Homelessness

Definition of Homelessness

Many people only associate homelessness with sleeping on the streets, but this conceals the range and scale of the problem.

Homelessness exists in many different forms. Shelter works to ensure that everyone has the right to a decent, secure and permanent home, not simply a roof over their heads.

The reality is that sleeping on the streets is the most extreme form of homelessness. The vast majority of homeless people are families or single people who are not sleeping rough.

Some may be staying with relatives and friends on a temporary basis. Others live in temporary accommodation, such as bed and breakfast hotels, hostels, night shelters and refuges. For many, this means living in poor quality accommodation that is detrimental to their health and well-being. And in all cases, not having a permanent home causes stress and countless practical difficulties.

Legal Definition

Broadly speaking, the law defines someone as being homeless if they do not have a legal right to occupy accommodation, or if their accommodation is unsuitable to live in. This can cover a wide range of circumstances, including, but not restricted to, the following:

• having no accommodation at all
• having accommodation that is not reasonable to live in, even in the short-term (eg because of violence or health reasons)
• having a legal right to accommodation that you cannot access (eg if you have been evicted illegally)
• living in accommodation you have no legal right to occupy (eg living in a squat or staying with friends temporarily).

Local councils have a legal duty to provide advice and assistance to people who are legally defined as homeless or threatened with homelessness. However, not everyone who falls within the legal definition necessarily qualifies for temporary accommodation.

Homelessness overall picture

Homelessness children

Rough Sleepers

England

There has been a large increase in rough sleeping since 2010. This can be attributed to cuts in mental health services, a decline in social housing with growing waiting lists and thee overall unaffordability of housing. The yearly goverment survey provides a snapshot for rough sleepers on a given night.

• The autumn 2017 total number of rough sleepers counted and estimated was 4,751
• That was up 617, or 15% from the autumn 2016 total of 4,134
• The number of rough sleepers increased by 173, or 18% in London and 444 or 14% in the rest of England since autumn 2016
• London represented 24% of the England total rough sleepers in autumn 2017. This is up from 23% of the England total in autumn 2016
• 14% of rough sleepers were women, 20% were non-UK nationals and 8% were under 25 years old

Chart 1 provides an interesting insight into the overall trend in rough sleeping since 2010, but doesn't provide the whole picture. Research carried out by the Greater London Authority show much higher levels of rough sleepers.

Of those rough sleepers who had a support needs assessment recorded, 44% had alcohol support needs, 35% drug support needs and 47% mental health support needs, with 14% having all three needs and 23% having none of these three needs. No support needs assessment was recorded for 32% of rough sleepers.

Chart 2 from shows much a higher number of rough sleepers. These figures represent Greater London alone. These figures are gathered over a much longer period and by constant monitoring by groups that support rough sleepers.

The Chain Dataset figures, while not showing the same increase in rough sleepers between 2016 and 2017 as the government figures, does show the same overall trend. Also the Chain dataset is looking at a more nuanced picture than simply who is on the street on one given night. It may well be that if shelter options are becoming overstretched that you will see an increase in those sleeping rough in one report on one night, while a report covering a larger period will see a much more even trend upwards as shelter options ebb and flow throughout the year.

The key thing to note is that the Chain Dataset shows that in London alone, the homeless figures are over 7 times the recorded government figures.

Scotland

It is more difficult to provide the rough sleepers numbers for Scotland as there are no groups carrying out extensive research into the numbers. It does appear from official figures that rough sleeping saw a steady decline from 2010-15 before then seeing an increase of 10% within 2 years. As rough sleeping measurement is not a

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