WIDER POLICIES
Homelessness and Work

At least 90% of people living in hostels do not have any paid work^[1], and a recent survey of homeless people in temporary accommodation came up with a similar proportion^[2].  This compares to around 15% of the working age population as a whole. 

Clearly, therefore, living in hostels and not having paid work go hand in hand.  It appears that this relationship is two-way: in some cases, lack of work both erodes self-esteem and acts as a practical obstacle to finding and keeping a home; in other cases, it is being homeless which has led to the lack of work.

Although few have work, recent research suggests that most homeless people do want to work (e.g. in an OSW survey, 77% of respondents wanted to work at the time of interview and 97% expressed a desire to work in the future^[3]) but face substantial barriers to do so.

A common theme of much of the research into homelessness is that work is often critical both to preventing and to resolving homelessness.^[4] Prevention is when finding or retaining paid work means that the person does not become homeless.  Resolution is when finding paid work helps the person to move out of homelessness.

Clearly, the income from paid work can be a major factor in preventing or resolving homelessness in many cases.  But the experience of Crisis and others is that work also gives a person a sense of purpose and self-respect which can be at least as important.  In other words, meaningful activity can often have a similar effect on homelessness as paid work.  The value of schemes that build up self-esteem as a stepping stone to employment has also been recognised by the ODPM (now DCLG).^[5]  The concern is therefore with work in the broadest sense, from paid employment to unpaid meaningful activity.

[1] From the 2004/05 CORE database of people in supported housing. Back to text

[2] Living in limbo: survey of homeless households living in temporary accommodation, Shelter, 2004.  Also, from Hard work for homeless people, St Mungo's, 2005 (Hazzard and Whitford): less than 5% of homeless people are currently in employment. Back to text

[3] For example, from No home, no job: moving on from transitional spaces, Off the Streets and into Work, 2005 (Singh). Back to text

[4] See, for example: Pathways through homelessness: a review of the research evidence, Scottish Homelessness Task Force, 2000 (Anderson and Tulloch); Homelessness statistics June 2003 and improving employment options for homeless people: policy briefing, ODPM, 2003; and A future foretold: new approaches to meeting the long-term needs of single homeless people, Crisis, 1999 (Lemos). Back to text

[5] More than a roof: a report into tackling homelessness, ODPM, 2003. Back to text

Page last modified on 21/06/2006 at 16:50