
There are 212,000 overcrowded homes in London.