tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/rough-sleeping-25957/articlesRough sleeping – The Conversation2024-02-22T13:28:05Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2238792024-02-22T13:28:05Z2024-02-22T13:28:05ZThe UK government aims to stop publishing stats on homeless people’s deaths – here’s why that’s a problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577073/original/file-20240221-24-8jf0ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-united-kingdom-april-7-2018-1103636513">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK government is consulting on plans to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/health-and-social-care-statistical-outputs/health-and-social-care-statistical-outputs-published-by-dhsc-including-ohid-nhsbsa-ukhsa-ons-and-nhs-england#mortality">stop publishing</a> vital statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on deaths of homeless people. This is part of a wider review of mortality statistics including deaths in care homes and winter mortality. </p>
<p>Since 2018, the ONS in England and Wales and the National Records for Scotland (NRS) <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsofhomelesspeopleinenglandandwales/2021registrations">have published</a> annual reports about the deaths of <a href="https://theconversation.com/black-and-minoritised-ethnic-communities-at-disproportionate-risk-of-homelessness-in-the-uk-195254">homeless</a> people. This data offers insights into year-on-year changes in recorded deaths, including details about sex, age and cause of death. (There are plans to collate similar official data in Northern Ireland, but none has yet been published.)</p>
<p>The UK government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/health-and-social-care-statistical-outputs/health-and-social-care-statistical-outputs-published-by-dhsc-including-ohid-nhsbsa-ukhsa-ons-and-nhs-england#mortality">claims that</a> these statistics are “experimental” and that “further development work” is needed to bring them up to “national statistics status”. As part of its consultation, which closes on March 5 2024, the government is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/health-and-social-care-statistical-outputs/health-and-social-care-statistical-outputs-published-by-dhsc-including-ohid-nhsbsa-ukhsa-ons-and-nhs-england#mortality">looking for feedback</a> on “the relative importance” of these statistics. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13576275.2023.2176214">Our research shows</a> that death is a constant threat for people experiencing homelessness. However, this is rarely considered, by the public or by politicians, as part of the plight of being unhoused. </p>
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<img alt="People in blue high-vis vests at a table with food for distribution." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577074/original/file-20240221-22-t0dhjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577074/original/file-20240221-22-t0dhjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577074/original/file-20240221-22-t0dhjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577074/original/file-20240221-22-t0dhjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577074/original/file-20240221-22-t0dhjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577074/original/file-20240221-22-t0dhjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577074/original/file-20240221-22-t0dhjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Volunteers distribute food to homeless people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-december-2022-refugee-network-2239056145">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Invisible in life and death</h2>
<p>Globally, homeless populations are <a href="https://sbdww.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/PrematureMortalityFinal.pdf">three-to-four times</a> more likely to die than the general population. Homelessness and health expert James J. O’Connell has said that despite the diverse methodologies different institutions across the world use to measure homelessness-related mortality, there is a “<a href="https://sbdww.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/PrematureMortalityFinal.pdf">remarkable consistency</a>” in death rates internationally – one that “<a href="https://sbdww.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/PrematureMortalityFinal.pdf">transcends borders, cultures and oceans</a>”. </p>
<p>Research shows that homeless adults and children are <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0189938">more likely</a> to suffer underlying health conditions than the general population. Unhoused people are <a href="https://sbdww.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/PrematureMortalityFinal.pdf">disproportionately</a> likely to die due to violent accidents, such as being run over by a motor vehicle, or <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/russell-lane-death-inquest-kent-crushed-bin-sleeping-rough-a8887701.html">being crushed</a> in a bin lorry. </p>
<p>Until 2018, the UK government did not track the number of people dying while homeless. Only when the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and journalist Maeve McClenaghan, working with London-based group The Museum of Homelessness, <a href="https://museumofhomelessness.org/dhp">revealed</a> the profound invisibility of this precise issue as part of their Dying Homeless project, did the ONS in England and Wales and the NRS begin to tackle it.</p>
<p>To date, their data is the most accurate official data on homelessness-related deaths in the UK. It is, however, imperfect – the ONS <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsofhomelesspeopleinenglandandwales/2021registrations#deaths-among-homeless-people-in-england-and-wales">recognises</a> as much, and advises caution in how it is interpreted. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/methodologies/deathsofhomelesspeopleinenglandandwalesqmi">data limitations</a> include the unreliability of coroners’ reports, which do not always record the fact that the deceased was homeless. This might be due to incomplete information given to the registrar, or out of consideration for the person’s family. </p>
<p>There is also no specific question on a death certificate to ask if a person was homeless at the time of death. Instead, the ONS must search death certificate data for registered addresses specified as “no fixed abode” or that are of a known hostel. And the ONS does not yet have a comprehensive list of all homeless hostels and emergency shelters, although such a list is now in development.</p>
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<img alt="An orange tent under a brick passageway." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577076/original/file-20240221-30-wnqbai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577076/original/file-20240221-30-wnqbai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577076/original/file-20240221-30-wnqbai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577076/original/file-20240221-30-wnqbai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577076/original/file-20240221-30-wnqbai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577076/original/file-20240221-30-wnqbai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577076/original/file-20240221-30-wnqbai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Unhoused people suffer from invisibility in both life and death.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/leeds-west-yorkshire-england-britain-november-1362066608">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Why this matters</h2>
<p>The absence of data concerning homeless populations is not a new phenomenon. It underlines the wider invisibility from which unhoused people suffer. </p>
<p>The way people sleeping rough are counted involves less-than-perfect methods. In 2022, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-snapshot-in-england-autumn-2022/rough-sleeping-snapshot-in-england-autumn-2022#snapshot-approach">80% of local authorities</a> in England gauged numbers of rough sleepers using an “evidence-based estimate meeting”. This involves local agencies (such as charities, outreach teams and homelessness accommodation services) giving an informed estimate of how many people might be sleeping rough on a typical night. Only 20% of local authorities actually counted the people they saw sleeping rough. </p>
<p>And of course, homelessness covers more than rough sleeping. Statutory homelessness refers to people to whom local authorities owe either a main duty to house or a relief duty, whereby they work with applicants to attempt to prevent or relieve homelessness (for example, by developing a personalised plan to support an applicant). </p>
<p>Research shows the <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01164/SN01164.pdf">tools used</a> to measure and assess homelessness and rough sleeping vastly <a href="https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/no-way-through-33188">underestimate</a> how extensive it is. People who are not eligible for statutory support are not counted. </p>
<p>Further, not all homeless people will present themselves to local authorities, as some people – often referred to as the <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/hiddenhomelessnessintheukevidencereview/2023-03-29#:%7E:text=The%20term%20can%20mean%20different,streets%20or%20in%20official%20statistics.">“hidden homeless”</a> – are put off from applying because of fears of being rejected. As data on statutory homelessness is compiled based on these applications, many homeless adults and children are excluded from official statistics.</p>
<p>Health <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k214">researchers</a> argue that homelessness presents a public health crisis. Gauging the extent of it – by publishing official statistics on the number of people who die while homeless – is the first step in combating it.</p>
<p>At a time when evictions are rising and the affordable housebuilding system is set to all but collapse, deaths of homeless people is a critical political issue. The UK <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-lessons-the-pandemic-taught-us-about-ending-homelessness-permanently-179994">government</a> needs to take responsibility for it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The absence of data concerning homeless populations is not a new phenomenon. It underlines the wider invisibility of the unhoused.Daniel McCulloch, Lecturer in Criminology and Social Policy, The Open UniversityVictoria Cooper, Lecturer in Social Policy and Criminology, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1946242022-12-04T19:01:21Z2022-12-04T19:01:21ZHomeless numbers have jumped since COVID housing efforts ended – and the problem is spreading beyond the big cities<p>The numbers of people who are homeless have risen sharply across Australia, with soaring housing costs emerging as the biggest driver of the increase. The <a href="https://www.launchhousing.org.au/ending-homelessness/research-hub/australian-homelessness-monitor">Australian Homelessness Monitor 2022</a>, released today, reports that the average monthly number of people using homelessness services increased by 8% in the four years to 2021-22. That’s double the population growth rate over that period. </p>
<p>Just <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/homelessness-monitor/england/the-homelessness-monitor-great-britain-2022/">as in other countries</a>, the 2020 COVID-19 emergency accommodation programs achieved <a href="https://theconversation.com/states-housed-40-000-people-for-the-covid-emergency-now-rough-sleeper-numbers-are-back-on-the-up-154059">sudden reductions in rough sleeping</a> in cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. But these remarkable gains were only temporary.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/states-housed-40-000-people-for-the-covid-emergency-now-rough-sleeper-numbers-are-back-on-the-up-154059">States housed 40,000 people for the COVID emergency. Now rough sleeper numbers are back on the up</a>
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<p>In the first major homelessness analysis spanning the COVID crisis years, we also show numbers have been rising in some parts of the country at rates far above the national trend. The problem has been growing especially rapidly in non-metropolitan areas. This trend is consistent with the boom in regional <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/17/australias-regional-housing-boom-slows-but-housing-stress-still-a-major-concern">housing prices</a> and, more especially, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-30/rental-affordability-index-cost-of-living-australia-cities/101712026">rents</a> sparked by the pandemic.</p>
<iframe title=" Changes in homelessness service caseloads over 4 years" aria-label="Grouped Column Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-EQCKR" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/EQCKR/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400" data-external="1"></iframe>
<p>The homelessness that has long been a sad feature of our biggest cities has clearly spread to regional and rural Australia. </p>
<p>Many other patterns in the changing scale and nature of homelessness in Australia are ongoing trends that pre-date the 2020-21 public health emergency. This period appears to have had relatively little effect on these trajectories, which include a growing proportion of older adults, as well as First Nations peoples and those affected by mental ill-health. </p>
<p>As the chart below shows, <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/housing-affordability">unaffordable housing</a> is playing an increasing role in people becoming homeless.</p>
<iframe title="Reasons people seek homelessness services help" aria-label="Interactive line chart" id="datawrapper-chart-UN6WX" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/UN6WX/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="450" data-external="1"></iframe>
<h2>Social housing programs are welcome but overdue</h2>
<p>The pandemic triggered significant and welcome commitments to social housing programs by the new federal government and some state governments. The recent federal budget confirmed funding for <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/jim-chalmers-2022/speeches/budget-speech-2022-23">20,000 new social housing dwellings</a> over five years. </p>
<p>Several states had already announced a set of <a href="https://thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/states-social-housing-boom-no-substitute-for-federal-funding-commitment/">self-funded programs of a similar scale</a> as part of their post-COVID economic recovery measures.</p>
<p>Social housing offers secure tenancies at below-market rents. It’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673037.2018.1520819">a crucial resource</a> for both preventing and resolving homelessness.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/1-million-homes-target-makes-headlines-but-cant-mask-modest-ambition-of-budgets-housing-plans-193289">1 million homes target makes headlines, but can't mask modest ambition of budget's housing plans</a>
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<p>Together, these new programs will – at least temporarily – halt the long-term decline in social housing capacity. The sector’s share of the nation’s housing stock has been <a href="https://cityfutures.ada.unsw.edu.au/documents/689/Waithood_final.pdf">shrinking for most of the past 25 years</a>.</p>
<p>By our reckoning, the government programs should deliver a net increase of about 9,000 social rental dwellings in 2024. This will be the first year for decades in which enough dwellings will be built to maintain the sector’s share of Australia’s occupied housing stock.</p>
<p>But sustaining this achievement will require more funding beyond the current commitments. Otherwise, the decline will resume.</p>
<h2>Affordability is the big issue, but some need other help</h2>
<p>As a recent Productivity Commission <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/housing-homelessness/report/housing-homelessness.pdf">report</a> acknowledged, homelessness is primarily a housing problem. In <a href="https://www.communityhousing.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PC-report-briefing-FINAL.pdf">its words</a>, “fundamentally, homelessness is a result of not being able to afford housing”. </p>
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<p>While other reasons do contribute to some people becoming homeless, most people experiencing homelessness have no long-term need for personal support. And many who do have high support needs can access and keep tenancies when suitable affordable housing is available.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ive-been-on-the-waiting-list-for-over-20-years-why-social-housing-suitable-for-people-with-disabilities-is-desperately-needed-193455">'I've been on the waiting list for over 20 years': why social housing suitable for people with disabilities is desperately needed</a>
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<p>At the same time, the most disadvantaged rough sleepers may require a great deal of help to overcome their problems. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/eliminating-most-homelessness-is-achievable-it-starts-with-prevention-and-housing-first-151182">widely acclaimed</a> “housing first” model successfully does this. As <a href="https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/15678/making-it-home-evidence-on-the-long-run-impact-of-an-intensive-support-program-for-the-chronically-homeless-on-housing-employment-and-health">other recent research</a> emphasises, for many chronic rough sleepers helped into secure housing, withdrawing such support – even after three years – markedly increases their risk of becoming homeless again.</p>
<p>Australian governments need to better recognise the case for expanding the supply of permanent supportive housing. This involves integrating long-term affordable housing with ongoing support services where required.</p>
<p>Only a few such projects operate in Australia. There is no general framework to fund them, especially the support services. </p>
<p>Lengthy rough sleeping is typically a symptom of societal failure. All too often, for those affected, this failure starts from infancy.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eliminating-most-homelessness-is-achievable-it-starts-with-prevention-and-housing-first-151182">Eliminating most homelessness is achievable. It starts with prevention and 'housing first'</a>
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<h2>Housing the chronically homeless pays for itself</h2>
<p>The Productivity Commission report <a href="https://www.communityhousing.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/PC-report-briefing-FINAL.pdf">advocated</a> a “high-needs-based [social] housing subsidy to ensure housing is affordable and tenancies can be sustained”. Logically, since this is essentially a social work (not social security) responsibility, it is the states and territories, and not the Commonwealth, that should bear the cost.</p>
<p>This may sound like a big ask for underfunded governments. But state and territory budgets stand to benefit from avoiding the costs that recurrent and chronic homelessness imposes on departments such as health and justice. As our <a href="https://theconversation.com/supportive-housing-is-cheaper-than-chronic-homelessness-67539">previous research shows</a>, we spend enormous amounts of public money responding to the consequences of leaving people in a state of chronic homelessness.</p>
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<p>A model for funding permanent supportive housing needs to be developed. Ideally, this process should involve all Australian governments, perhaps as part of discussions to advance the <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/brief/need-robust-australian-national-housing-and-homelessness-plan">National Housing and Homelessness Plan</a>. Federal Labor <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-million-homes-target-makes-headlines-but-cant-mask-modest-ambition-of-budgets-housing-plans-193289">pledged</a> this project will take shape in 2023.</p>
<p>More broadly, these deliberations must be underpinned by recognition that our current ways of developing, operating and <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-financialisation-of-housing-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-73767">commodifying</a> housing produce homelessness. A plan to end homelessness requires a plan to overhaul our housing system so it produces enough suitable and affordable housing for all Australians.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-market-has-failed-to-give-australians-affordable-housing-so-dont-expect-it-to-solve-the-crisis-192177">The market has failed to give Australians affordable housing, so don't expect it to solve the crisis</a>
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<p><em>The authors acknowledge research funder <a href="https://www.launchhousing.org.au/">Launch Housing</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194624/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hal Pawson receives funding from Launch Housing, the Australian Research Council, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and Crisis UK.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cameron Parsell receives funding from Launch Housing, as well as the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>The main driver of homelessness in Australia is housing costs – post-COVID rents, house prices and interest rates are all much higher. To house everyone, the housing system needs a major overhaul.Hal Pawson, Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW SydneyCameron Parsell, Professor, School of Social Science, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1952542022-11-30T17:02:32Z2022-11-30T17:02:32ZBlack and minoritised ethnic communities at disproportionate risk of homelessness in the UK<p>In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, there has been a heightened awareness of ethnic inequality in the UK. Despite <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1480996">some</a> recent <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/whats-causing-structural-racism-housing">studies</a> on housing conditions in the context of the pandemic, little attention has been paid to how racial inequality and homelessness intersect. </p>
<p>Even before the current cost of living and energy crises, homelessness across the board was on the rise. Since 2009, the growing housing crisis has resulted in increases in most measures of homelessness. England in particular has seen numbers rise, even though special provision during the pandemic did temporarily bring <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/245880/the-homelessness-monitor-england-2021.pdf">some measures down</a>. </p>
<p>A study in 2005 already <a href="http://www.ethnos.co.uk/pdfs/3_Full_research_report_ODPM.pdf">found</a> that in every region in England, ethnic minority households were over-represented among those deemed homeless by local authorities. To gauge how things have evolved since, we recently carried out a <a href="https://researchportal.hw.ac.uk/en/publications/homelessness-amongst-black-and-minoritised-ethnic-communities-in-">statistical analysis</a>. We found that black and minoritised ethnic communities, taken as a whole, experience disproportionate levels of homelessness in the UK.</p>
<h2>Disproportionate levels</h2>
<p>We have used a broad and inclusive definition of homelessness. Core homelessness refers to the most extreme and immediate forms, including rough sleeping, staying in hostels/shelters or unsuitable temporary accommodation, or sofa-surfing. Statutory homelessness, meanwhile, is the term used by local authorities for those currently or threatened with homelessness who apply for support. Hidden homelessness refers to people dealing with homelessness in informal ways (including severely overcrowded households). Last, there are those at imminent risk of homelessness (for example, people facing unaffordable private rents). </p>
<p>Our analysis draws on ten data sources. These include 2011 population censuses, large-scale official and research surveys and administrative data from UK and devolved governments. We have used the standard ethnic minority categories used by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and other government bodies, and we mainly compare these groups with the white UK-born population group.</p>
<p>The first key finding is that black and minoritised ethnic communities, taken as a whole, experience disproportionate levels of homelessness in the UK. Between the different ethnic groups and between different forms of homelessness, the relative risks of homelessness vary. People from black and mixed ethnic backgrounds experience the highest risks – three-and-a-half times higher than white UK-born people – particularly of statutory and core homelessness. </p>
<p>Asian people, as a whole, experience lower risks of these forms of homelessness. However, Pakistani and Bangladeshi people face greater risks than Indian, Chinese and other Asian groups. </p>
<p>Further, there are geographical differences in the extent of these ethnic disparities. London displays more extreme disparities, with black people five times more likely than white to be statutorily homeless. In Scotland this ratio is around 1.5 times. </p>
<p>Evidence on the wider, hidden forms of homelessness shows a more adverse picture for Asian households, alongside the black and other groups. Pakistani, Bangladeshi and black households are more than four times at risk of overcrowding and unaffordable rents than white households. Asian-led households are also twice as likely as white British households to share dwellings with other households or to have other adults (apart from their own adult children) living with them. </p>
<h2>Racial discrimination is involved</h2>
<p>The recent <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/english-housing-survey">English Housing Survey</a> showed that people who experienced racial discrimination, harassment or abuse were at a higher risk of homelessness. This is particularly the case for black people, a third of whom report discrimination from social or private landlords. </p>
<p>In 2021 the UK government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-report-of-the-commission-on-race-and-ethnic-disparities">official report</a> into race and ethnic disparities argued that disparities in outcomes in education, health and other areas predominantly reflected factors other than racism or discrimination. The report, which attracted <a href="https://www.runnymedetrust.org/news/statement-regarding-the-cred-report-2021%5D">widespread criticism</a>, did not consider housing or homelessness. </p>
<p>Our research, by contrast, shows that ethnicity, migration background and discrimination do, in fact, increase the risk of homelessness. This is particularly the case for black, mixed and “other” groups, as well as for Pakistani and Bangladeshi people. (Here, “other” is the standard ONS categorisation, which includes Arab/Middle Eastern groups).</p>
<p>We have found that there are important indirect routes by which ethnicity and discrimination-related factors impact on the risk of homelessness. These include poverty, private renting and housing insecurity. Once these indirect effects are accounted for, the relative risk for black and other minoritised ethnic households is substantially higher. </p>
<p>This supports our inclusion of groups at risk in our overall assessment of the evidence. To our knowledge, no other research exists that has analysed UK homelessness in this way, using mediation models.</p>
<p>Since 2011, in conjunction with the UK charities, Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, we have published the Homelessness Monitor report on the trends and driving factors in homelessness (annually for England; biannually for Scotland and Wales). This ongoing research points to <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/245880/the-homelessness-monitor-england-2021.pdf">several short-term measures</a> that could reduce core homelessness, thereby significantly benefiting black and other ethnic minority groups. </p>
<p>These measures include raising the local housing allowance (to meet private rent levels) and ending no-fault evictions. Reforming universal credit to end the <a href="https://www.trusselltrust.org/five-weeks-too-long/">five-week wait</a>, stop debt deductions and scrap the benefit cap would also help. </p>
<p>In the longer term, we need to build more social housing. We need to level up the country to depressurise the London housing market. We also need better support for homeless people with complex needs and a more humane policy towards asylum seekers. </p>
<p>Without action, though, the current crises combined with rising rents and ever less housing stock will only see more people become homeless. And black and other minoritised groups will continue to be disproportionately impacted.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195254/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Glen Bramley receives funding from the charitable organisations Crisis, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Oak Foundation, via research grants to his employer, Heriot-Watt University. He is affiliated with the Labour Party in the sense of being a registered supporter. </span></em></p>New statistical analysis shows that ethnicity, migration background and discrimination increase a person’s risk of homelessness.Glen Bramley, Professor of Urban Studies, Heriot-Watt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1799942022-03-30T10:58:32Z2022-03-30T10:58:32ZFive lessons the pandemic taught us about ending homelessness permanently<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455036/original/file-20220329-21-1619phl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C65%2C4007%2C2591&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/poor-tired-depressed-hungry-homeless-man-1016111287">Srdjan Randjelovic / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One surprising success story to come out of the pandemic was how many countries and cities were able to significantly reduce street homelessness. Lockdowns enabled governments to treat homelessness as a public health emergency and act swiftly to accommodate and support people experiencing homelessness.</p>
<p>There were two key fears when it came to homeless populations and the pandemic. First, that those who couldn’t stay at home risked spreading the virus. Second, that those experiencing homelessness would be stigmatised as vectors of the disease, while also being cut off from access to food, support and shelter. Providing emergency accommodation, much of it in private rooms, and taking steps to prevent new homelessness helped alleviate these fears.</p>
<p>Our new <a href="https://www.homelessnessimpact.org/post/homelessness-what-can-we-learn-from-pandemics-surprising-success-story">report</a> from the <a href="https://www.homelessnessimpact.org">Centre for Homelessness Impact</a> and <a href="https://covidandsociety.com/ippocities/">IPPO Cities</a>, part of the <a href="https://covidandsociety.com/">International Public Policy Observatory</a> (of which The Conversation is a partner), details the lessons we can learn from COVID about how to end homelessness in the long term. </p>
<h2>1. Ending homelessness is a realistic policy goal</h2>
<p>The combination of the right political will and funding shows us that street homelessness can be all but eliminated very quickly. This happened for a period in the UK, where 40,000 people <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-snapshot-in-england-autumn-2021/rough-sleeping-snapshot-in-england-autumn-2021">moved out</a> of emergency accommodation into longer term accommodation between March 2020 and November 2021.</p>
<p>The public health necessity of housing those experiencing homelessness created a political imperative for radical action. Many governments provided <a href="https://assets-global.website-files.com/59f07e67422cdf0001904c14/623db6e695e2c41a94eeeab4_CHI.IPPO.Pandemic.pdf#page=13">dedicated funding</a> in the initial phase of the pandemic, vastly increasing the resources available to tackle the problem.</p>
<p>While not all gains were permanent, the fact that this took place at all shows that the goal of ending homelessness permanently is realistic. </p>
<h2>2. Suspending eligibility criteria helps</h2>
<p>Reducing homelessness also means removing the barriers for people to get help. Governments often distribute resources like housing support based on <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/homelessness/get_help_from_the_council/who_qualifies_for_housing">set criteria</a>, like whether you are supporting a family. But the pandemic shows us that a more universal approach – offering housing to everyone regardless of their specific circumstance – works much better.</p>
<p>Prior to COVID, the UK excluded certain people from accessing publicly funded accommodation based on immigration status or for other reasons of having “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/dec/23/migrant-rough-sleepers-in-england-will-be-housed-over-winter-says-government">no recourse to public funds</a>”. This meant some homeless people, many of them sleeping rough or in shelters, had little prospect of resolution. Removing this restriction on eligibility allowed those previously existing under the radar of local authorities to <a href="https://assets-global.website-files.com/59f07e67422cdf0001904c14/623db6e695e2c41a94eeeab4_CHI.IPPO.Pandemic.pdf#page=10">access services</a> and be housed and counted for the first time. </p>
<h2>3. Collaboration is key</h2>
<p>Ending homelessness can’t be done by the government alone – it requires collaboration with the voluntary and private sectors who have the specialist expertise, on the ground know-how and resources necessary for effective action.</p>
<p>The widespread shuttering of the leisure travel industry led to an available stock of private sector hotel rooms which were then used to house people. This public-private cooperation allowed individuals to be housed in their own rooms, which was also important for preventing transmission of COVID. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An advertising screen on a Manchester street showing public health guidance to Stay Home." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455059/original/file-20220329-28-e5opsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455059/original/file-20220329-28-e5opsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455059/original/file-20220329-28-e5opsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455059/original/file-20220329-28-e5opsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455059/original/file-20220329-28-e5opsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455059/original/file-20220329-28-e5opsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455059/original/file-20220329-28-e5opsa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The instruction to ‘stay home’ wasn’t possible for everyone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manchester-uk-november-23-2020-king-1863002869">John B Hewitt / Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>There was also coordination between different services not previously as directly involved in housing and homelessness. In <a href="https://assets-global.website-files.com/59f07e67422cdf0001904c14/623db6e695e2c41a94eeeab4_CHI.IPPO.Pandemic.pdf#page=18">London</a>, health workers provided initial health screenings, while mental health professionals gave support to homeless people in accommodation.</p>
<p>Making this kind of collaboration permanent, as well as shifting away from the use of shelters and communal hostels and towards single rooms, is necessary for a permanent end to homelessness. The provision of own-room accommodation during the pandemic increased people’s sense of <a href="https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/lessons-learnt-councils-response-rough-sleeping-during-covid-19-pandemic#new-ways-of-engagement">dignity and self-worth</a> in addition to preventing COVID transmission.</p>
<h2>4. Eviction bans work</h2>
<p>Many countries also took action to help those at risk of becoming homeless by introducing eviction bans, which protect tenants from being forced from their homes.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://assets-global.website-files.com/59f07e67422cdf0001904c14/623db6e695e2c41a94eeeab4_CHI.IPPO.Pandemic.pdf#page=28">Houston</a> in the US, a programme to support people at the point of eviction directed 2,895 individuals away from risk of homelessness into alternative housing. A separate rent relief programme supported tens of thousands more tenants at risk of becoming homeless. Together, these <a href="https://www.homelesshouston.org/2021-homeless-count-results-suggest-the-cchp-kept-numbers-down">measures</a> also allowed existing resources to be targeted at those who were currently without a home.</p>
<p>While making a comprehensive eviction ban permanent is perhaps not possible, the pandemic shows it is a helpful tool in preventing new homelessness.</p>
<h2>5. A clear mandate is needed</h2>
<p>COVID showed us that ending street homelessness is possible with the right political will and corresponding funding. Designating it as a public health crisis provided a necessary and clear mandate that unlocked the tools to take decisive action. </p>
<p>However, many of the gains made during lockdowns have not endured. Homelessness in <a href="https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1050300%2FStatHomeless_202109.ods&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK/">England</a> in the period July-September 2021 had returned broadly to <a href="https://assets-global.website-files.com/59f07e67422cdf0001904c14/623db6e695e2c41a94eeeab4_CHI.IPPO.Pandemic.pdf#page=14">pre-pandemic levels</a>.</p>
<p>For the kind of concerted action which worked during the pandemic to become more permanent, many countries will require a change in approach, including an expanded role for the state.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://www.homelessnessimpact.org/">Centre for Homelessness Impact</a> and the <a href="https://covidandsociety.com/ippocities/">IPPO Cities</a> are hosting an online roundtable event to discuss the lessons of the pandemic for ending homelessness on Thursday 31 March 2022, from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm. Sign up <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/after-emergency-pandemic-measures-on-homelessness-whats-next-tickets-274915207787">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179994/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeremy Williams works for the International Public Policy Observatory, of which The Conversation is a partner organisation.</span></em></p>Governments acted swiftly to reduce homelessness during the pandemic. Their actions could tell us how to end it permanently.Jeremy Williams, Research Associate, International Public Policy Observatory, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1540592021-02-10T19:07:42Z2021-02-10T19:07:42ZStates housed 40,000 people for the COVID emergency. Now rough sleeper numbers are back on the up<p>Australian governments acted to protect homeless people from COVID-19 in 2020 on an even larger scale <a href="https://cityfutures.be.unsw.edu.au/documents/619/Australian_Homelessness_Monitor_2020.pdf">than previously thought</a>. In the first six months of the pandemic, the four states that launched emergency programs housed more than 40,000 rough sleepers and others.</p>
<p>The states were anxious about rough sleepers’ extreme vulnerability to virus infection and the resulting public health risk to the wider community. New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia acted fast to provide safe temporary housing, mainly in otherwise empty hotels.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-need-to-house-everyone-has-never-been-clearer-heres-a-2-step-strategy-to-get-it-done-137069">The need to house everyone has never been clearer. Here's a 2-step strategy to get it done</a>
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<p>Drawing on previously unreleased official statistics, our newly published international comparative <a href="http://povertyandinequality.acoss.org.au/covid-19/housingimpacts/">research</a> reveals the people these programs helped in Australia outnumbered the <a href="https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Investigation-into-the-housing-of-rough-sleepers-during-the-COVID-19-pandemic.pdf">33,000 rough sleepers and others</a> housed in England by the equivalent Everyone In initiative. Australia’s <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/1647509ef7e25faaca2568a900154b63?OpenDocument">population</a> is less than half <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2019estimates">that of England</a>.</p>
<h2>What happens when emergency housing ends?</h2>
<p>The numbers Australia’s emergency housing program needed to shelter showed our homelessness problem is much larger than often imagined. The 8,200 people <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/census-population-and-housing-estimating-homelessness/latest-release">counted as sleeping rough</a> on census night 2016 were only the tip of the iceberg.</p>
<p>Attempts to transfer people from emergency accommodation to longer-term tenancies have also generally been far less successful than in England. By the end of 2020, England’s local authorities had <a href="https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Investigation-into-the-housing-of-rough-sleepers-during-the-COVID-19-pandemic.pdf">moved two-thirds</a> of their former rough sleepers from temporary placements to more stable housing. As our <a href="http://povertyandinequality.acoss.org.au/covid-19/housingimpacts/">research</a> shows, despite determined efforts, Australian state governments managed this for less than a third of rough sleepers departing emergency hotel stays in 2020. </p>
<p>Many will have returned to the streets or to homeless shelters. Rough sleeper numbers once again <a href="https://cityfutures.be.unsw.edu.au/documents/619/Australian_Homelessness_Monitor_2020.pdf">increased in Adelaide and Sydney</a> after mid-year.</p>
<p>To a great extent Australia’s poor showing reflects our <a href="https://blogs.unsw.edu.au/cityfutures/blog/2020/09/why-social-housing-stimulus-is-a-measure-morrison-cannot-ignore/">growing social housing deficit</a>, as well as <a href="https://insidestory.org.au/is-newstart-the-pace-setter-scott-morrison-says-it-is/">inadequate rent assistance and other social security benefits</a> (at their standard rates). All of these factors are barriers to helping low-income Australians into stable long-term housing.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-lays-bare-5-big-housing-system-flaws-to-be-fixed-137162">Coronavirus lays bare 5 big housing system flaws to be fixed</a>
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<h2>Eviction bans and rent variations defer problems</h2>
<p>Alongside protecting rough sleepers, Australian government actions to shield vulnerable renters who lost jobs and incomes in the pandemic were also relatively effective. These efforts include federal income protection (<a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/general/jobkeeper-payment/">JobKeeper</a> and <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/coronavirus-supplement">Coronavirus Supplement</a>) and state and territory <a href="https://www.rent.com.au/blog/eviction-moratorium">restrictions on evictions</a>.</p>
<p>The short-term success of these measures is clear. Despite a substantial rise in unemployment, there has been – as yet – <a href="http://povertyandinequality.acoss.org.au/covid-19/housingimpacts/">no sign of any up-tick in homelessness</a>.</p>
<p>At the same time, though, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/02/real-estate-agents-criticised-for-suggesting-tenants-consider-using-superannuation-to-pay-rent">ministerial advice</a> that tenants with COVID-triggered income losses should negotiate rent reductions with landlords came with few ground rules on how to reach such settlements. </p>
<p><a href="http://povertyandinequality.acoss.org.au/covid-19/housingimpacts/">Survey evidence</a> shows many property owners refused to reduce rents. At least one in four renters lost income during the pandemic, but no more than 16% (and possibly as few as 8%) got a rent variation. And many variations were only in the form of rent deferrals, not reductions.</p>
<p>The survey data imply at least 75,000 tenants, and possibly as many as 175,000, have been accumulating deferral-generated arrears. These mounting debts could put some at risk of losing their home when eviction moratoriums end. That’s early in 2021 <a href="https://www.rent.com.au/blog/eviction-moratorium">in most states and territories</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cutting-jobseeker-payments-will-cause-crippling-rental-stress-in-our-cities-147198">Cutting JobSeeker payments will cause crippling rental stress in our cities</a>
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<h2>Hands-off Commonwealth makes things worse</h2>
<p>Our <a href="http://povertyandinequality.acoss.org.au/covid-19/housingimpacts/">research</a> also highlights the unusually small direct contribution of the Australian government to protecting homeless people during the pandemic. Even in other federations – Canada and the United States – national governments played a significant role.</p>
<p>In Australia, the Commonwealth government made no direct input to covering the substantial costs involved. Nor did it play any part in even monitoring, let alone co-ordinating, the remarkable efforts of the active states.</p>
<p>Canberra has also <a href="https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2020/08/morrison-out-of-ideas-to-save-property-prices/">steadfastly rejected</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/top-economists-back-boosts-to-jobseeker-and-social-housing-over-tax-cuts-in-pre-budget-poll-146914">calls</a> for a social housing stimulus program for national economic recovery. This disengagement fits with a now-familiar refrain from federal ministers. Housing and homelessness, they repeat time and again, are constitutional obligations of state and territory governments.</p>
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<p><em><strong>Read more: <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-focus-of-stimulus-plans-has-to-be-construction-that-puts-social-housing-first-136519">Why the focus of stimulus plans has to be construction that puts social housing first</a></strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>Read more: <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-more-housing-stimulus-will-be-needed-to-sustain-recovery-148003">Why more housing stimulus will be needed to sustain recovery</a></strong></em></p>
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<p>Granted, that’s an accurate statement for housing and homelessness <em>service delivery</em>. But, especially given the Commonwealth’s control of <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-housing-system-needs-a-big-shake-up-heres-how-we-can-crack-this-130291">the vital policy levers of tax and social security</a>, the two levels of government must in reality share responsibility for housing outcomes.</p>
<p>The Victorian government’s <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/homes-victoria-big-housing-build">A$5.4 billion Big Housing Build</a> shows states may commit to investment in social rental housing on a scale far beyond what had been thought possible. But the fact remains that state and territory governments have much less financial firepower than our national government. It’s fanciful to imagine significant programs being widely initiated or maintained without hefty federal backing.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victorias-5-4bn-big-housing-build-it-is-big-but-the-social-housing-challenge-is-even-bigger-150161">Victoria's $5.4bn Big Housing Build: it is big, but the social housing challenge is even bigger</a>
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<p>For all of these reasons, when the pandemic has finally subsided, it’s only with federal government leadership that we can effectively tackle the fundamental flaws in Australia’s housing system. These have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-lays-bare-5-big-housing-system-flaws-to-be-fixed-137162">glaringly exposed</a> by the public health crisis of the past 12 months. Without purposeful re-engagement by our national government, Australia’s housing policy challenges will only continue to intensify.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-housing-system-needs-a-big-shake-up-heres-how-we-can-crack-this-130291">Australia's housing system needs a big shake-up: here's how we can crack this</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hal Pawson receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), the Australian Research Council (ARC), from National Shelter, Queensland Shelter, Mission Australia and Crisis UK.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Martin receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), National Shelter and Mission Australia.</span></em></p>More people than expected needed help, and the states have found stable housing for less than a third of rough sleepers who were put up in hotels. A hands-off federal government simply isn’t helping.Hal Pawson, Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW SydneyChris Martin, Senior Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1471022020-10-18T19:05:54Z2020-10-18T19:05:54ZCOVID spurred action on rough sleepers but greater homelessness challenges lie ahead<p>COVID-19 triggered <a href="https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Housing-and-Homelessness-Briefing-FINAL.pdf">multimillion-dollar commitments by state governments</a> to tackle homelessness. Our research for the <a href="https://www.launchhousing.org.au/ending-homelessness/research-hub/australian-homelessness-monitor-2020">Australian Homelessness Monitor 2020</a>, released today, reveals at least 33,000 rough sleepers and other homeless people have been booked into hotels and other temporary accommodation during the crisis.</p>
<p>Beyond this, several states have <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/homes-homeless-victorians-during-pandemic-and-beyond">pledged funds and support</a> to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-launches-36-million-program-to-get-rough-sleepers-into-homes-20200607-p5507y.html">move beyond this short-term fix</a> and ensure former rough sleepers find long-term housing.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-we-realised-the-true-cost-of-homelessness-wed-fix-it-overnight-143998">If we realised the true cost of homelessness, we'd fix it overnight</a>
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<p>These are commendable actions in a long-neglected policy area, even if largely inspired by public health anxieties rather than concern for the welfare of people without a home.</p>
<p>Still, <a href="https://www.launchhousing.org.au/ending-homelessness/research-hub/australian-homelessness-monitor-2020">our research</a> also shows the burst of activity over the past six months builds on several years of stepped-up state government action to tackle street homelessness across Australia.</p>
<h2>What prompted governments to act?</h2>
<p>Three factors seem to have contributed:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>around 2016, <a href="https://theconversation.com/ban-on-sleeping-rough-does-nothing-to-fix-the-problems-of-homelessness-71630">rising inner-city rough sleeping</a> apparently crossed a threshold of political embarrassment</p></li>
<li><p>people experiencing homelessness challenged official complacency with direct action, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/clearing-homeless-camps-compounds-the-violation-of-human-rights-and-entrenches-the-problem-82253">protest camps</a> in Sydney’s Martin Place and outside Melbourne’s Flinders Street Station during the 2017 Australian Open tennis tournament</p></li>
<li><p>a new level of activism, often inspired by developments overseas, led to initiatives such as the <a href="https://everybodyshome.com.au/">Everybody’s Home</a> campaign, the <a href="https://aaeh.org.au/">Australian Alliance to End Homelessness</a>, the <a href="https://theconstellationproject.com.au/">Constellation Project</a> and <a href="https://dunstan.org.au/adelaide-zero-project/">Adelaide Zero</a>.</p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/clearing-homeless-camps-compounds-the-violation-of-human-rights-and-entrenches-the-problem-82253">Clearing homeless camps compounds the violation of human rights and entrenches the problem</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In response, several state governments boosted efforts to reduce street homelessness. Measures included expanded outreach services and offers of housing assistance, increased spending on rental subsidies and personal support for former rough sleepers, and leasing of private rental properties as temporary social housing.</p>
<p>Some states even set specific targets to reduce homelessness. New South Wales, for example, pledged to cut rough sleeping on Sydney’s streets by a quarter between 2017 and 2020. Statewide, the aim is to <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/premiers-priorities/reducing-homelessness">halve street homelessness</a> between 2019 and 2025.</p>
<p>Such targets are a welcome sign of ambition. They could even spur other states and territories to make similar commitments. </p>
<h2>Rough sleepers are just the visibly homeless</h2>
<p>As our report explains, though, these aspirations raise tricky issues of definition and measurement. And they focus narrowly on rough sleeping. Though highly visible, it’s just one of the <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/homelessness-and-homelessness-services">forms of homelessness</a>. </p>
<p>This approach risks airbrushing the wider, and much larger, homelessness problem. Of the 116,000 homeless people <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/exnote/2049.0">counted by the 2016 Census</a> some 8,000 were rough sleepers. Homelessness also includes experiences such as as couch surfing and living in badly overcrowded dwellings and short-term, unsafe accommodation like rooming houses. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/informal-and-illegal-housing-on-the-rise-as-our-cities-fail-to-offer-affordable-places-to-live-116065">Informal and illegal housing on the rise as our cities fail to offer affordable places to live</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Crucially, homelessness cannot be overcome purely through better management and co-ordination of existing services. Nor can it be seriously tackled by state/territory governments without federal support.</p>
<h2>New wave of homelessness is looming</h2>
<p>The most immediate concern now is an imminent surge in homelessness. This is likely in coming months as a result of <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/general/jobkeeper-payment/">JobKeeper payments</a> and <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/subjects/payments-and-services-during-coronavirus-covid-19/if-you-get-payment/im-job-seeker">JobSeeker Coronavirus Supplements</a> being scaled back and <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/national-cabinet-statement">bans on evictions</a> lifted. </p>
<p>These protections staved off a new, recession-induced, homelessness crisis through the winter months. But, since mid-year, rough sleeper numbers have been <a href="https://www.launchhousing.org.au/ending-homelessness/research-hub/australian-homelessness-monitor-2020">on the rise once again in cities</a> including Adelaide and Sydney. This is almost certainly a problem deferred, rather than a problem avoided.</p>
<p>We know, for example, that many tenants who lost incomes and sought reduced rent <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-04/covid-19-eviction-bans-end-8-million-renters-housing-crisis-loom/12626422">have only been granted deferrals</a>. They are building up big arrears. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cutting-jobseeker-payments-will-cause-crippling-rental-stress-in-our-cities-147198">Cutting JobSeeker payments will cause crippling rental stress in our cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363642/original/file-20201015-19-1dupv1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Rough sleeper packing up in Melbourne laneway" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363642/original/file-20201015-19-1dupv1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363642/original/file-20201015-19-1dupv1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363642/original/file-20201015-19-1dupv1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363642/original/file-20201015-19-1dupv1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363642/original/file-20201015-19-1dupv1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363642/original/file-20201015-19-1dupv1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363642/original/file-20201015-19-1dupv1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sleeping rough is on the rise again in Australian cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/indigoskies/48965483618/in/photolist-2hAUUmb-2j1iHiF-2iyUMNA-8wVBzR-MqREAG-8wVzNV-8wYAgS-8wVzNR-8wVzNX-8wYAgJ-8wYAgW-221KGR3-29fNiTA-273gnbZ-S49mKY-DLnzYZ-zfeF3k-zKVd1Z-H2b7Xx-CuBnia-e6YHE1-5TyWm8-aKsPxk-dKZ5xa-8SMvs7-vY9cef-BRVAM6-S55ejz-GqQ2sQ-2hhekFr-nNmoue-tsp23i-8wVzNK-2bYZCJH-NKH8go-QjZQ4g-295YRNq-27MfyhF-DrHzMp-2hczLX3-SwJBCa-2huBkWG-PRwph7-2dyXeK5-nVWM34-2aN8A5i-2huE5TC-PqgPY5-26nJSEi-2KJRWm">Indigo Skies Photography/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For their part, many landlords have lost rental income – by negotiation or otherwise. They represent about <a href="https://www.apra.gov.au/temporary-loan-repayment-deferrals-due-to-covid-19-dashboards-accessible-version">one-third of the more than 400,000 mortgage accounts</a> on which banks have agreed to defer payments.</p>
<p>The extent of any surge in homelessness will depend on the public health situation, the timing and vitality of post-pandemic economic recovery, and on how quickly eviction bans and income-support measures are withdrawn. However, if unemployment hits 10% <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-13/coronavirus-unemployment-covid-19-treasury-figures-jobless-rate/12145542">as predicted</a>, homelessness could rise by 21% according to <a href="https://www.ncoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Equity-Economics-Supporting-Economic-Recovery-in-NSW_Final_220620.pdf">one projection for NSW</a>.</p>
<p>For state governments, housing the mid-2020 rough-sleeper cohort has been enough of a challenge on its own. Even with stepped-up assistance programs, the states lack the capacity to cope with a surge of households newly evicted from private rental housing. </p>
<p>The main problem is a <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/research-advocacy/the-rental-affordability-snapshot/docs/default-source/default-document-library/special-release-rental-affordability-update">lack of homes at rents that low-income tenants can afford</a>. A large part of the reason is decades of official inaction that <a href="https://johnmenadue.com/why-a-social-housing-stimulus-is-a-measure-fydenberg-cannot-ignore/">effectively halved Australia’s supply of social housing</a> since the 1990s. On top of that, the shortfall of private rental properties affordable for low-income tenants grew by 54% in the decade to 2016, as detailed in <a href="https://www.launchhousing.org.au/ending-homelessness/research-hub/australian-homelessness-monitor-2020">our report</a>.</p>
<h2>What needs to be done?</h2>
<p>Lessons from Australia’s success in tackling street homelessness during the pandemic must be integrated with ongoing services. We have to reduce reliance on band-aid interventions that are costly and, at best, only lessen the harm. Homelessness is bad for health and for our society at all times, not just during pandemics.</p>
<p>Governments at all levels must recognise that the growing homelessness problem of the past two decades calls for <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-housing-system-needs-a-big-shake-up-heres-how-we-can-crack-this-130291">a comprehensive housing policy rethink</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-housing-system-needs-a-big-shake-up-heres-how-we-can-crack-this-130291">Australia's housing system needs a big shake-up: here's how we can crack this</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Yes, governments have partnered with community organisations to get people off the streets during the pandemic, which is something to celebrate. But these successes do not resolve the underlying structural problems.</p>
<p>The federal government has a critical role to play in both policy and funding. It must be far more active in owning and tackling the issue. Essential first steps are to permanently boost JobSeeker payments and the rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance. And the government should properly index these payments, as it does the Aged Pension.</p>
<p>Beyond this, the Commonwealth must use its greater budget capacity –
<a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Former_Committees/reffed/reffed/report/c04">more than the combined resources of the states and territories</a> – to invest in building new social housing at scale. For almost the entire period since 1996 we’ve been building only 2,000-3,000 social housing units per year. Just to keep pace with a growing population, that <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/306">needs to be 15,000 a year</a>. It’s essential not just as a stimulus for <a href="https://www.communityhousing.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/20200197-SHARP-Final-ReportSGS.pdf?x94150">post-pandemic recovery</a> as proposed, but as a routine national program long into the future.</p>
<p>Such action should be part of <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9789811507793">a comprehensive national housing strategy</a> to design and phase-in the wide-ranging reforms of taxes and regulations needed to rebalance Australia’s housing system and tackle homelessness at its source.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors are very grateful to <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-mares-116215">Peter Mares</a> for his input into this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147102/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hal Pawson receives funding from the Australian Research Council, from Launch Housing, and from CRISIS UK</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cameron Parsell receives funding from The Australian Research Council and Launch Housing</span></em></p>Australia found shelter for more than 33,000 rough sleepers and other homeless people during the pandemic, but a coming surge in homelessness demands a comprehensive national housing strategy.Hal Pawson, Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW SydneyCameron Parsell, Associate Professor, School of Social Science, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1415562020-07-13T11:12:16Z2020-07-13T11:12:16ZHomeless numbers set to rise – but lockdown shows government can solve this<p>At the start of lockdown, there <a href="https://www.nottinghampost.com/whats-on/food-drink/nottingham-chip-shop-steps-help-4239268">were many</a> heartwarming <a href="https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2020/04/01/charity-launches-uks-first-free-food-delivery-service-for-homeless/">stories of</a> countless <a href="https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/this-country-done-lot-thought-4041103">restaurants, cafes and bars</a> that turned their attention and resources to feeding the homeless for free. There was also a considerable financial commitment from the government to accomodate more than 5,000 rough sleepers <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dame-louise-casey-writes-to-local-authority-homelessness-managers-and-rough-sleeping-coordinators/dame-louise-casey-writes-to-local-authority-homelessness-managers-and-rough-sleeping-coordinators">in hotels</a> up and down the country. </p>
<p>But as lockdown rolls on, it seems some homeless people are <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-homeless-people-prefer-sleeping-rough-to-hostels-or-hotels-139414">choosing to leave</a> or even being evicted from their temporary accommodation. This is despite efforts from support workers, local councils and the government to enable them to “stay at home”. </p>
<p>With many hotels and B&Bs now reopening for tourists, there is also a real risk that many other homeless people will simply be returning to rough sleeping <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52985450">in the coming days and weeks</a>. And along with the risks that come with <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/types-of-homelessness/its-no-life-at-all-2016/">rough sleeping</a>, being homeless also increases the likelihood of <a href="https://www.homeless.org.uk/connect/blogs/2020/mar/05/covid-19-coronavirus-outbreak">contracting and spreading COVID-19</a>.</p>
<h2>True scale of the problem</h2>
<p>In total, £1.6 billion has been <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dame-louise-casey-writes-to-local-authority-homelessness-managers-and-rough-sleeping-coordinators/dame-louise-casey-writes-to-local-authority-homelessness-managers-and-rough-sleeping-coordinators">promised by</a> the government to local councils in a bid to stop people returning to the streets. But if people have already left or been forced to leave their temporary accommodation, this golden opportunity to prevent a return to homelessness may slip away.</p>
<p>There’s also the fact that the number of people in need of housing seems far greater than the 5,000 or so rough sleepers housed in the early lockdown figures. Such estimates do not include the “<a href="https://blog.shelter.org.uk/2019/01/we-can-and-must-end-the-rough-sleeping-emergency/">hidden homeless</a>” – people housed in temporary accommodation, sofa-surfing with no fixed address, or using night busses to avoid bedding down on the streets. Adding these people increases homeless <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/media/press_releases/articles/320,000_people_in_britain_are_now_homeless,_as_numbers_keep_rising">estimates to 320,000</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many people who become homeless do not show up in official figures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sleeping-homeless-man-bag-on-sidewalk-1592377063">R. Rose/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/policy_and_research/policy_library/policy_library_folder/shelter_submission_hclg_select_committee_inquiry_into_the_impact_of_covid-19_on_homelessness_and_the_private_rented_sector">Research by Shelter</a> also predicts there will be a massive increase in the number of people who could face homelessness over the coming year. The charity warns that nearly 2 million tenants are expected to be newly unemployed by the end of June 2020 – which will put many families at risk of homelessness.</p>
<h2>More than a roof</h2>
<p>But ending homelessness isn’t just about providing a roof. Homelessness is a complex issue that can result from a huge range of unmet needs – such as mental and physical health problems, a dysfunctional family background and addiction. </p>
<p>For example, a key issue among homeless people appears to be mental health problems. In June 2019 the number of households in temporary accommodation was 86,130. Of these, 45% were identified as having one or more support need – most <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/852953/Statutory_Homelessness_Statistical_Release_Apr-Jun_2019.pdf">commonly mental health</a>. </p>
<p>Shelter tries to address some of these <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1361921/Multiple_Complex_Needs_Service.pdf">unmet needs</a> by supporting people to improve their health and wellbeing. The charity also aims to reduce hospital admissions and re-offending rates among the homeless community, while also offering assistance to access other kinds of help alongside housing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A weight of expectation is placed on homeless people to trust and feel safe with an unfamiliar way of living when they are housed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-american-father-talking-upset-mixed-1282522474">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While this goes some way to help, what is really needed is for the government to view homelessness as more than simply a <a href="http://theconversation.com/theres-more-to-homelessness-than-rooflessness-6225">problem of rooflessness</a> – with a varied response to emergency housing depending on individual need. This is important because homelessness and the concept of “<a href="http://artsites.ucsc.edu/sdaniel/177_2015/homelessness_and_meaningofhome.pdf">home</a>” means something different to every homeless person – so the solution must be unique to each person.</p>
<p>Meeting the needs of the homeless can also be simplified if service improvements – such as where and when help is made available – include ideas from service users. This would help to design services that deliver <a href="https://www.chadresearch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/City-Centre-Rough-Sleeping-and-Street-Activity-Report.pdf">long-term solutions that work</a>.</p>
<h2>Time for action</h2>
<p>As we move towards a “new normal”, with <a href="https://theconversation.com/summer-statement-rishi-sunak-goes-all-out-for-jobs-leaving-public-finances-for-another-day-140605">measures</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-recovery-the-new-economic-thinking-we-need-141339">restart the economy</a>, it’s hoped some of the tougher, more enduring inequalities that plague society can be included in that approach. As a nation, we have shown we can jump into action. And politicians have shown they can act quickly. </p>
<p>But if long-term housing of homeless citizens is to be implemented, a redefinition of the idea of homelessness is necessary, to make it about more than just rooflessness – and this needs to happen sooner rather than later. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many families may be unable to pay the rent and forced out of their homes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-american-father-talking-upset-mixed-1282522474">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The fast pace of action towards providing emergency accommodation now needs to be used to help services evolve to support homeless people in tune with their individual needs. </p>
<p>Indeed, this cannot just be mulled over in academic discussion or wrestled over in political debate. These people need urgent action before they end up back on the streets, with many more in danger of joining them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141556/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Hassett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pandemic is once in a generation opportunity to help homeless people stay off the streets for good – we must not waste this.Fiona Hassett, PhD Candidate in the School of Law, Policing and Forensics, Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1285732019-12-10T14:47:09Z2019-12-10T14:47:09ZHomelessness: what the next government needs to do about the UK’s rough sleeping crisis<p>Homelessness has hit the headlines again. There has been a steep growth in the number of homeless <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/03/at-least-135000-children-in-britain-will-be-homeless-at-christmas">children</a> in Britain – at least 135,000, according to the charity Shelter, the highest in 12 years, will be homeless and living in temporary accommodation this Christmas. There are record numbers of <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homeless-crisis-london-rough-sleepers-uk-chain-figures-a9178876.html">rough sleepers</a> in some cities, including London. And a horrifying and escalating number of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/01/homeless-deaths-in-2018-rise-at-highest-level-ons">deaths</a> of people who are homeless. </p>
<p>Predictably, pre-election debates regarding the (mis)representation of <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/sajid-javid-homelessness-labour-misremembered-a4306056.html">homelessness statistics</a> and accusations regarding who is to blame for the current situation abound.</p>
<p>All forms of homelessness have a profoundly negative impact, but the one that courts most media and public attention is rough sleeping due to its greater visibility and the extreme dangers faced by those living on the streets. A vast amount of money, time and personal commitment has been invested in ending street homelessness.</p>
<p>Some progress has recently been made in reducing the number of rough sleepers at the national level, due at least in part to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rough-sleeping-initiative-2018-impact-evaluation">targeted government investment</a> in areas with high levels of rough sleeping. The 2019 <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/homelessness-monitor/england/the-homelessness-monitor-england-2019/">Homelessness Monitor</a> reported a 2% drop over the past year across England, for example. But this does not detract from the fact that at the beginning of 2019, the total remained <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/31/rough-sleeping-rises-in-nearly-all-englands-major-cities-london-birmingham">165%</a> higher than in 2010.</p>
<p>Part of the solution does of course lie in prevention, that is, in making people less <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2017/jul/28/middle-class-homelessness-myth-poverty-racism-structural-issues">vulnerable to homelessness</a> and rough sleeping in particular. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305921/original/file-20191209-90609-1dxto4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305921/original/file-20191209-90609-1dxto4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305921/original/file-20191209-90609-1dxto4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305921/original/file-20191209-90609-1dxto4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305921/original/file-20191209-90609-1dxto4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305921/original/file-20191209-90609-1dxto4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305921/original/file-20191209-90609-1dxto4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A homeless woman in London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/3d50d87c-d347-4ea3-883e-8e47e490fa20">Stephen Cannon/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<p>A <a href="https://endhomelessnessnow.org.uk/media/ptkbs4l0/cri0303_general_election_full_manifesto_a4.pdf">manifesto to end homelessness</a> recently developed by a coalition of UK charities calls for the government to do more in terms of prevention, including strengthening the welfare system and improving access to affordable housing. More also clearly needs to be done to resolve the plight of those who find themselves living on the streets.</p>
<h2>What works</h2>
<p>I recently took part in a project reviewing <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/services-and-interventions/ending-rough-sleeping-what-works-an-international-evidence-review/">international evidence</a> regarding “what works” in ending rough sleeping. We found that the current evidence base is a bit patchy, but there are nevertheless strong grounds to promote some responses over others. Yet our review showed that the UK, like most other western societies, continues to invest in responses that are ineffective for a substantial number of those they purport to help.</p>
<p>We know that interventions such as <a href="https://www.homeless.org.uk/our-work/national-projects/housing-first-england">Housing First</a>, which offers rapid access to settled housing and long-term flexible support on a relatively unconditional basis, <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/services-and-interventions/ending-rough-sleeping-what-works-an-international-evidence-review/">works</a> for the vast majority of those it targets. So does the provision of person-centred support, which gives rough sleepers more say in which services they use than traditional approaches. </p>
<p>But these interventions are still provided on a relatively small and localised scale in England and Wales (although Housing First is being scaled up in three city regions of <a href="https://www.homeless.org.uk/connect/news/2018/may/09/government-launches-its-three-regional-housing-first-pilots">England</a> and is being rolled out in an ambitious programme across <a href="https://www.housingfirst.scot/">Scotland</a>).</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/services-and-interventions/ending-rough-sleeping-what-works-an-international-evidence-review/">Evidence</a> also confirms that “assertive outreach”, which very proactively and persistently encourages and supports rough sleepers to “come inside” and engage with support services, is effective. This was a critical ingredient within large-scale initiatives that reduced rough sleeper numbers <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/services-and-interventions/ending-rough-sleeping-what-works-an-international-evidence-review/">substantially</a> in England and Scotland in the late 1990s and early 2000s. </p>
<p>Collaboration across sectors, including health, housing, and policing is also very influential in bringing an end to episodes of street homelessness.</p>
<h2>Status quo</h2>
<p>Depressingly, some of the approaches adopted most widely internationally, including a number of mainstream responses in the UK, are reported to be ineffective. </p>
<p>Many hostels and shelters, which are the “bread and butter” response to rough sleeping in most western societies, are cases in point. These are intended to provide emergency or temporary accommodation, but a lack of move-on housing means that they often end up providing <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/services-and-interventions/ending-rough-sleeping-what-works-an-international-evidence-review/">long-term but unsustainable solutions</a>. Hostel residents are <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/services-and-interventions/ending-rough-sleeping-what-works-an-international-evidence-review/">less likely</a> to experience improvements with things like health than are homeless people provided with Housing First.</p>
<p>In addition, many homeless people <a href="http://social-bite.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SB_TempAccommReport_FinalReport.pdf">find</a> hostels and shelters highly intimidating and unpleasant environments. Some choose not to use them due to fears for their safety or because doing so compromises their recovery from addiction or mental ill health.</p>
<p>Levels of support associated with a number of common interventions have been <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/services-and-interventions/ending-rough-sleeping-what-works-an-international-evidence-review/">revealed</a> to be inadequate or entirely absent. In some parts of England, particular concerns have been raised about the <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/services-and-interventions/the-reconnection-of-rough-sleepers-within-the-uk-an-evaluation-2015/">denial of key services</a> such as emergency accommodation to rough sleepers with no “local connection” to the town or city where they are contacted by street outreach workers if they refuse to return back to their “home” area. The over-intrusiveness and lack of user choice regarding the support provided in a number of other programmes were also <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/services-and-interventions/ending-rough-sleeping-what-works-an-international-evidence-review/">deemed problematic</a>.</p>
<h2>A plea</h2>
<p>So if existing evidence (imperfect as it may be) provides a good indication of what does and doesn’t work in ending rough sleeping, why aren’t services that we know to be effective used much more widely? </p>
<p>There are a <a href="https://www.feantsaresearch.org/public/user/Observatory/2019/EJH/EJH_13_1/Feantsa-2019_13-1_Think-Piece-1.pdf">number of reasons</a> for this – not least a lack of affordable and suitable settled accommodation for people to move into. Restrictions on rough sleepers’ eligibility for help, meanwhile, such as having no recourse to public funds (affecting many migrants) or “local connection” (in the case of some UK nationals who may have moved from their “home” area), are highly problematic. And short-term funding and bureaucratic barriers hinder the commissioning and delivery of flexible cross-departmental support. </p>
<p>Also critically important is the lack of political will in government. This impedes the implementation of responses that work. Achieving a significant shift in responses to rough sleeping in any context requires considerable political will, not least because of the potentially high upfront investment and associated upheaval of prevailing “ways of doing things”. </p>
<p>The dominant political parties in the UK have very different <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/homelessness-monitor/">legacies</a> as regards levels of interest in and policy contributions to the causes, prevention and amelioration of homelessness. Whichever party holds power after the election, we must hope that policy responses are strongly informed by evidence, and that investment of public resource is directed toward what is known to be effective: rapid access to affordable housing together with person-centred support that is available for as long as it is needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128573/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Johnsen receives research funding from a range of sources, including central government, research councils, and charitable bodies. The international evidence review drawn upon in this article was funded by Crisis. </span></em></p>There are record numbers of rough sleepers in some cities, yet the most common approaches adopted at tackling it are ineffective.Sarah Johnsen, Professorial Fellow, Institute for Social Policy, Housing and Equalities Research (I-SPHERE), Heriot-Watt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1252352019-10-27T18:47:11Z2019-10-27T18:47:11ZBeds in car parks don’t solve Australia’s rough sleeping problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298487/original/file-20191024-170467-18pat5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C90%2C948%2C536&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A place to park the homeless for the night in a CBD car park doesn't solve the problem of homelessness.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/beddowntonight/photos/">BedDown/Facebook</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A plan to provide homeless people with overnight beds and shelter in car parks might sound like a good idea but it does little to solve their problem in the long term.</p>
<p>There are other proven ways we can help those sleeping rough to break out of the homelessness cycle. And Australia certainly has the wealth to back such schemes.</p>
<p>That’s why it’s important to treat homeless and roofless people as more than charity cases.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shh-dont-mention-the-public-housing-shortage-but-no-serious-action-on-homelessness-can-ignore-it-124875">Shh! Don't mention the public housing shortage. But no serious action on homelessness can ignore it</a>
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<h2>A bed for the night</h2>
<p>The charity <a href="https://beddown.org.au/">Beddown</a> started a two-week trial with Secure Parking to invite people sleeping rough to spend the night on inflatable mattresses <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/car-parks-transformed-into-pop-up-accommodation-for-homeless-people-20190927-p52vgt.html">in a car park in Brisbane’s CBD</a>. It hopes to run similar trials in Melbourne and Sydney.</p>
<p>The mattresses-in-car-parks idea adds to similar charitable models in Australia that include <a href="https://orangesky.org.au/">mobile laundries and showers</a> for people who are homeless, as well as <a href="https://www.sleepbus.org/">buses fitted out with beds</a>.</p>
<p>These charitable endeavours receive almost unanimous <a href="https://www.kidsnews.com.au/humanities/beddown-trial-provides-sweet-dreams-and-a-good-nights-sleep-for-people-experiencing-homelessness/news-story/c1b2924ff9af53125257dc3a4fc036a3">positive attention</a> <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/qld/brisbane-carpark-turned-into-pop-up-shelter-for-the-homeless-is-changing-lives-already-c-502732">from the media</a>.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-24/young-australians-of-the-year-offer-advice-to-2017-nominees/8208554">Some of the creators</a> of these charities even receive prestigious national awards.</p>
<h2>How to really end homelessness</h2>
<p>Instead of pop-up beds in car parks and mobile laundries and showers, which all start with the best of intentions, as a society we can and should immediately end homelessness for people sleeping rough.</p>
<p>This is not utopian nor is it unrealistic. We have <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/676318" title="Exiting Unsheltered Homelessness and Sustaining Housing: A Human Agency Perspective">rigorous evidence</a>, based on research with programs in Australia’s capital and regional cities, that demonstrate <a href="https://www.sacredheartmission.org/docman/publications/26-publications-sustaining-exits-from-long-term-homelessness-48-month-evaluation-2015/file">we can permanently end homelessness</a> for people on the streets and those who have experienced chronic homelessness. </p>
<p>The evidence even shows how we can end homelessness for <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/hsc.12835" title="Evidence for an integrated healthcare and psychosocial multidisciplinary model to address rough sleeping">people who are sleeping rough</a>. </p>
<p>The results show between 80% and 90% of people who are supported to exit rough sleeping through <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/policy/ahuri-briefs/what-is-the-housing-first-model">Housing First programs</a> sustain their housing for at least 12 months.</p>
<p>Three things are critical.</p>
<p>The first is assertive street outreach that systematically works to identify and support people to get off the streets. Some models consist of clinicians working in street outreach teams to help overcome the health barriers to people exiting the streets.</p>
<p>Second is the accessibility and availability of long-term and affordable housing. People need to access housing as a tenant, not as a client of a conditional program. The availability of housing is essential to ensure assertive outreach is able to offer people what they need.</p>
<p>Third is a flexible model of integrated social support and health care for people after they are housed. The ongoing support needs to be driven by the tenant, not mandated, and available for as long as required.</p>
<h2>Action saves money</h2>
<p>When we do not change our systems and practices to enable people sleeping rough to access housing, we waste money responding to the consequences of our failed policy decisions.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/supportive-housing-is-cheaper-than-chronic-homelessness-67539">Australian research</a> using government administrative data showed an average annual saving to government services of A$13,100 per person for ending their homelessness with permanent supportive housing. </p>
<p>When people are housed they use less criminal justice and health services than when living on the streets.</p>
<p>Given the evidence and technical knowledge we have for ending homelessness, it is important to consider whether charity models such as Beddown and others that offer temporary solutions run the risk of adverse unintended consequences.</p>
<p>The uncritical praise and celebration these endeavours attract can let governments off the hook for their responsibility to provide affordable housing to homeless people.</p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.feantsaresearch.org/download/think-piece-12032277176126500690.pdf" title="Charity and Justice: A Reflection on New Forms of Homelessness Provision in Australia">charitable measures can distract from work</a> to permanently end homelessness and they normalise homelessness as a social fact.</p>
<p>Furthermore, <a href="https://www.hpw.qld.gov.au/Housing/PartnershipInitiatives/DignityFirstFund/Pages/default.aspx">some of these models</a> receive direct government funding. </p>
<p>When reflecting on mattresses in car parks for people who are homeless, we need to ask ourselves, can we do better? The evidence shows we can.</p>
<h2>A lucky country for some</h2>
<p>The Australian government proudly proclaims our <a href="https://www.austrade.gov.au/International/Invest/Resources/Benchmark-Report">28 years of uninterrupted economic growth</a> as a record for developed nations.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us-news/en/articles/news-and-expertise/global-wealth-report-2018-us-and-china-in-the-lead-201810.html">Credit Suisse says</a> Australians have the highest median average wealth per adult in the world, ahead of Switzerland. </p>
<p>So we clearly have both the wealth and technical knowledge to end homelessness, particularly for the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/2049.0">estimated 8,200 people</a> the Australian Bureau of Statistics identified as sleeping rough on the 2016 Census night.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-triple-its-social-housing-by-2036-this-is-the-best-way-to-do-it-105960">Australia needs to triple its social housing by 2036. This is the best way to do it</a>
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<p>Providing mattresses in car parks may make volunteers and the public feel good, but we have to recognise that people who are homeless access this resource as charity recipients, who may feel inferior, especially when they cannot reciprocate.</p>
<p>If we don’t provide enough access to housing, one of the consequences is that people who are homeless become dependent on the goodwill of volunteers who provide bedding and washing facilities. </p>
<p>Rough sleepers need to be seen as people who require housing to enable them to control the conditions of their lives. Charities and their motivated volunteers are well positioned to innovate and push governments to do what they have otherwise been unwilling to do: create housing for all Australians.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125235/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cameron Parsell receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments, the Queensland Mental Health Commission, as well as St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland, The Salvation Army, and Micah Projects</span></em></p>Providing a bed for the night in a car park for people sleeping rough just treats them as a charity case. There are better ways to tackle homelessness.Cameron Parsell, Associate Professor, School of Social Science, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1200102019-07-09T20:13:25Z2019-07-09T20:13:25ZBegging ‘professionally’ doesn’t make their poverty and vulnerability any less legitimate<p>Last week, Victoria Police <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-05/melbourne-cbd-professional-beggars-charged-by-police/11280738">arrested</a> seven people who were alleged members of a professional begging “<a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/beggar-syndicate-in-melbourne-cbd/video/1a605477c4e0b25740ba2fa53101bd83">syndicate</a>”. They were flown in from China on tourist visas. </p>
<p>In reporting this story, Australian media generated a considerable amount of public <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/melbourne-beggars-arrested-alleged-chinese-syndicate-015137519.html">outrage</a>. The idea that people who beg are somehow “faking” homelessness or poverty is one often used in tabloid media. Add an element of foreignness, and this story appears especially scandalous. </p>
<p>Most of the time, accusations of so-called “professional” begging are misleading, intended to demonise those who beg as deceitful and to legitimise the vilification of people who beg and/or are homeless. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/carelessly-linking-crime-to-being-homeless-adds-to-the-harmful-stigma-117834">Carelessly linking crime to being homeless adds to the harmful stigma</a>
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<p>But in this case, it appears the label is accurate, or, more accurate than usual anyway. And given the commonalities shared by those arrested, such as age, nationality, and that they were reportedly living together in Melbourne’s CBD, there does appear to be a level of coordination involved. </p>
<p>Still, this doesn’t make their poverty and desperation any less legitimate, nor their exploitation more acceptable, and the use of criminal charges does not seem appropriate.</p>
<p>And given homelessness and begging are emotive issues prone to <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/rita-panahi/rita-panahi-aggressive-beggars-turning-melbourne-from-the-worlds-most-liveable-city-into-cesspit/news-story/e915040dcdb82e187ddd9c23afdea42c">hyperbole</a> and misinformation, this story highlights a few misconceptions worth addressing.</p>
<h2>There’s no such thing as ‘professional begging’ in the law</h2>
<p>In state law, there is no such thing as “professional begging”. Begging is a crime under Victoria’s <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/soa1966189/s49a.html">Summary Offences Act</a>, which makes no mention of “professionalism” or coordination other than to prohibit the procuring of a child to beg. </p>
<p>The people in this case have also been charged with possessing proceeds of crime. But this is only possible because begging, controversially, remains a criminal offence in Victoria, whereas other states have decriminalised the activity. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-didnt-want-to-be-homeless-with-a-baby-young-women-share-their-stories-of-homelessness-118180">'I didn’t want to be homeless with a baby': young women share their stories of homelessness</a>
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<p>What’s more, it has been <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/proceeds-of-crime-seizure-beggars-belief-20140820-3e109.html">alleged in the past</a>, but denied by the police, that Victoria Police has confiscated money from people begging in Melbourne. </p>
<h2>Being homeless has a broad definition</h2>
<p>Acting Inspector John Travaglini from Victoria Police stated that because those arrested were residing together, their claims of homelessness were “false” and “<a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2019/07/05/profeassional-begging-arrests/">deceitful</a>”. </p>
<p>But the majority of people experiencing homelessness in Australia do have access to some shelter – <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/2049.0">only a small proportion of the homeless sleep rough</a>. </p>
<p>As well as rough sleeping, homelessness in Australia involves being in situations that fall below the <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary%3Bdn%3D940302621%3Bres%3DIELAPA">minimum standard of housing</a>, such as couchsurfing, staying in bedsits, hostels or boarding houses, or in living arrangements that are unsafe or overcrowded. </p>
<p>Given those arrested were reportedly sharing the same accommodation, they may very well meet definitional criteria for homelessness.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-in-the-name-homeless-how-people-see-themselves-and-the-labels-we-apply-matter-69282">What’s in the name 'homeless'? How people see themselves and the labels we apply matter</a>
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<h2>You don’t need to be rough sleeping to beg</h2>
<p>Begging and rough sleeping are not the same thing. Some homeless people beg, others don’t. Some people who have somewhere to sleep engage in begging, because they are very poor or otherwise marginalised. </p>
<p>Those arrested had somewhere to sleep, but it doesn’t mean they are not extremely poor. </p>
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<p>Travaglini also claimed these people were not vulnerable, unlike others who beg. But the arrested individuals were aged in their late 60s and 70s, and allegedly flew to another country for the purpose of begging on the streets: they look pretty vulnerable to us. </p>
<p>So if the allegations are true, these people seem especially vulnerable. Think of the older Australians you know: how many would agree to be flown to China to beg on the streets there?</p>
<h2>Were criminal charges appropriate?</h2>
<p>Ten years ago, the idea of people flying to Australia to beg as a scheme to make money might have seemed unlikely. But in an increasingly globalised and connected world, poverty and vulnerability have fewer geographic limitations.</p>
<p>It’s likely that Australia, given its enviable standard of living and economic standing, will see more examples of these kinds of activities, not fewer. And how we respond to these kinds of events will have increasing importance in the years to come. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homelessness-soars-in-our-biggest-cities-driven-by-rising-inequality-since-2001-117833">Homelessness soars in our biggest cities, driven by rising inequality since 2001</a>
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<p>In this case, we certainly support an intervention into this seemingly exploitative situation. But we question the appropriateness of criminal charges for those deployed on the streets to beg. </p>
<p>Charges may be appropriate for those coordinating this apparent scheme. But, like society’s responses to illegal drug use, levelling criminal charges at those on the bottom rungs of the hierarchy is unlikely to address anything in a meaningful way.</p>
<p>There is often debate about whether you should give to people who beg, and people will likely come to their own conclusions on this. </p>
<p>What worries us is that stories such as these further entrench public perceptions of the homeless as criminal, and of the vulnerable as exploitative and, worse, potentially dangerous. </p>
<p>We urge that people, should they wish, continue to give donations to those who seek them, and, more crucially, to demand action on homelessness and poverty from their politicians. Because continued inaction on these issues, whatever form they take, is the true crime.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120010/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Last week seven people were arrested for being alleged members of a begging ‘syndicate’. Stories like this entrench public perceptions of the homeless as criminal.James Petty, Honorary Fellow in Criminology, The University of MelbourneAlison Young, Francine V. McNiff Professor of Criminology, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1178332019-05-29T19:47:45Z2019-05-29T19:47:45ZHomelessness soars in our biggest cities, driven by rising inequality since 2001<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276680/original/file-20190528-193544-j6g0ue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In 2001, around half of homeless people were found in capital cities. Today it's almost two-thirds.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pedestrians-on-sidewalk-homeless-hungry-pauper-1009639564?src=MzyJYa7N2QRxGJkn5cotTA-1-101&studio=1">Photographee.eu/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Homelessness has increased greatly in Australian capital cities since 2001. Almost two-thirds of people experiencing homelessness are in these cities, with much of the growth associated with severely crowded dwellings and rough sleeping. </p>
<p>Homelessness in major cities, especially severe crowding, has risen disproportionately in areas with a shortage of affordable private rental housing and higher median rents. Severe crowding is also strongly associated with weak labour markets and poorer areas with a high proportion of males. </p>
<p>These are some of the key findings of our Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/313">research released today</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australias-homelessness-problem-is-getting-worse-despite-a-rise-in-housing-stock-95926">Why Australia's homelessness problem is getting worse, despite a rise in housing stock</a>
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<p>Extending <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/238">previous</a> AHURI <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/227">work</a>, we combine 15 years (2001-2016) of homeless estimates from the Australian Census, other customised census and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/about-our-data/our-data-collections/specialist-homelessness-services-collection">Specialist Homelessness Service Collection (SHSC) data</a>.</p>
<p>People <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/2049.0Appendix12016?opendocument&tabname=Notes&prodno=2049.0&issue=2016&num=&view">counted as homeless</a> on census night live in: improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out (rough sleeping); supported accommodation; staying temporarily with other households (i.e. couch surfing); boarding houses; temporary lodging; or severely crowded conditions.</p>
<h2>How has the geography of homelessness changed?</h2>
<p>Nationally, 63% of all homelessness is found in capital cities. That’s up from 48% in 2001. </p>
<p><strong>Shares (%) of homelessness and population by area type</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276548/original/file-20190527-40016-1az8t4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276548/original/file-20190527-40016-1az8t4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276548/original/file-20190527-40016-1az8t4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276548/original/file-20190527-40016-1az8t4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276548/original/file-20190527-40016-1az8t4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276548/original/file-20190527-40016-1az8t4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276548/original/file-20190527-40016-1az8t4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276548/original/file-20190527-40016-1az8t4g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/313">Authors’ panel dataset (ABS Census homelessness estimates)</a></span>
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<p>At the same time, homelessness has been falling in remote and very remote areas. However, it still remains higher in these areas per head of population.</p>
<p>Homelessness is also becoming more dispersed across major cities. </p>
<p>In Sydney, a corridor of high homelessness rates stretches from the inner city westward through suburbs such as Marrickville, Canterbury, Strathfield, Auburn and Fairfield (more than 30km from the CBD).</p>
<p>In Melbourne, high homelessness rates are found in Dandenong (around 25km southeast of the CBD), Maribyrnong and Brimbank to the west, Moreland and Darebin to the north and Whitehorse to the east, about 15km from the CBD.</p>
<p><strong>Homeless rates in Australia 2016</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276549/original/file-20190527-40051-1ml3t0y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276549/original/file-20190527-40051-1ml3t0y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276549/original/file-20190527-40051-1ml3t0y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276549/original/file-20190527-40051-1ml3t0y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276549/original/file-20190527-40051-1ml3t0y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276549/original/file-20190527-40051-1ml3t0y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276549/original/file-20190527-40051-1ml3t0y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276549/original/file-20190527-40051-1ml3t0y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/313">Authors’ panel dataset (ABS Census homelessness estimates and TSP); ABS digital Statistical Geography Boundaries, SA3, 2016</a></span>
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<p>After accounting for population growth, we see a decline in homeless rates in the CBD and inner areas of Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and to an extent Brisbane over the 15 years. At the same time, homeless rates in outer urban areas have increased. In many regions this increase outpaced population growth.</p>
<p><strong>Change in homeless rate compared with population growth 2001–2016</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276550/original/file-20190527-40029-lj3kew.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276550/original/file-20190527-40029-lj3kew.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276550/original/file-20190527-40029-lj3kew.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276550/original/file-20190527-40029-lj3kew.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276550/original/file-20190527-40029-lj3kew.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276550/original/file-20190527-40029-lj3kew.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276550/original/file-20190527-40029-lj3kew.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276550/original/file-20190527-40029-lj3kew.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The highest growth in homeless rates is in those areas where rates increased by 40% or more (the top two deciles) from 2001–2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/313">Authors’ panel dataset (ABS Census homelessness estimates and TSP); ABS digital Statistical Geography Boundaries, SA3, 2016</a></span>
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<p>The numbers of households living in severely crowded dwellings in capital cities have doubled in 15 years, accounting for much of the growth in homelessness overall. In 2001, this group accounted for 35% of people experiencing homelessness, with 27% living in cities. By 2016, severe crowding rates had soared to 44% of all people experiencing homelessness, with 60% living in capital cities.</p>
<p><strong>Share of severe crowding by area type, 2001–2016</strong></p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276545/original/file-20190527-40047-13em759.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276545/original/file-20190527-40047-13em759.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276545/original/file-20190527-40047-13em759.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276545/original/file-20190527-40047-13em759.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276545/original/file-20190527-40047-13em759.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276545/original/file-20190527-40047-13em759.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276545/original/file-20190527-40047-13em759.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276545/original/file-20190527-40047-13em759.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/313">Authors’ panel dataset (ABS Census homelessness estimates)</a></span>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tracking-the-rise-of-room-sharing-and-overcrowding-and-what-it-means-for-housing-in-australia-107265">Tracking the rise of room sharing and overcrowding, and what it means for housing in Australia</a>
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<p>Rough sleeping has also transformed into an urban phenomenon — nearly half of all rough sleepers in Australia are now found in capital cities. </p>
<h2>What is driving these changes?</h2>
<p>Homelessness has risen disproportionately in areas with a shortage of affordable private rental housing and higher median rents. That’s especially the case in Sydney, Hobart and Melbourne. In capital city areas with a shortage of affordable private rentals in both 2001 and 2016, severe crowding grew rapidly (by 290.5%) against all homelessness growth (32.6%). </p>
<p><strong>Changes in share of homeless and population by city and region, 2001-16</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276693/original/file-20190528-193505-ytuxao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276693/original/file-20190528-193505-ytuxao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276693/original/file-20190528-193505-ytuxao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276693/original/file-20190528-193505-ytuxao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276693/original/file-20190528-193505-ytuxao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276693/original/file-20190528-193505-ytuxao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276693/original/file-20190528-193505-ytuxao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276693/original/file-20190528-193505-ytuxao.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=659&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/313">Authors' panel dataset (ABS Census homelessness estimates and TSP)</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The effects of rental affordability on homelessness rates still hold after controlling for other area characteristics. We also find that these rates are strongly correlated with higher shares of particular demographic groups in an area, including males, younger age groups, young families, those with an Indigenous or ethnic background, and unmarried persons.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/youth-homelessness-efforts-get-a-lowly-2-stars-from-national-report-card-113118">Youth homelessness efforts get a lowly 2 stars from national report card</a>
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<p>Severe crowding in capital cities is also strongly associated with weak labour markets and poorer areas with a high proportion of males. However, these associations do not hold for severe crowding in remote areas. </p>
<h2>What should governments and services do?</h2>
<p>The way <a href="https://theconversation.com/aim-for-cities-of-all-sizes-to-give-everyone-a-fair-go-94657">our cities</a> are <a href="https://theconversation.com/rapid-growth-is-widening-melbournes-social-and-economic-divide-117244">becoming more unequal</a> over time is shaping the changes in the geography of homelessness.</p>
<p>Governments must find ways to urgently increase both the supply and size of affordable rental dwellings for people with the lowest incomes. We also require better integration of planning, labour, income support and housing policies targeted to areas of high need.</p>
<p>Rates of severe crowding remain highest in remote areas, and continued efforts to increase housing supply in remote areas, such as the <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/housing/national-partnership-agreements">National Partnership on Remote Housing</a> (NPRH), are needed. Targeted responses are required to combat its growth in major cities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-in-ways-that-meet-the-needs-of-australias-remote-regions-106071">Building in ways that meet the needs of Australia’s remote regions</a>
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<p>It is critical that specialist homelessness services, as a first response to homelessness, are well located to respond in areas where demand is highest.</p>
<p>The AHURI report can be downloaded <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/313">here</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117833/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon Parkinson receives funding from the Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deb Batterham works as a Researcher for Launch Housing - a provider of Specialist Homelessness Services in Melbourne, Victoria. Deb received funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) for this research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret Reynolds receives funding from the Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute</span></em></p>Homelessness in Australia is increasingly concentrated in the capital cities, where nearly two in every three people without a home are now found. That’s the finding of a study of the data since 2001.Sharon Parkinson, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyDeb Batterham, PhD Candidate, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyMargaret Reynolds, Researcher, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1127152019-05-16T09:46:49Z2019-05-16T09:46:49ZHomeless people aren’t just sitting around – they actively strive to improve their lives<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274358/original/file-20190514-60557-mgsms5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/1130529974?src=iy_aGZ7F_kSPqeU97QrTxQ-1-6&size=medium_jpg">Kirk Fisher/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When I first met Daniel* in front of Shoreditch High Street station in London, I didn’t know how exhausting begging was. He was constantly moving, often through cold and rain. He addressed random passers-by all day long, mostly facing ignorance from their side if not verbal and physical aggression. He told me:</p>
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<p>Many people think, that if they give, that keeps me on the street – but it really makes life bearable. It’s not all about money … What I appreciate is respect. Respect and understanding make me feel like a human being. </p>
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<p>Daniel was hustling to survive – in search of resources, like money and food, but also respect. Begging is a means to this end and hard labour in every sense of the word, both physical and emotional. It isn’t just a passive activity of passing the time to get through the day but an active form of engagement that is often reflected on and thought through. As a long-term unemployed homeless person, it was one of the only ways for Daniel to survive. </p>
<p>This kind of activity – and others such as finding and making shelter – are forms of labour and work that are worth taking seriously, both in order to support people like Daniel on an immediate, personal level, and ultimately to adapt government policies accordingly.</p>
<h2>An active process</h2>
<p>Homelessness is exploding across the West. Rough sleeping in the UK alone has risen by <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/238700/homelessness_monitor_england_2018.pdf">almost 170% since 2010</a>. Altogether, <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/media/press_releases/articles/320,000_people_in_britain_are_now_homeless,_as_numbers_keep_rising">one in 200 people</a> is homeless in the UK. Similarly, in France, according to <a href="https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1281024">official government statistics</a>, the number of homeless people rose by 50% between 2001 and 2011.</p>
<p>Based on six years of <a href="https://cambridge.academia.edu/JohannnesLenhard">work on homelessness in London and Paris,</a> most recently two years of full-time fieldwork in the French capital, my research has tried to generate a bottom-up understanding of how homeless people survive and make a living. My research has shown me that most homeless people are not passively suffering but that they often actively try to make their lives better. Two examples of men – Pascal* and Carl* – help to demonstrate this.</p>
<p>Pascal, a Congolese man in his early 20s. I met him in Paris in summer 2015, and found he had a well thought-through daily work routine to earn money through begging. In the mornings, he was trying to catch the commuters coming into the Gare de l'Est. At lunchtime, he stood in front of a specific, busy boulangerie in the ninth arrondisement, a rather well-off residential area of the city. In the afternoon, he was at Gare de l’Est waiting for the trains bringing German tourists he could easily relate to in a language he speaks. </p>
<p>Pascal had developed these different spots where he could approach different groups – lunchgoers he would see several times a week, random but compassionate tourists, people that likely speak his language – with different tactics. For every group, Pascal also had a specific way of addressing them, a specific spiel touching on different points: he needed money for the train, or wanted to buy food, or to get himself a night in a shelter. He knew from experience that different groups are more likely to give when they hear a certain narrative. </p>
<p>Pascal was the norm rather than the exception of the homeless people I engaged with on the streets around the city’s train stations. For him and the others, begging was not just sitting around, but an active process of labour, often a first step to order and routine.</p>
<h2>Seeking shelter</h2>
<p>Homeless people also don’t blindly rely on social services for housing, a process that can take from months to years. Many of them actively choose spots, collect material and symbolically construct shelters for themselves within the cities they live in. Carl, a young German I met early in 2015 in Paris, was one of them.</p>
<p>“They call me the train man – even though I don’t even sleep there anymore. But I found it,” Carl explained to me with pride when I asked him about his shelter. He took me to see the train he was talking about, close to the metro stop Créteil in the south of Paris. It was an old inter-city train waiting to be moved to where it would eventually be recycled.</p>
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<p>This used to be my job – intelligence, finding things – and finding this train was easy. I just used Google maps, and a day later I started sleeping here … I just ripped out the old curtains and used them as a blanket. The compartments are perfect, a little home.</p>
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<p>The fact that the trains were easy to reach, less than 30 minutes from the Gare du Nord, and were available for stable intervals of time, made them the perfect mid-term shelters for people like Carl. Many others followed Carl to the train in the months after his discovery.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274365/original/file-20190514-60554-xgipu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274365/original/file-20190514-60554-xgipu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274365/original/file-20190514-60554-xgipu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274365/original/file-20190514-60554-xgipu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274365/original/file-20190514-60554-xgipu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274365/original/file-20190514-60554-xgipu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274365/original/file-20190514-60554-xgipu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Trying to make a home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dublin-ireland-august-23rd-2015-homeless-1239711826?src=CJ0pSTcD1KOAVGuL_rMheA-1-1">Barry Paterson/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>A different group of people I spoke to slept in a spacious parking lot under the banking district. Others preferred the security of a public place surveyed by the police such as the area directly around train stations. Most of them would come equipped with cardboard, blankets, duvets or plastic bags to keep their laundry and other utensils. All of them were actively trying to make a home on the street while being homeless.</p>
<p>Daniel, Pascal and Carl are only three of the many people I have observed over my years of working with people on the street. Many are struggling to survive within both physical and institutional structures which in many cases try to support them, but in many others keep them on the street.</p>
<p>Understanding the efforts these people go to to make their lives better will help institutions such as homeless charities, NGOs and government agencies to support them by building on their own efforts – rather than imposing new and at times alien initiatives on them.</p>
<p><em>*All names have been anonymised to protect the identity of interviewees.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112715/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johannes Lenhard currently receives funding from the University of Cambridge, the Isaac Newton Trust and the Max Planck Society. The research this article is based on was funded by the Cusanuswerk. </span></em></p>Whether it’s through begging or building shelters, homeless people are trying to make their lives better.Johannes Lenhard, Centre Coordinator and Post-doctoral Research Associate, Max Planck Centre Cambridge, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1111112019-02-04T14:28:40Z2019-02-04T14:28:40ZRough sleeping is on the decline, so why does it seem like there are more homeless on the streets?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257019/original/file-20190204-193226-kmsvud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C88%2C5861%2C3395&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nottinghamenglanduk-january-08th-2019-homeless-people-1278329659?src=B3fOfNdmN9rPo81TqZkcKw-1-48">Ian Francis/Shutterstock.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The latest official count of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2018">rough sleepers</a> across England found a 2% reduction from 2017 to 2018. But walking past snow-covered sleeping bags on the pavement of the UK’s major cities, it’s hard to believe that there’s been any improvement. </p>
<p>Context is important here: the total number of people estimated to be rough sleeping on a given night in 2018 is 4,677 – that’s 74 fewer people than the previous year. In cities where people move for work and opportunity, including London, Manchester and Birmingham, the figures are up - again. In any case, the count of rough sleepers should be approached with caution. These figures are only a snapshot, a head count taken in every local authority in England on a given night. </p>
<p>While it’s useful for councils to know, at a given point, how many people are homeless on the street, the data does not capture the movement of rough sleepers throughout the year, nor provide a clear picture of the number of people in need and what challenges they’re facing, such as poor physical and mental health, difficulties in accessing healthcare, education and employment and feelings of anxiety and hopelessness. </p>
<h2>A complex issue</h2>
<p>There are some areas where the number of rough sleepers in 2018 appeared to fall – drastically so in some cases. For example, in Brighton and Hove there were 114 fewer homeless people counted in 2018 than 2017, representing a 64% reduction. Yet in the London borough of Westminster, 306 people were counted sleeping rough – an increase of 41% from 2017. In my city, Leicester, the official count recorded is 31, the same figure as in 2017. </p>
<p>The overall picture is varied, so it’s tricky to pinpoint why the figures in some places improve while others worsen. It’s not just down to the cost of housing. In some areas, such as Westminster, where housing and living costs exceed wages and benefits income, the figures are high and rising. But in other cities with similar issues, homelessness is on the decline. </p>
<p>Funding certainly plays a role: as budgets for social housing and other public services have <a href="https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/9180">been drastically reduced</a> throughout the last decade of austerity. There’s been an increase in rough sleeping and <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/london_assembly_-_hidden_homelessness_report.pdf">hidden forms of homelessness</a> – such as young people sofa-surfing with friends - over the same period. </p>
<p>But there are pockets of funding targeted at reducing rough sleeping. In June 2018, the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) announced £30m of funding for <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-government-initiative-to-reduce-rough-sleeping">the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI)</a>, as a way of supporting 82 local authorities to reduce high numbers of people sleeping rough, before the count in November 2018. </p>
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<p>While there’s been a small reduction of 2% in the official snapshot figures, it’s not really possible to say whether this is the start of positive trend in reducing street homelessness. For example, both Westminster and Brighton received targeted funding, but experienced very different outcomes. </p>
<p>In reality, the RSI funding will take time to affect the lives of people with such complex needs. It’s a welcome injection of funding for a sector that has faced relentless government cuts. But this short-term fix is unlikely to end rough sleeping any time soon. </p>
<h2>The people behind the numbers</h2>
<p>Funding is absolutely necessary to address homeless people’s range of needs – but it’s not the only factor. Getting to know the people behind the numbers in the count – understanding their stories and how they came to be sleeping on the street – can help agencies understand some of the complex and varied issues that lead to homelessness. </p>
<p>A team led by De Montfort University did this in Leicester as part of the <a href="https://www.world-habitat.org/publications/the-european-end-street-homelessness-campaign/">European End Street Homelessness campaign</a>, which has been learning lessons from across the continent and drawing on experiences from the US, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45442596">where rough sleeping</a> is a huge problem. We worked together with students at the university and a range of public sector and charity colleagues. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homelessness-how-other-countries-can-avoid-a-us-style-crisis-106010">Homelessness: how other countries can avoid a US-style crisis</a>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.dmu.ac.uk/research/research-faculties-and-institutes/business-and-law/lgru/housing/end-street-homelessness-in-leicester.aspx">report published in November 2017</a> recorded the number of people sleeping rough on the night of the government count (31). But it also included much more detailed survey questions, which explored the experiences of each homeless person. These allowed us to learn about the cumulative issues which had led people to sleep on the street. Many had experienced health problems and trauma. </p>
<p>Hearing these stories can help councils and charities to work out what sort of housing and assistance will work in the long term, to reduce the chance of people becoming homeless again. It can also give communities, media and local authorities the means to get rid of the stigma around homelessness, better understand the causes and target resources and support to help people off the streets. </p>
<p>Our project helped to secure RSI funding for the city, prompted the creation of the new <a href="http://leicestercathedral.org/leicesters-homelessness-charter-launched-at-the-cathedral/">Leicester Homelessness Charter</a> and a longer term research partnership, to consider the benefits of a <a href="https://www.homeless.org.uk/sites/default/files/site-attachments/Housing%20First%20in%20England%20The%20Principles.pdf">“housing first” approach</a>, which provides a stable home and personalised support to help homeless people stay off the streets.</p>
<p>Getting to know the particular issues and stories that can lead to homelessness is vital to connecting homeless people to the right kind of help, and ultimately reducing or ending street homelessness. Projects such as the European End Street Homelessness Campaign provide a structured way to do that, for each local area. With the announcement of a 2% reduction in rough sleeping, it’s now more important than ever to keep learning the detail about homeless people’s experience, and acknowledge the complexity behind the headline figures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111111/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Richardson is a member of the board of Trustees at World Habitat. </span></em></p>Homelessness in the UK has been rising for a decade – short term funding may have offered respite, but it won’t lead to long term solutions.Jo Richardson, Professor of Housing and Social Research, De Montfort UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1088402018-12-17T12:17:22Z2018-12-17T12:17:22ZHomelessness: why new statistics are probably underestimating the problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250664/original/file-20181214-185243-1qkkxvg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/711609322?src=cgYUGvxxiAMYXuaqHoBkNg-1-50&size=medium_jpg">Tana888/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It appears there was dramatic increase in homelessness in England in 2018. The latest <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statutory-homelessness-in-england-april-to-june-2018">figures</a> from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) appear to paint a bleak picture. They show a 5% rise in the number of households placed in temporary accommodation, from 78,540 in June 2017, to 82,310 in June 2018. Of these households, 61,480 were families with children.</p>
<p>But the MHCLG stressed that these are experimental statistics and should be treated with caution. Their publication coincides with new duties under the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/13/contents/enacted">Homelessness Reduction Act 2017</a> to prevent and relieve homelessness, which require local authorities to intervene earlier in cases of threatened homelessness. </p>
<p>Heather Wheeler, minister for homelessness, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-43288585/heather-wheeler-to-resign-if-rough-sleeping-gets-worse">who promised to resign</a> if rough sleeping increases on her watch said the statistics suggest the new prevention and relief duties <a href="https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/councils-take-on-homelessness-reduction-act-duties-for-58660-households-59510">are effective</a>.</p>
<p>But our ongoing research into the new law shows this is disingenuous. The MHCLG has long known that the way it is recording data on homelessness is inadequate. Local authorities have been warning officials that a new national data collection process, called the <a href="https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/H_CLIC_v1.4.1_guidance.pdf">Homeless Case Level Information Centre</a> (H-CLIC), is ineffective since it went live in April.</p>
<p>The new homelessness figures for April to June 2018 are the first aggregated reports based on this new system. Entire local authorities have failed to return data for this period. For many others their returns are incomplete or contain errors because they haven’t yet got to grips with the new system. The new statistics are likely to under-represent how many people were homeless in this period.</p>
<h2>Measuring need</h2>
<p>Measuring homelessness is hard and understanding the causes of homelessness is even more complex. So we really need good data. Good data enables housing providers and local authorities to establish whether their interventions are effective, government to monitor the effectiveness of homelessness legislation and the public to have confidence that money invested in homelessness is being spent wisely.</p>
<p>Even before the Homelessness Reduction Act was proposed, the Statistics Agency <a href="https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publication/statistics-on-homelessness-and-rough-sleeping-in-england-department-for-communities-and-local-government/">reported in 2015</a> that reporting on homelessness was no longer fit for purpose. The new H-CLIC requires local authorities to submit records on homelessness cases they deal with as they progress. As a result, the MHCLG is now collecting vastly more information than under the old system of quarterly reports, but this is taking up a lot more time of frontline workers.</p>
<p>As H-CLIC began, many local authorities chose to transfer all data recording onto the new system. This means they have no internal reports of how many people present to them as homeless, which legal duties they owe to them, and how those cases are progressing. MHCLG now generate these reports at local and national level and has only just released aggregated reports on data submitted for April to June 2018. </p>
<p>In the past, local authorities used their internal reports to plan services. Those local authorities that didn’t anticipate there would be a delay in receiving reports under the new system have struggled to identify where to spend money to relieve and prevent homelessness.</p>
<p>This problem is likely to continue unless significant investment is made in either the technology underpinning H-CLIC or in training frontline staff to complete their data returns. At the moment, even MHCLG acknowledges the data collected under the new system is incomplete and unreliable.</p>
<h2>A ‘shambles’</h2>
<p>H-CLIC has been supported by an <a href="https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/HCLIC-FAQs-v2.0-2.pdf">additional £3m investment</a> from central to local government. But this translates to slightly over £9,000 to each of the 326 local authorities in England and Wales. Local authorities have typically used the money to purchase upgrades to their existing software, but these clumsy solutions don’t mesh well with the centralised MHCLG database authorities must upload their data to. </p>
<p>This creates substantial additional problems, from confusion over what information should be recorded, to arduous hours spent rectifying submissions so MHCLG’s system will accept case reports. Managers and advisers are being forced to invest significant amounts of time simply getting to grips with the technical aspects of the system, without any training. </p>
<p>Senior managers have described the process to us as “shambolic” and “endless”. This will only get worse next year when the MHCLG starts trying to collect the names and addresses of clients. Due to the complexity of new data protection laws, the collection of this personal data about homeless applicants has been <a href="https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/HCLIC_Sept_2018.pdf">postponed until further notice</a>.</p>
<p>Local authorities do recognise the advantages the new reporting system will bring in the long term. Their concern is that the abrupt transition to the new data gathering system will make monitoring the impact of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 impossible. But far worse, the effect of this “shambles” will drastically affect local authorities’ ability to plan and commission services to help homeless people. This could affect the numbers of people able to access homelessness services in 2020 and beyond.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108840/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nell Munro is trustee of Faith, Hope and Enterprise, a supported housing provider in Derby and Derbyshire.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carla Reeson receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>Shambolic rollout of new recording system for people at risk of homelessness means statistics shouldn’t be trusted.Nell Munro, Assistant Professor in Law, University of NottinghamCarla Reeson, PhD Researcher in Law, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1014822018-08-14T15:06:30Z2018-08-14T15:06:30ZIt takes more than a house to make a home – and the UK is out of policy ideas on how to build more<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231880/original/file-20180814-2897-1h7tw4m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sarflondondunc/2878440813/sizes/l">Sarflondondunc/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What makes a home? A safe dwelling – a roof – is a good start, but it takes much more than bricks and mortar. Support for individuals and families, good quality repairs and maintenance, affordable rents and proximity to community and resources help to make and sustain a “home”. It’s also dependent on a secure and accessible physical structure to dwell in – and the UK just don’t have enough of these that people can afford to buy or rent.</p>
<p>The Conservative government made two announcements in August about homelessness and social housing. First came a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-rough-sleeping-strategy">rough sleeping strategy</a> and budget – which it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/13/may-urged-to-go-further-in-plan-to-end-rough-sleeping-by-2027">quickly became clear</a> was “reprioritised”, rather than new money. This takes a small step on the road to deal with the issue of homelessness. But there need to be large strides of leadership, money and joined-up policy to reach the aim of ending rough sleeping by 2027. This is an ambitious aim and it needs ambitious measures. </p>
<p>Government statistics show an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/25/rough-sleeper-numbers-in-england-rise-for-seventh-year-running">estimated 4,751 people</a> sleeping on the streets. These figures are based on a snapshot overnight count, or an estimate from local authorities in autumn 2017, and may well not show the true extent of rough sleeping. The figures certainly do not reflect the growing crisis of homelessness more broadly. </p>
<p>Homelessness is a complex, multifaceted issue. It’s a community challenge which requires a joined up response, not a problem that can be solved on an individual level. While individual reasons for homelessness will vary, the scale of it reflects a structural social policy failure. And yet, there is a stigma associated with homelessness that lays blame on individuals and makes assumptions about their character. </p>
<p>From research that digs deep and gets to know each person by name, asks about their lives before they were on the street, it’s clear that this could happen to any one of us. Research I conducted in November 2017 as part of the European End Street Homelessness campaign in Leicester, <a href="http://www.dmu.ac.uk/research/research-faculties-and-institutes/business-and-law/lgru/housing/end-street-homelessness-in-leicester.aspx">surveyed 93 homeless people</a> over a week of “connecting” – talking to people to find out their histories and stories. </p>
<p>Of those we spoke to, 40% said that their current period of homelessness had been caused by a traumatic experience, such as domestic violence, or some other kind of physical or emotional abuse. Other people we talked to had a range of physical and mental health issues and there were some examples where respondents had a complex mix of physical, mental and substance abuse issues. </p>
<h2>Green shoots or dashed hopes?</h2>
<p>The government also recently launched a widely anticipated <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/social-housing-green-paper-a-new-deal-for-social-housing">Social Housing Green Paper</a>. This was a chance for the new housing minister, Kit Malthouse, to offer a fresh and meaningful policy agenda to address a growing crisis. The document recognised the need for good quality housing and regulation of providers – in the wake of the tragic <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/grenfell-tower-39675">Grenfell Tower fire</a>. But it didn’t seem to recognise the scale of the negative impact of the Right to Buy (RTB) policy, with <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/right-to-buy-council-homes-sold-off-private-landlords-rent-tory-cap-a8189881.html">thousands of homes</a> sold each year and not being replaced, on the quantity of properly affordable social housing stock. The Green Paper does however note that something needs to change to deliver more homes and says the government will consider allowing councils to hold RTB receipts for longer and to raise the borrowing cap.</p>
<p>Government policy continues not to engage with the basic ingredient of home – a secure, affordable and accessible dwelling. It proposes league tables to rank housing organisations as one measure to increase quality – an inadequate response to the totality of Britain’s stark affordable housing shortage. Quality is, of course, important, but so is actual house building in times of acute affordable housing shortage. It is this lack of quality, secure, affordable housing to help people create homes that has cast a shadow over government policy which offers little light for the future of social housing delivery. </p>
<p>Malthouse, defended the Green Paper <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bf4c6g">in an interview</a> with the BBC, but admitted that again only 6,000 houses for social rent will be built in 2019 – he conceded to the interviewer that this might be the lowest number ever. There are “enormous waiting lists” he agreed, but continued to focus on the “stigma” of social housing for existing tenants rather than looking at the massive latent demand for social house building.</p>
<h2>Creating social homes</h2>
<p>In research for a forthcoming book on the meaning of home, I focus on the conditions necessary to create and support a home – including strong government leadership, finance and planning to build sufficient dwellings. These conditions go way beyond just the physical structure of a roof – they include security, safety, quality, privacy, connectedness and affordability. But they are dependent on the physical construction of housing.</p>
<p>The frustration of the government’s recent announcements is that there doesn’t seem to be recognition of the urgency for government-led structural support through funding, policy and legislation, to build houses for people to make their homes. The money and the ideas are not new – ideas on increasing quality are welcome but are only a small and partial response to what is needed. Let’s be bold – don’t raise the borrowing cap a little – abolish it. Until like for like replacements are built for social housing, then a more drastic suspension of the sale of affordable homes is needed to halt the decimation of social stock. What needs to happen is a rebuilding of social housing, not just a rethink of it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101482/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Richardson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New policies on social housing and rough sleeping offer little fresh thinking on how to solve Britain’s housing shortage.Jo Richardson, Professor of Housing and Social Research, De Montfort UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/981712018-06-20T20:07:43Z2018-06-20T20:07:43ZTake heart, charity stunts can make CEOs better people<p>Thousands of CEOs across the country will sleep “rough” tonight to raise money for homelessness. But is one night of sleeping rough enough to truly empathise with those who do it every night? And are CEOs who take part in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout just doing it as a self-serving PR stunt?</p>
<p>It’s easy to be cynical about fundraising campaigns and the sincerity of those who participate in them. As marketing researchers, we wanted to know what impact, if any, active campaigns like the Vinnies CEO Sleepout have on participants. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeless-numbers-will-keep-rising-until-governments-change-course-on-housing-93417">Homeless numbers will keep rising until governments change course on housing</a>
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<p>Our study, consisting of interviews with CEOs who took part in the sleepout in Sydney, found participants were quite affected. In fact, the impact of the sleepout extended beyond money raised and beyond the event itself. Besides affecting CEOs on an emotional level, many reported taking practical measures to change things in their companies to prevent homelessness. </p>
<h2>Our study</h2>
<p>The annual <a href="https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/">Vinnies CEO Sleepout</a> is usually held on one of the coldest and longest nights of the year in many of Australia’s big cities. The fundraising event sees business and community leaders as well as government officials sleep outdoors. The purpose is to gain an understanding of the experience of homelessness firsthand, and to raise money for homelessness. </p>
<p>Not all the CEOs who participate are from the top end of town or have access to unlimited funds. Many are owner-operators, or CEOs of a small company. Some have experienced homelessness themselves.</p>
<p>We interviewed 22 CEOs and high-level executives between February and August 2017 who had participated in the Sydney sleepouts over the years. Some were first-timers, while others had been participating since the event started in Western Sydney in 2006. </p>
<p>Previous <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2864937/">studies</a> have shown that an act of compassion requires the individual performing the act to first understand then empathise with the plight of another. Many of the participants we spoke to had experienced this understanding. </p>
<p>One CEO talked of what he’d learnt from the personal stories of speakers at the sleepout:</p>
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<p>Knowledge – the facts, the figures and the realisation that they’re just normal human beings, who’ve had the misfortune of losing a job, whole family disintegrates, mental illness as well. That changed me personally.</p>
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<p>For other CEOs, the experience of sleeping rough for a night, in the middle of winter, is a reality check, which increased their empathy:</p>
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<p>One year it rained, and I woke up and literally had to peel the cardboard off my face. I thought – that’s what it’d be like every night. Freezing, raining. And not feeling safe. If I had to do this day in, day out – how on earth could I get myself out of this downward spiral?</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-in-the-name-homeless-how-people-see-themselves-and-the-labels-we-apply-matter-69282">What’s in the name 'homeless'? How people see themselves and the labels we apply matter</a>
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<h2>Bigger changes</h2>
<p>All of the CEOs we interviewed had taken steps to effect change, to varying degrees. Some did it at home – such as by getting their family together to volunteer on food vans that feed homeless people or reaching out to a friend with depression. Another reported talking to homeless people when previously they would have just walked past.</p>
<p>Other acts were on a larger scale. Around a third of those we interviewed made changes in their organisation. Moir Group director Stephen Moir restructured his company’s charitable commitments to help the homeless find jobs:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’re a recruitment company, and we give our time and experience to help them (homeless men and women) find work. Everybody in our business contributes. At workshops, at the shelter. It’s not forced. It’s embedded in our organisation. And we’ve helped more than 30 homeless people find a job.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Apollo Joinery Group CEO Peter Bader changed the way he relates to his staff.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s changed how I talk to employees, in disciplinary committees and the like. Whatever support our staff need, we give it to them.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Abergeldie Complex Infrastructure executive director Greg Taylor changed employee support services:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>After the sleepout, we added an employee support program. Any employee can call this anonymous hotline and get free support – marital stress, mental stress, health disorders. We pay for it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Since the event began, thousands of CEOs have taken part, so 22 research participants may seem a small sample size. But the appropriate sample size in qualitative research is far lower than survey research. The number of in-depth interviews we conducted is <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1525822X16640447">considered adequate</a> to gain an understanding of the theme explored.</p>
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<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-do-about-30-of-homeless-people-have-a-job-95514">FactCheck Q&A: do 'about 30% of homeless people have a job'?</a>
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<p>For the 2018 CEO Sleepout, 1,500 CEOs and business leaders will sleep out across the country to raise funds for Vinnies’ homelessness services. So far, this year’s event has raised close to A$4.3 million. </p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-010-0626-7">Research</a> indicates CEOs are in a strong position to influence the social responsibility programs of an organisation. And it seems some charity events can drive CEOs to make changes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98171/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aila Khan received a research grant from Magnetite, a retrofit double glazed windows manufacturer. She is affiliated with the Australian Board of Shaukat Khanum, a cancer hospital which is based in Lahore, Pakistan.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacki Montgomery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s easy to be cynical about charity drives like the Vinnies CEO Sleepout. Are they just PR stunts or can they make a difference beyond fundraising? Our study shows they can, and they do.Jacki Montgomery, Lecturer, Advertising and Media, Western Sydney UniversityAila Khan, Lecturer in Marketing, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/972272018-06-12T09:02:39Z2018-06-12T09:02:39ZAutistic people at greater risk of becoming homeless – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222603/original/file-20180611-191965-1hwwoed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/home">via shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tony had lived on the streets for 45 years, and in recent years had become increasingly physically unwell. Despite this he refused all offers of help, and it became clear to his support workers that he found social engagement of any kind very distressing. It was only when it was recognised that he had autism that staff were able to adapt their approach to support him to move off the streets into a hostel.</p>
<p>There has been little focus on whether autistic people might be over-represented among the homeless population. Autism <a href="http://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is.aspx">is a condition characterised</a> by differences in the way the brain develops, with autistic people showing difficulties with social skills, unusual sensory processing, and a tendency towards inflexibility and restricted interests. </p>
<p>Many autistic people, given the right support, live full and satisfying lives. Unfortunately, such support is often lacking, and many autistic adults <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22546059">struggle to find sustainable employment and housing</a>.</p>
<p>My colleagues Alasdair Churchard, Morag Ryder, Andrew Greenhill and I thought that this might make them more at risk of becoming homeless. And that’s what we found in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29633853">a new study</a>. </p>
<p>We did not try to reach confirmed, clinical diagnoses of autism, as this requires an extensive assessment involving family members, which would be impractical for most homeless people. Instead we focused on collecting data about autistic symptoms among homeless people based on in-depth interviews with their keyworkers. In this way we surveyed all the homeless people who used a specific service in one area of a British inner city area, allowing us to arrive at the first systematic estimate of whether or not autism may be over-represented among the homeless.</p>
<h2>Autistic traits more prevalent</h2>
<p>Of the 106 homeless people we screened, 13 showed strong signs of autistic traits that would be consistent with an autism diagnosis. At 12.3% this is a much higher proportion than the 1% of people in the general population <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/epidemiology-of-autism-in-adults-across-age-groups-and-ability-levels/D4F48E07D1002DE6F75A67FF9A4FFCF7">who are autistic</a>. Our findings strongly suggest that autistic people have an elevated risk of homelessness.</p>
<p>Homeless people in general are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4520328/">much more likely</a> to have a mental health condition. Before we carried out this research we were concerned that our interviews might pick up on mental health difficulties in general, rather than specifically autistic traits. For example, if a person does not make eye contact, this could be due to autism, but it might also reflect underlying psychotic difficulties, depression or substance misuse. </p>
<p>But, the traits identified by the interviews were usually markedly autistic. For instance, one person we screened made lists of obscure musicians and had a large collection of broken electronics. This seemed to be a clear example of a tendency towards fixated interests, a characteristic of autism. Another person was described as talking like a character from a 19th-century novel, an example of the autistic tendency towards having unusual intonation and using scripted language.</p>
<p>We found important differences between the homeless people who had autistic traits and those who didn’t. Those with autistic traits were less likely to have substance abuse problems, and more likely to be socially isolated. These are characteristics that we would predict to see in autistic people.</p>
<h2>Services designed to help</h2>
<p>Our findings stress the need to protect autistic people from the risk of homelessness. Investment in a greater range of meaningful services for this group is vital to ensure that they are less likely to have problems with employment and in finding sustainable accommodation. </p>
<p>It also seems likely that there is insufficient awareness of autism in those local government services which are meant to help people avoid becoming homeless. This may mean that autistic people aren’t receiving the necessary support when they are at risk of homelessness. Relatively simple measures might help them to engage with services or prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place. For example, this could be taking account of an autistic person’s sensory needs: if an autistic person gets overwhelmed by bright lights, something as simple as giving them the option of meeting in a dimly lit environment would help. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222602/original/file-20180611-191940-1j79hrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222602/original/file-20180611-191940-1j79hrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222602/original/file-20180611-191940-1j79hrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222602/original/file-20180611-191940-1j79hrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222602/original/file-20180611-191940-1j79hrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222602/original/file-20180611-191940-1j79hrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222602/original/file-20180611-191940-1j79hrb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Support services should consider how to offer support for people with autism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/warm-food-poor-homeless-462894340?src=1W_n-daq4BOjxd0-4tKSDg-1-17">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Our research also suggests that autistic homeless people need tailored support that acknowledges their specific pattern of strengths and difficulties. There is anecdotal evidence that this can be effective. Tony, the man who had been on the street for 45 years, was helped to stop rough sleeping through specific interventions designed to take account of his autism. He was given a room in a smaller hostel where there were fewer people and less noise, and where he was not expected to attend any extended meetings or assessments. Where previously he might have rejected support and returned to rough sleeping, in this autism-friendly context, he was able to maintain his accommodation.</p>
<p>There are many more people like Tony who have not been recognised as autistic, and so are not able to access the help they need to get off the streets. We hope that our work will be a first step to quantifying and addressing this previously unrecognised issue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97227/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Mandy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Autistic people have an elevated risk of homelessness, according to a new study.William Mandy, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/953762018-05-14T20:18:28Z2018-05-14T20:18:28ZHomelessness: Australia’s shameful story of policy complacency and failure continues<p>Exactly a decade ago in 2008, the Australian government committed to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjj66G3ueHaAhVHzbwKHeCxATAQFggpMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fcm%2Flb%2F4895838%2Fdata%2Fthe-road-home---a-national-approach-to-reducing-homelessness-data.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3EBmu0AS2VhmugTUkzgMR_">an ambitious strategy</a> to halve national homelessness by 2020. Through stepped-up early intervention, better homelessness services and an expanded supply of affordable housing, the problem would be tackled with conviction. Instead, as succeeding governments regrettably abandoned the 2008 strategy, homelessness in Australia has been on the rise. </p>
<p>Last week’s federal budget offered no response to this concern. And the problem is fast getting worse, as highlighted in our new <a href="https://www.launchhousing.org.au/AustralianHomelessnessMonitor">Australian Homelessness Monitor</a>, prepared for independent community organisation Launch Housing. Emulating <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/homelessness-monitor/">a respected UK annual monitoring project</a>, this report is a comprehensive national analysis of the state of homelessness in Australia together with the potential policy, economic and social drivers of the trends across the country.</p>
<p>Recently published <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2049.0Main+Features12016?OpenDocument">2016 Census statistics</a> showed a 14% increase in overall homelessness in Australia since 2011. That’s well ahead of the nation’s <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3101.0Main%20Features2Sep%202017?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3101.0&issue=Sep%202017&num=&view=">population growth rate</a>. </p>
<p>Our major cities have seen much larger rises in homelessness. Recent increases have been especially big in Sydney (up 48% since 2011), Darwin (up 36%) and Brisbane (up 32%).</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeless-numbers-will-keep-rising-until-governments-change-course-on-housing-93417">Homeless numbers will keep rising until governments change course on housing</a>
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<p>Concerningly, the numbers of people sleeping rough have been growing particularly fast. This, the most visible and extreme form of homelessness, grew nationally by 20% over the 2011-2016 period. </p>
<p>Although offset by periodic rehousing initiatives for long-term street homeless, five-year increases in the municipalities of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide have exceeded the national trend. This was especially true <a href="https://theconversation.com/ban-on-sleeping-rough-does-nothing-to-fix-the-problems-of-homelessness-71630">in Melbourne</a>. The <a href="http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/news-and-media/Pages/streetcount-h.%20ighlights-number-of-people-sleeping-rough.aspx">2016 City of Melbourne count</a> showed numbers <a href="http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/health-support-services/social-support/Pages/streetcount.aspx">jumped by more than 200%</a> over this period.</p>
<h2>Why are the numbers soaring?</h2>
<p>As <a href="https://www.launchhousing.org.au/AustralianHomelessnessMonitor">our report</a> this year highlights, many policies, or policy failures, are implicated in these trends. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>social security system changes, such as shifting welfare benefit recipients onto lower payments with more conditions of eligibility, and increased <a href="http://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/ideas-for-australia-welfare-reform-needs-to-be-about-improving-well-being-not">“sanctioning” of claimants</a> </p></li>
<li><p>incremental long-term impacts of <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-budget-standards-show-just-how-inadequate-the-newstart-allowance-has-become-82903">inadequate welfare indexation</a>, which have increasingly eroded the ability of lower-income Australians to afford decent housing</p></li>
<li><p>criminal justice policies that are <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4512.0">increasing the prison population</a>, which leads to a rising rate of prison discharge – a moment when the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-can-put-a-stop-to-the-revolving-door-between-homelessness-and-imprisonment-91394">risk of homelessness is high</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Such developments are critical in a housing market where, by international standards, <a href="http://www.oecd.org/social/affordable-housing-database.htm">subsidised social housing provision is minimal</a>. This means the vast majority of Australia’s lower-income population must depend on an increasingly stressed private rental sector in which the <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/241">stock of low-cost homes is dwindling</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-do-about-30-of-homeless-people-have-a-job-95514">FactCheck Q&A: do 'about 30% of homeless people have a job'?</a>
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<p>Partly as a result, ABS statistics <a href="https://www.launchhousing.org.au/AustralianHomelessnessMonitor">cited in our report</a> show the proportion of low-income tenants in rental stress has risen from 35% to 44% over the past decade nationally. In New South Wales, it has risen from 43% to 51%. In Victoria, the figure rose from 32% to 47% over the decade.</p>
<p>The geographical pattern of recent homeless changes shows the housing market is driving these changes. Our report finds increases in homelessness have generally been much more rapid in capital cities. Non-metropolitan areas have recorded much lower growth rates, or even reductions.</p>
<p>In another pointer to housing market impacts, increases in homelessness have tended to be higher in the large eastern states. These are the states where economies and property markets have been relatively strong over the past few years. In South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia, where these factors have been less evident, the rate of homeless growth has been lower. </p>
<p>So, overall numbers were up by 53% in inner Sydney (2011-2016), but rose by a more modest 21% in Hobart. In contrast, homeless numbers fell by over 30% in remote South Australia and Western Australia.</p>
<h2>Governments have let this happen</h2>
<p>Despite these stark trends, recent Australian governments, while footing the bill for homelessness services rising well ahead of inflation, have presided over cuts in social and affordable housing. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-reboot-affordable-housing-funding-not-scrap-it-72861">Australia needs to reboot affordable housing funding, not scrap it</a>
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<p>In its 2014 budget, the Abbott government <a href="https://www.budget.gov.au/2014-15/content/bp2/html/bp2_expense-21.htm">cancelled the National Rental Affordability Scheme</a>. This was Australia’s last national affordable housing construction program. </p>
<p>An increasingly underfunded social and affordable housing system leads to a burgeoning homelessness support system. The <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2017/housing-and-homelessness/homelessness-services">cost of emergency services</a> for those lacking homes has risen by 29% in real terms over the past four years. On its current path, the cost is set to exceed A$1 billion by 2020.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/at-budget-time-remember-we-all-live-in-subsidised-housing-26520">At budget time, remember we all live in subsidised housing</a>
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<p>Meanwhile, in the face of deteriorating public housing stock and intensifying shortage, social housing investment by state and territory governments <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2017/housing-and-homelessness/housing/rogs-2017-volumeg-chapter18-attachment.xlsx">has actually fallen by 7% since 2012-13</a>. </p>
<p>Five years ago, prior to the 2013 federal election, then opposition spokeswoman on housing Marise Payne <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/parties-offer-no-real-hope-for-the-many-homeless-20130810-2rov1.html">said</a> “the Coalition’s homelessness plan” was “to abolish the carbon tax, pay down Labor’s debt, generate one million jobs in the next five years and increase our collective wealth so all of us – individuals and charities – have the capacity to help the homeless and those most in need in areas where government is not always the answer”. </p>
<p>While placing faith in philanthropy, such sentiment is underpinned by a stubborn belief that we can rely on market forces to provide suitable and affordable housing for disadvantaged Australians – just as much as for all other citizens. It is clear from the latest statistics that the official approach moulded by this thinking has failed.</p>
<h2>What needs to be done?</h2>
<p>Looking to the future, the ongoing restructuring of private rental markets seems likely to keep pushing up the numbers of people subject to housing insecurity. The <a href="http://www.anglicare.asn.au/news-and-media/latest-news/2018/04/29/anglicare-australia-releases-rental-affordability-snapshot-the-rental-crisis-is-worse-than-ever">availability of affordable low-rent housing continues to contract</a>. </p>
<p>For any realistic chance of progress, the Australian government needs to reconfirm recognition of homelessness as a social ill that must not be ignored. It needs to re-engage with the problem, starting with a coherent strategic vision to reduce the scale of homelessness by a measurable amount within a defined period. And it needs to recommit to a level of government support that ensures enough social and affordable housing is provided to keep pace with growing need, at the very least. </p>
<p>Disappointingly, the federal budget provided no indication that such developments are in prospect. Yet squarely tackling Australia’s growing homelessness problem demands recognition that excluding people from safe, secure and affordable housing is effectively a <a href="https://theconversation.com/clearing-homeless-camps-compounds-the-violation-of-human-rights-and-entrenches-the-problem-82253">denial of citizenship</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95376/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hal Pawson receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and Launch Housing</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cameron Parsell receives funding from The Australian Research Council and Launch Housing. </span></em></p>A decade after the launch of a national campaign against homelessness, the trends are all going the wrong way. A new annual report highlights what’s gone wrong and what must be done.Hal Pawson, Associate Director - City Futures - Urban Policy and Strategy, City Futures Research Centre, Housing Policy and Practice, UNSW SydneyCameron Parsell, Research Fellow, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/919902018-02-19T10:47:55Z2018-02-19T10:47:55ZHow politicians can prevent more homeless people from dying on the streets<p>Politicians reacted with shock and sadness to <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/outcry-as-homeless-man-found-dead-on-parliaments-doorstep-at-westminster-tube-station-a3766926.html">the news that a homeless man</a> was found dead on February 14 at Westminster tube station, by the back entrance to the Houses of Parliament. </p>
<p>It has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/15/man-found-dead-london-tube-station-former-model-homeless-charity">reported</a> that the man, who was Portuguese, had been staying in one homeless shelter, but had outstayed the maximum time allowed there. So he was sleeping rough while waiting for another space in a shelter elsewhere. </p>
<p>The graphic, first-hand encounter with the actuality of homelessness has prompted calls from politicians for tough action to tackle rough sleeping. Little has been revealed of the immediate circumstances of this man’s death, but he is not the only homeless person to die on the streets. A study for the homelessness charity Crisis <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/236799/crisis_homelessness_kills_es2012.pdf">found that 1,731 homeless people died</a> in England between 2001 and 2009. </p>
<p>In 2017, there was a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/25/rough-sleeper-numbers-in-england-rise-for-seventh-year-running">15% rise</a> in the number of people sleeping rough in the UK – and Westminster was no exception. In autumn 2017, Westminster was the local authority with the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/676097/Rough_Sleeping_Autumn_2017_Statistical_Release.pdf">highest number of rough sleepers</a> in England – 217 people. </p>
<h2>Complex lives on the margins</h2>
<p>Politicians calling for further action should reflect on the failure of recent policies to prevent rough sleeping. For instance, short-term prisoners are still discharged to “no fixed abode” despite the 2014 <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/11/contents/enacted">Offender Rehabilitation Act</a>, which set up Community Rehabilitation Companies to support all prisoners on discharge, including help to secure accommodation.</p>
<p>My <a href="http://www.opportunitynottingham.co.uk/uploadedfiles/documents/29-1517312532-persistent_rough_sleeping_report._jan_18._opportunity_nottingham.pdf">recent research</a> in Nottingham revealed that persistent rough sleepers still face a complex set of needs. Rough sleepers who spent at least 10% of their nights on the streets in 2016-17, or who slept rough for part of the time during at least three out of the last six years, were more likely than other homeless people to need support for problematic substance use, mental ill health and offending. They were also more likely to have spent significant time in prison, and to have been evicted from accommodation or excluded from or refused services. </p>
<p>People disabled by negative experiences find themselves ill-equipped to negotiate what they encounter as an increasingly hostile system. That system currently offers a limited range of options in available hostels or affordable private rented accommodation. Even access to these options can be further thwarted by restrictions faced by homeless migrants on welfare benefits, or by accumulated debts or the strictures of a benefit system that might make begging appear a more rewarding source of income. </p>
<p>The very homelessness <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/52/contents">legislation</a> that was set up to respond to the needs of homeless people merely erects further barriers to rough sleepers. It fails to recognise them as “vulnerable” and denies them a connection to the local authority to which they are applying for assistance – even when they may be fleeing violence. Some people are also declared “intentionally homeless” if they refuse offers of accommodation out of fear.</p>
<h2>Carrying baggage</h2>
<p>People often ask why some rough sleepers reject help when it is offered, and the popular conclusion that is often drawn – even by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/03/windsor-council-calls-removal-homeless-people-before-royal-wedding">some politicians</a> – is that persistent rough sleepers are sleeping rough out of choice. </p>
<p>But sleeping on the streets is rarely the only problem that persistent rough sleepers have. Often they have a complex set of needs and experiences of domestic violence and personal victimisation. Many of them carry a baggage of negative risk assessments by people such as hostel staff that might have arisen from past anti-social behaviour, accumulated indebtedness, eviction, rejection, disqualification and disentitlement. Such assessments are recorded and shared among agencies locally, thereby barring people from whatever accommodation and other services that might be on offer. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, those without such a reputation often refuse offers of accommodation out of fear of who they might encounter, either in a hostel or in a particular neighbourhood where they would be housed. Or they may abandon such offers when their fears are justified by experiences of violence, exploitation or intimidation. They may also attach greater importance to a valued relationship with a partner or friend than to an offer of accommodation in which that person cannot be included. </p>
<p>In April, the new <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/13/contents/enacted">Homelessness Reduction Act 2017</a> will come into force. It brings new obligations on local authorities to prevent and relieve the situations of all homeless people, not just those in priority need and with a local connection. The government says it wants <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-lead-national-effort-to-end-rough-sleeping">to eliminate rough sleeping</a> by 2027. If politicians want to be true to their word, they must ensure local authorities have the resources to respond effectively to those who find themselves with no alternative to a life on the streets.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91990/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Graham Bowpitt works for Nottingham Trent University. He is under contract to evaluate Opportunity Nottingham, which is part of the Fulfilling Lives programme for adults with multiple needs, funded by the Big Lottery. He is also a Trustee for the Emmanuel House Support Centre in Nottingham.</span></em></p>A homeless man was found dead at Westminster station, on the doorstep of the Palace of Westminster.Graham Bowpitt, Reader in Social Policy, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/897062018-01-09T12:02:12Z2018-01-09T12:02:12ZIs homelessness a matter of choice?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200922/original/file-20180105-26145-mynu2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ahead of the royal wedding in May, the Conservative leader of Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead council, urged Thames Valley police to use their powers to clear the area around Windsor Castle of its expanding population of homeless people.</p>
<p>Simon Dudley’s letter to the police <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/03/windsor-council-calls-removal-homeless-people-before-royal-wedding">raised the perennial issue</a> of the extent to which homelessness is a matter of choice. He argued that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A large number of adults that are begging in Windsor are not in fact homeless, and if they are homeless they are choosing to reject all support services … In the case of homelessness amongst this group, it is therefore a voluntary choice.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Dudley’s comments were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/04/homeless-charities-windsor-crackdown-royal-wedding">criticised</a> by charities working with the homeless, and by the prime minister, Theresa May, who is MP for Maidenhead. </p>
<p>So how valid is the claim that some homeless people prefer a life on the streets, sleeping rough and begging, to some form of sheltered alternative?</p>
<p>The expanding numbers of homeless people is well-known. The government’s official measure of rough sleeping, based on an annual single night headcount, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/585713/Rough_Sleeping_Autumn_2016_Statistical_Release.pdf">increased</a> from 1,768 in 2010 to 4,134 in 2016. The growth is widespread and not limited to traditional urban hotspots, although the figure for Windsor and Maidenhead remained <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2016">fairly static</a> – at eight in autumn 2016, up from six the year before.</p>
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<p>Two issues are central to the debate about whether people choose to be homeless: the triggers that bring people on to the streets in the first place, and the duration of homelessness episodes. Both are changing in ways that reduce the amount of choice that homeless people have over their situations.</p>
<p>According to the most <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/667302/Statutory_Homelessness_and_Prevention_and_Relief_Statistical_Release_Jul_to_Sep_2017.pdf">recent figures</a> on statutory homelessness prevention and relief, the most rapidly expanding reason for homelessness for all households since 2010 is the ending of assured shorthold tenancies – the main tenancy agreements between a tenant and a private landlord. These last for between six and 12 months and can be ended by either party. </p>
<p>Tenancies end for a variety of reasons and homelessness need not be the immediate outcome. However, in the context of rising rents and the increasingly limited scope of housing benefit to cover the costs due to <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/the-benefit-cap/check-if-the-benefit-cap-applies-to-you/">caps imposed</a> by government austerity measures in recent years, tenants are frequently left with few options when a tenancy ends. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200919/original/file-20180105-26151-1eo7lz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200919/original/file-20180105-26151-1eo7lz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200919/original/file-20180105-26151-1eo7lz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200919/original/file-20180105-26151-1eo7lz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200919/original/file-20180105-26151-1eo7lz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200919/original/file-20180105-26151-1eo7lz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200919/original/file-20180105-26151-1eo7lz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Windsor Castle: where Harry and Meghan will marry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/home">Piotr Wawrzyniuk / Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Homeless for longer</h2>
<p>There is also further evidence from London that the expanding homeless population masks a more rapid increase in persistent homelessness. The Mayor of London’s <a href="https://files.datapress.com/london/dataset/chain-reports/2016-06-29T11:14:50/Greater%20London%20full%202015-16.pdf">report</a> from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network database for 2015-16 showed that while the total number of people seen sleeping rough by street outreach teams in the capital increased by 7%, the proportion who had also been seen the previous year increased by 15%. The proportion who were seen in more than one quarter of 2015-16 was 25% higher than the equivalent figure for 2014-15. In other words, people are staying on the streets for longer and are more likely to return to homelessness after brief periods of precarious temporary accommodation. </p>
<p>Once again, the primary factor is the diminishing range of affordable options, including hostel and rented accommodation as government funding for supporting single homeless people <a href="https://www.homeless.org.uk/sites/default/files/site-attachments/Support%20for%20Single%20Homeless%20People.pdf">has declined</a>. Some barriers are especially significant, such as a lack of preparation for discharge from <a href="http://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/11796/">prison</a> or <a href="https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/sites/healthwatch.co.uk/files/170715_healthwatch_special_inquiry_2015_1.pdf">hospital</a>, which can leave people reliant on informal sources of shelter.</p>
<p>It’s at this point that the issue of choice becomes especially acute, yet is frequently misunderstood. It’s often assumed that people who refuse offers of help must prefer to remain homeless. But choices are affected by the range of options on offer. A woman may prefer the relative safety of a partner on the streets to the risk of intimidation in a hostel, and very few emergency hostels will accommodate couples. And there is evidence of the <a href="http://www4.shu.ac.uk/research/cresr/ourexpertise/understanding-mental-health-needs-homeless-people-nottingham">increasingly complex needs</a> of the homeless population, especially greater levels of mental distress. People with mental health problems will decline offers of hostel places due to bad past experiences of exploitation and intimidation.</p>
<p>For political figures to promote the view that homeless people choose to be homeless is immensely damaging to homeless people and to those who work tirelessly to offer them humane choices. Many homeless people are made homeless by loss of accommodation and the inaccessibility of alternatives, but many others become or remain homeless because those alternatives pose a far greater threat to their well-being than a park bench or a shop doorway.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89706/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Graham Bowpitt receives funding from the Framework Housing Association in Nottingham to evaluate work with adults with multiple needs as part of the Fulfilling Lives Programme funded by the Big Lottery. He is a Reader in Social Policy at Nottingham Trent University. He is also a Trustee for the Emmanuel House Support Centre in Nottingham. </span></em></p>The leader of Windsor council wants the streets cleared of homeless people ahead of the royal wedding – saying some people are choosing to sleep rough.Graham Bowpitt, Reader in Social Policy, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/894632017-12-21T11:50:57Z2017-12-21T11:50:57ZThe UK can no longer remove EU citizens for sleeping rough – why this matters for Brexit<p>The Home Office is no longer able to treat rough sleeping by EU citizens as an abuse of their free movement rights. A December <a href="https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/r-gureckis-v-sshd-ors-20171214.pdf">ruling</a> by the High Court in a case brought by a Latvian man called Gunars Gureckis is both welcome and important. It puts paid – for the time being at least – to a government policy that exposed people to detention and <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-britain-can-deport-eu-citizens-according-to-the-law-86896">removal</a> for sleeping on the streets.</p>
<p>The policy was introduced in Home Office guidance in February 2017, though mention of it online was removed after the High Court ruling. But the very existence of the policy in the first place – and the fact the government still has the option of removing EU citizens for “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/668093/GI-EEA-admin-removal-v4.0EXT.pdf">failing to exercise”</a> their rights under EU law – demonstrates the ongoing vulnerability of people on the margins of society. </p>
<p>This has wider ramifications. In the same week that the Gureckis decision was delivered, the EU accepted that there had been <a href="http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/XT-20011-2017-INIT/en/pdf">“sufficient progress”</a> in Brexit negotiations, including on the issue of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-brexit-deal-means-for-eu-citizens-and-their-families-88901">EU citizens’ rights in the UK</a>, for talks to proceed to the next stage. Such progress was made, in part, because the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/joint_report.pdf">UK agreed</a> that all EU citizens living in the UK in accordance with <a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:158:0077:0123:en:PDF">EU free movement law</a> on exit day would be protected by a future withdrawal agreement. </p>
<p>But the Gureckis judgment shows that those EU rules can struggle to safeguard those most in need of their protection. It calls into question the appropriateness of relying on laws surrounding EU free movement as a reference point for securing EU citizens’ residence rights as Brexit approaches. Instead, those drafting the final deal must ensure that a variety of voices are heard as the UK withdrawal progresses – especially those of individuals who have long fallen through the safety net meant to apply to EU citizens in the UK. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Read more: <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-brexit-deal-means-for-eu-citizens-and-their-families-88901">What the Brexit deal means for EU citizens and their families</a></strong></em> </p>
<hr>
<p>The High Court held that although <a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:158:0077:0123:en:PDF">EU law allows</a> member states to withdraw EU citizens’ residence rights in cases of “abuse”, this does not include rough sleeping. EU citizens <a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:158:0077:0123:en:PDF">are able to stay</a> in the UK for the first three months after entry if they hold a valid identity card or passport, and do not become an unreasonable burden on the social security system. </p>
<p>They <a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:158:0077:0123:en:PDF">may reside for longer</a> if they are job-seekers, workers, self-employed or self-sufficient. No accommodation requirement accompanies these residence conditions – and the court ruled that rough sleeping by people who are working, which the government claimed is done to avoid accommodation costs, could not be considered an “abuse” of free movement rules. </p>
<p>This meant that the Home Office policy to deport rough sleepers was discriminatory, because it treated EU citizens differently from British rough sleepers. The High Court also found that the targeted questioning of EU rough sleepers by immigration officers on the presumption that they were abusing free movement rights was actually <a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:158:0077:0123:en:PDF">prohibited</a> under EU law. </p>
<h2>Too late for many</h2>
<p>At first glance, the ruling suggests that EU law is able to protect vulnerable EU citizens from systematic removal. A closer look, however, reveals that the rules can be open to a broad interpretation by governments in pursuit of restrictive immigration policy. When these policies affect already marginalised individuals, such as rough sleepers, they can continue unchallenged for a considerable time. </p>
<p>Gureckis and his co-claimants were only able to contest the Home Office guidance with the support of pro bono organisations, including the Public Interest Law Unit at <a href="http://www.lambethlawcentre.org/sidebar/judicial-review-of-removal-of-eea-nationals-for-rough-sleeping">Lambeth Law Centre</a> and North East London Migrant Action. The formal roll-out of the guidance in February was preceded by a pilot scheme called “<a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-01-16/60110/">Operation Adoze</a>”, which ran in London in late 2015, itself preceded by smaller Home Office initiatives in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jul/20/eastern-european-rough-sleepers-deported">2010</a> and <a href="https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/home/police-crack-down-on-romanian-rough-sleepers-36440">2013</a>.</p>
<p>These earlier operations did not exclusively rely on the definition of rough sleeping as an abuse of free movement rights – the route now ruled unlawful by the High Court. Instead, administrative removals happened on the basis that, because EU citizens could not demonstrate that they were working, self-employed or self-sufficient, they were not exercising their rights. The Home Office still <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/668093/GI-EEA-admin-removal-v4.0EXT.pdf">continues</a> to remove individuals on this basis. </p>
<p>Though the Home Office has now <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/668093/GI-EEA-admin-removal-v4.0EXT.pdf">removed reference</a> to rough sleeping as an abuse of free movement in its guidance, it seems likely that “persistent rough sleeping” will still be used as an indicator that an EU citizen is not legally resident, which could lead to removals. Even those rough sleepers in work, or benefiting from permanent resident entitlements, will often face significant difficulty gathering the paperwork necessary to provide evidence of their right to stay.</p>
<h2>Unheard voices</h2>
<p>Alongside rough sleepers, those in precarious, temporary, low-paid or unpaid work often <a href="http://www.cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/CPAG-Poverty-politically-acceptable-poverty-Oct-2014_0.pdf">struggle to demonstrate</a> that they have been “legally resident” under EU law to the satisfaction of the Home Office. This might be because they fail to meet technical EU requirements, such as having <a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:158:0077:0123:en:PDF">comprehensive sickness insurance</a> during periods of unemployment, or because of the significant challenge of compiling evidence of multiple jobs over historical periods. As the current deal on citizens’ rights confers residence entitlements on those living in the UK in accordance with EU rules on Brexit day, these technical and administrative challenges could limit how much the future withdrawal agreement can protect their rights. </p>
<p>The residence insecurity facing all EU citizens in the UK following the June 2016 referendum has at least put some of these issues under the microscope. The government committed to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/657694/TECHNICAL_NOTE_CITIZENS__RIGHTS_-_ADMINISTRATIVE_PROCEDURES_IN_THE_UK.pdf">dropping the requirement</a> for comprehensive sickness insurance, after <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/14/dutchwoman-resident-in-uk-for-30-years-may-have-to-leave-after-brexit">the press caught wind</a> of the negative impact this was having on the residence applications of long-term EU workers. For similar reasons, the UK pledged to introduce easier application procedures, and to draw on its <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/657694/TECHNICAL_NOTE_CITIZENS__RIGHTS_-_ADMINISTRATIVE_PROCEDURES_IN_THE_UK.pdf">own income tax data</a> to inform decisions. While this caters for those in long-term, permanent work, those in precarious or unpaid work are still at risk – though the government has <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/657694/TECHNICAL_NOTE_CITIZENS__RIGHTS_-_ADMINISTRATIVE_PROCEDURES_IN_THE_UK.pdf">vowed</a> to abandon the requirement that work must be “genuine and effective” to count. </p>
<p>After Brexit, and the transitional period which is likely to follow it, EU citizens will need to possess residence documents to have a right to reside in the UK. Obtaining a document ahead of immigration checks or for presentation to prospective landlords or employers, will be very difficult for those living on the streets and present challenges for many more besides. </p>
<p>The government’s new application procedures must therefore be rigorously scrutinised, and a wide range of voices must be able to contribute to that examination. Those who faced residence insecurity as a result of administrative policy well before the Leave vote, and are likely to be most affected by Brexit, must be heard.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89463/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Reynolds does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rough sleeping by EU citizens in the UK can no longer be considered an abuse of free movement rights – but the homeless are still vulnerable.Stephanie Reynolds, Lecturer in Law and Co-director Liverpool European Law Unit, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/716302017-01-23T07:59:22Z2017-01-23T07:59:22ZBan on sleeping rough does nothing to fix the problems of homelessness<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153777/original/image-20170123-30982-1tnulk9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Under pressure from media coverage like this, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle wants to ban people from sleeping on Melbourne's streets.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Herald Sun</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-lord-mayor-robert-doyle-to-propose-ban-on-sleeping-rough-in-city-20170119-gtv0fk.html&sa=D&ust=1485134433763000&usg=AFQjCNFBT8IjP5P7-AW6EgXsXo98f-zFcg">announced a plan</a> to ban sleeping rough in the city. Doyle did so last week amid significant pressure from both Victoria Police and the tabloid media. </p>
<p>When Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-cbd-rough-sleepers-are-pretending-to-be-homeless-victorias-top-cop-graham-ashton-20170119-gtune7.html">called on the state government</a> to extend police powers, Doyle at first seemed to reject the idea. But he later said he would propose a new bylaw to the city council.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjCxb6wgdfRAhWMfrwKHRMWBpUQFggZMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnational-affairs%2Fstate-politics%2Fvictoria-police-targeting-fake-beggars%2Fnews-story%2F1d1567acc6b68ecfb904a4d6bc3453af&usg=AFQjCNGO-g-N-1jkKnR-SxdWNZMWqaEbQw">Ashton</a> claimed that the people living on Flinders Street are not really homeless, a suggestion echoed by Herald Sun columnist <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiV7rHT_9bRAhUGTrwKHUpoA4kQFggZMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.heraldsun.com.au%2Fnews%2Fopinion%2Frita-panahi%2Frita-panahi-aggressive-beggars-turning-melbourne-from-the-worlds-most-liveable-city-into-cesspit%2Fnews-story%2Fe915040dcdb82e187ddd9c23afdea42c&usg=AFQjCNGrQ1B9_7CPDVoMmHrXJ05ZT7DvuA&bvm=bv.144224172,d.dGc">Rita Panahi</a>. They say new laws and powers are needed to “clean up the city”. Critics from the homelessness and community sectors argue this would effectively criminalise being homeless.</p>
<p>However, what exactly does this mean? And how would this differ from current strategies for governing homelessness in Melbourne? </p>
<p>My doctoral research, which examined how homelessness is regulated in Melbourne, found homelessness is already effectively criminalised and has been for some time.</p>
<h2>Is being homeless a crime?</h2>
<p>First, being homeless is not a criminal offence anywhere in Australia. If such a law were passed it would breach multiple <a href="http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/speeches/current-justices/frenchcj/frenchcj14mar15.pdf">long-standing legal principles</a>. It would also breach various <a href="http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/LTObject_Store/LTObjSt8.nsf/DDE300B846EED9C7CA257616000A3571/87318807B8E7A33ACA257D0700052646/$FILE/06-43aa013%20authorised.pdf">domestic</a> and <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx">international</a> charters and covenants on citizenship as well as human and civil rights. </p>
<p>Despite this, people experiencing homelessness, especially those who are highly visible, socially disruptive or who have complex needs, are frequently subject to systems of regulation and control that drag them into the criminal justice system.</p>
<p>For example, begging is outlawed in Victoria by the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/soa1966189/&sa=D&ust=1485134433764000&usg=AFQjCNGD_E5of2c-EKnSwe0niDZ1aeVV0Q">Summary Offences Act</a> and carries a maximum sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment. While an individual is unlikely to be jailed for begging, they will likely receive a fine. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, people who engage in begging find it very difficult to pay these fines. When a person accrues enough of them, a warrant can be issued for their arrest. Challenging these fines accounts for the bulk of the work of <a href="https://www.churchilltrust.com.au/media/fellows/Negative_impact_of_laws_regulating_public_space_on_homeless_people_Adams_Lucy_2013.pdf">specialist homeless legal services in Melbourne</a>.</p>
<p>Beyond begging being outlawed, many other laws directly or indirectly target people experiencing homelessness. These include laws banning squeegeeing at traffic lights, camping in public space, drinking in public, being drunk and/or disorderly, using offensive language in public, besetting footpaths or entrances and indecent exposure.</p>
<p>For people experiencing homelessness, performing actions and behaviours that are necessary for survival frequently places them in breach of these laws. For example, going to the toilet may result in a charge of indecent exposure. Going to sleep may result in a charge of camping in or besetting public space.</p>
<h2>Do these kinds of laws work?</h2>
<p>In the past two decades many cities, states and countries have introduced new ways of regulating the homeless, particularly in the UK and US. The use of <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/article/view/286&sa=D&ust=1485134433763000&usg=AFQjCNHXZa5DZPwLkc1BTpPCzVY8rT_c5Q">hostile architecture</a>, for example, appears to be increasing.</p>
<p>Such strategies essentially bypass legal frameworks by embedding the “move-on power” into the architecture of public space itself. This leaves homeless people with fewer places to be. And it often renders them increasingly visible and thus more exposed to intervention by municipal officials or police.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nlchp.org/documents/No_Safe_Place&sa=D&ust=1485134433765000&usg=AFQjCNFblQHyp38EEoo7fFoAMYwMfLDddQ">Some US cities</a> have passed laws banning all kinds of behaviours that the homeless may engage in and enforce these selectively. Some have even <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/american-cities-outlawing-food-sharing_n_6021796&sa=D&ust=1485134433765000&usg=AFQjCNEnU7M1EJtXrJWsa2ZwP1WhVvEOtw">banned giving food</a> to the homeless. This has led to police arresting and charging members of local churches and charity groups. In the most egregious examples, some cities <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://gawker.com/5995017/detroit-police-picking-up-homeless-and-dumpingthem-outside-of-city&sa=D&ust=1485134433764000&usg=AFQjCNFau8ROEmPE-57t3CwXWJ991lx3Qg">round up</a> anyone suspected of being homeless, pack them into buses and dump them in the hinterlands of another municipality.</p>
<p>Have these actions reduced rates of homelessness? No. Such laws may decrease the visibility of homelessness in some areas, but bans are ineffective when used against populations that have nowhere else to go.</p>
<h2>What other options are there?</h2>
<p>Where does or should responsibility for the homeless lie?</p>
<p>Justifying such laws are claims, like Ashton’s and Panahi’s, that these people have been offered accommodation and refused, revealing their homelessness as voluntary. </p>
<p>However, interpreting the choice to turn down temporary stop-gaps and band-aids in this way misses something crucial. If a person refuses temporary accommodation in order to demand more stable and supported accommodation, it is because they know such short-term solutions are not solutions at all.</p>
<p>Temporary housing simply results in people churning in and out of desperate situations. We must understand housing as being defined by its stability and relative permanence. Offering someone a month or two of accommodation is not the same as offering them housing.</p>
<p>Questions of who should take responsibility for the homeless inevitably arise from these situations. The most common answer to these questions are shouts of “Not me!” However, given the criminal justice systems — police, courts and corrections — are publicly funded institutions, choosing to criminalise these behaviours is choosing to take responsibility for those who perform them. </p>
<p>Importantly, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.pwd.org.au/documents/pubs/adjc/Lifecourse-Institutional-Costs-of-Homelessness.pdf&sa=D&ust=1485134433762000&usg=AFQjCNFm-6pcxiK_f-gar5bp-0LJ3fb5qQ">research has shown</a> that dealing with homelessness through punitive means is actually <a href="https://theconversation.com/supportive-housing-is-cheaper-than-chronic-homelessness-67539">far more expensive</a> than strategies that supply affordable housing and supported accommodation.</p>
<p>So whether we choose to help or punish, we are choosing to take responsibility for and invest resources in this persistent social problem. Why don’t we choose the option that is not only cheaper but kinder as well?</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was co-published with <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au">Pursuit</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71630/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Petty does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Bans are ineffective when used against populations that have nowhere else to go. Importantly, research shows that punitive approaches to the homeless cost more than supported housing strategies.James Petty, Researcher in Criminology , The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/560862016-03-22T13:44:40Z2016-03-22T13:44:40ZWhy homelessness isn’t just a city issue<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115795/original/image-20160321-30912-kdo9rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photographee.eu/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most people living or working in Britain’s cities will have seen people sitting on wet pavements pleading “hungry, homeless, please help” – but <a href="http://www.crisis.org.uk/data/files/publications/HiddenTruthAboutHomelessness_web.pdf">homelessness</a> isn’t just an urban issue. Beyond the city centres and the surrounding suburbs – in our cherished and heavily protected countryside – many people are living without a roof over their head.</p>
<p>The rural homeless are often invisible, difficult to reach, and constantly changing in number and location – which means the <a href="http://www.poverty.org.uk/r81/index.shtml">official number</a> is underestimated by government and charitable agencies. </p>
<p>For the “lucky” few rural rough sleepers who happen to live near a <a href="http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/homelessness/homeless_and_on_the_streets/how_day_centres_help_homeless_people">drop in centre</a> – such as the one run by <a href="http://www.doorwayproject.org.uk/">Doorway</a>, a charity for homeless people and rough sleepers in Wiltshire, south-west England – this can be a lifeline of survival. </p>
<p>But despite the presence of these centres, there is often a widespread <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mark-horvath/rural-homelessness-in-the-uk_b_1674874.html">reluctance by homeless people to live in hostels</a>. Many value their privacy, preferring to sleep in tents, cars, sheds and garages, even outdoors, rather than share a hostel with people they don’t know or identify with. </p>
<p>There is also a stigma attached to living in hostels. Bedding down for the night in the back seat of car might feel more like self-determination – a cocoon from facing up to the harsh shared reality of being homeless.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fCfcd0kNbXI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Back in 2003, the Countryside Agency highlighted the nature of hidden homelessness in villages and country towns. Its <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3818595.stm">State of the Countryside Report 2004</a> found that the number of homeless households in remote rural districts had risen by almost <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/farming/2004/06/rural_homeless.shtml">30% in two years</a>.</p>
<p>Though the report was more about young people with no prospect of a home of their own, rather than people sleeping rough under hedges or in barns, it still went some way to raise the profile of the many hidden homeless living in rural towns and villages. </p>
<p>For many, rural homelessness is the latest miserable phase in an already struggling existence – and can happen <a href="http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns_/why_we_campaign/tackling_homelessness/What_causes_homelessness">for many reasons</a>: unemployment, relationship failures, alcoholism, drugs, mental health issues, a crisis in self-esteem, rejection. But beyond the personal problems that create homelessness, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/greenpolitics/planning/8737657/For-the-good-of-rural-life-we-must-build-houses-in-the-English-countryside.html">inadequate provision of homes</a> in the countryside is a long-standing structural cause. </p>
<p>Since 2009 a <a href="http://swcouncils.gov.uk/media/swhb/projects%20and%20research/repossessions_in_the_south_west_region_final_report.pdf">rise in repossessions</a> in the more heavily populated parts of rural counties has accompanied a growing number of people waiting for social housing – but the issue has been around along time before that. Since the end of World War II, rural <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14380936">housebuilding</a> has been on a much smaller scale than in towns and cities. </p>
<p>In the last ten years, rural house prices have <a href="http://www.acre.org.uk/rural-issues/housing">risen 82%</a>, which is faster than many towns and cities. This is mainly due to the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/02/housing-bill-kill-source-land-affordable-homes">price of rural land</a>, making it difficult for small builders to make a profit. Add that to a rise in middle class city dwellers swapping their <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/moving-house/9790401/Why-its-time-to-abandon-London-and-head-to-the-country.html">urban lifestyle for a more rural affair</a>, and it’s not surprising house prices in rural areas are too high for many of the locals.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115847/original/image-20160321-30921-15ln1kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115847/original/image-20160321-30921-15ln1kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115847/original/image-20160321-30921-15ln1kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115847/original/image-20160321-30921-15ln1kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115847/original/image-20160321-30921-15ln1kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115847/original/image-20160321-30921-15ln1kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115847/original/image-20160321-30921-15ln1kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rise of second homes and people relocating to the countryside has priced out local people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">SurangaSL/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Country mile</h2>
<p>Today Britain is facing an ongoing <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jan/09/housing-crisis-tenants-shelter-private-rent">deficit in housebuilding</a> that is failing those in housing need. This has been compounded by the demise of local authority housing – hardly any “council houses” are now built compared with the 1970s. </p>
<p>Even housing associations trying to make up the shortfall are being hampered by recent government decisions to give tenants the <a href="http://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1387631/housebuilding-must-rise-five-fold-meet-right-buy-pledge">right to buy</a> their home. Yet blaming “Thatcherite” housing policies does not really get to grips with the problem. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that our much-loved countryside is over-protected by town and country <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/8/contents">planning legislation</a> which makes it difficult for enough rural housing to be supplied. The <a href="http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/">National Parks</a> scrutinise each and every proposal for new builds on aesthetic grounds, with those decisions that are approved locally often successfully <a href="http://www.cpre.org.uk/">challenged</a> by rural elites. </p>
<p>On top of this, strong sentiments against the onset of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fd2cCKISBA">urban encroachment</a> have been in existence since the interwar years, and are not going away anytime soon. As those deprived of rural homes find to their cost.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115806/original/image-20160321-30941-znyx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115806/original/image-20160321-30941-znyx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115806/original/image-20160321-30941-znyx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115806/original/image-20160321-30941-znyx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115806/original/image-20160321-30941-znyx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115806/original/image-20160321-30941-znyx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115806/original/image-20160321-30941-znyx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115806/original/image-20160321-30941-znyx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A survival hut in the forest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the the rural homelessness problem grows larger, local authorities and voluntary agencies are struggling to cope, and untold stories of personal misery accumulate. </p>
<p>The fact of the matter is, young people growing up in the countryside need more housing. But the wider more complex problem of rural homelessness will not be solved by housing supply alone. </p>
<p>Many homeless people with mental health or lifestyle issues still need to be looked after – services which are often <a href="http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/analysis/breaking-the-silence-on-rural-mental-health">harder for people living in rural communities to access</a>.</p>
<p>So while the countryside seen from the train or car window still looks beautiful and well-managed, beyond the view of the commuter or tourist the landscape conceals the frustrations of many people waiting for affordable housing – and worse a bitter harvest of destitution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56086/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Clapson has received funding in the past from the AHRB, Leverhulme Trust and British Academy but not in relation to rural homelessness.</span></em></p>What happens when you find yourself homeless in the countryside?Mark Clapson, Reader, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.