WIDER POLICIES
Commentary on Work Policy

The Government places a high priority on getting more people from disadvantaged groups into work and recognises homeless people as one of the groups who need help.  There are, however, a number of concerns about the set of initiatives as a whole.

'Soft Barriers' to work: It is not clear that current initiatives will adequately address the particular barriers to work faced by homeless people.  The ‘soft issues' of clothes, access to a telephone etc are one example.  Eligibility for the New Deal being restricted to those who have been claiming JSA for at least six months consecutively is another soft barrier to many homeless people, whose chaotic lifestyle often means that they have gaps in claiming benefits.  But, more generally, there is currently a lack of authoritative research into what these barriers to work are and who they affect. 

Coverage: It is not clear that the initiatives will cover all the major groups of homeless people, including those living in hostels, temporary bed-and-breakfast accommodation and sleeping on the floors of friends and family.  Rather, the risk is that they are restricted to people who are already part of existing Government initiatives to help people into work and who happen to be homeless.

Exclusive focus on paid work: Apart from Wales, all the initiatives seem to focus exclusively on paid work itself rather than meaningful activity.  Meaningful activity not directly related to finding paid work can often be beneficial for homeless people and can often be a necessary first step in a longer road towards paid work.

The overall conclusion is that Government policy development towards helping homeless people into work needs to start from the perspective of the homeless people themselves rather than by taking existing policies and focusing them on particular groups of homeless people.

An example of how this conclusion might change the direction of Government policy is the Crisis Skylight programme.  The Skylight activities centre is currently operating in East London, with another centre due to open in Newcastle in 2006.  The centre works with those homeless people, for whom paid work is not an immediate option as it is too much of a jump from the chaotic nature of their current lifestyles.  Rather, what is required is for the person to move through a series of steps, starting with activities that help with their emotional and personal challenges, then moving onto activities which have a purpose and direction, and only then thinking about the skills and disciplines required for formal paid work.  In response, the Skylight programme covers a wide range of activities, from painting and yoga, through bicycle repair and IT courses.  Crisis also runs a social enterprise café, which provides Skylight members with the opportunity to gain confidence and independence through work, with specific vocational training and general employability training.

Page last modified on 07/07/2006 at 14:35