Overview Report: Single Homelessness Research in Britain

Review of single homelessness research

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Overview report
Single homelessness: An overview of research in Britain - 1990-1999

Also published in print as:
Fitzpatrick, Suzanne, Peter Kemp and Susanne Klinker (2000). Single homelessness: An overview of research in Britain. Bristol: Policy Press.

This report summarises the findings of this review of research on single homelessness in Britain during the 1990s. [Unlike the online bibliography, this report is not updated annually.] The full report and individual chapters can be downloaded below.

The review revealed a shift in research literature away from explaining homelessness as a ‘housing problem’ to more complex analyses which weave together consideration of social and economic factors on the one hand, and ‘individual’ factors on the other. While the individual ‘risk factors’ and ‘triggers’ associated with homelessness are well understood and established in the literature, there is a dearth of research which rigorously examines the relationship between ‘macro’ social and economic processes and patterns of homelessness. While current measures aimed at preventing homelessness tend to focus on individual risk factors, the review highlighted the importance of political commitment to address the underlying structural factors driving homelessness.

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Click on the chapter titles (below) to download individual chapters:

Introduction
The context: a brief history of single homelessness in Britain

emergence of homelessness; the Homeless Persons legislation and homlessness servies; growth of homelenessness in the 1980s & 1990s; the Conservatives' approach to homelessness; the Labour government's response to homelessness

The nature of single homelessness: definitions and experiences

what is homelessness; ‘hidden’ homelessness; homeless people’s definitions; experiences of homelessness

The scale of single homelessness

measuring homelessness; homelessness statistics; trends in homelessness

Causes of single homelessness

structural vs individual causes; structural factors: the national picture; geography of homelessness; preventing homelessness at the structural level

Predictors of single homelessness

characteristics; risk factors; triggers; preventing homelessness at the individual level

Wider aspects of single homeless people's lives

health; employment and training; education; social security benefits; family relationships; friendship networks; crime and the criminal justice system; begging

Meeting single homeless people's accommodation and support needs

trends in responses to single homeless people; access to mainstream accommodation; temporary accommodation; combining accommodation and support; support services; local homelessness strategies; self-help initiatives

Conclusions and recommendations

trends in single homelessness research; the quality and coverage of single homelessness research; recommendations

References

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