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Homelessness is a global challenge.

The United Nations Human Settlements Program estimates that 1.1 billion people live in inadequate housing, and the best data available suggest that more than 100 million people have no housing at all.

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ISTAT: Homeless Survey

Istat

In 2014, the second survey on the condition of persons living in extreme poverty was conducted, following an agreement between Istat, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, Italian Federation of bodies for homeless persons (fio.PSD) and Caritas Italiana. It is estimated that 50,724 homeless persons, in the months of November and December 2014, used at least one soup kitchen or night shelter in the 158 Italian...

Social Conditions of Becoming Homelessness: Qualitative Analysis of Life Stories of Homeless Peoples

Mzwandile A. Mabhala

Asmait Yohannes

Mariska Griffith

It is increasingly acknowledged that homelessness is a more complex social and public health phenomenon than the absence of a place to live. This view signifies a paradigm shift, from the definition of homelessness in terms of the absence of permanent accommodation, with its focus on pathways out of homelessness through the acquisition and maintenance of permanent housing, to understanding the social context of homelessness...

Diversity in older age – Older homelessness

Centre for Policy on Ageing

The characteristics of older homelessness can change rapidly over time and may differ significantly from place to place. This review will focus on older homelessness in England. In England older homelessness is currently on the increase and the number of older street-homeless has doubled in the five years from 2010 to 2015.

An Overview of Global Homelessness and Strategies for Systemic Change

Katherine Johnson

Mark McGreevy

Molly Seeley

Homelessness is a problem that can be solved with the right mix of program interventions, well-coordinated local systems, and effective policy. We know homelessness can be ended because there are cities that have ended it. Others have seen meaningful reductions in homelessness among certain targeted populations, such as chronically homeless individuals or veterans. In broad terms, the processes and interventions required to...

A Global Framework for Understanding and Measuring Homelessness

Volker Busch-Geertsemaa

Dennis Culhane

Suzanne Fitzpatrick

There is no globally agreed definition of homelessness. Even within countries, the topic can be contentious. At the same time, we know we can’t measure and solve a problem we can’t define, so in 2015 IGH made developing shared language on homelessness a top priority. The result of this project is the IGH Framework, the product of collaboration from researchers, policy experts and on-the-ground leaders in six continents. While...

Vulnerability to Homelessness, Use of Services and Homelessness Prevention in Black and Minority Ethnic Communities

Gina Netto

Despite the high prominence of homelessness on the housing policy agenda and evidence that a disproportionate number of people affected by homelessness come from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities, little is known about patterns of access and use of homelessness services in these communities. This paper seeks to fill the gap, by drawing on qualitative and quantitative research recently conducted in Scotland, and...

Right To Home? Rethinking Homelessness in Rural Communities

Charlotte Snelling

Homelessness across England is on the rise. The number of households accepted as homeless by local authorities, in temporary accommodation, and/or rough sleeping have all increased since 2010. Rates are high in urban areas and yet many households in rural areas are threatened with or experience homelessness due to shortages of affordable housing in rural areas. The challenges associated with preventing and relieving...

Food Access and Nutritional Health among Families in Emergency Homeless Accommodation

Michelle Share

Marita Hennessy

The study aimed to explore food poverty among families living in emergency homeless accommodation in the Dublin region, and the impact this has on the nutrition and health outcomes of parents and their children. The study objectives were to: Understand the prevalence of food poverty among families experiencing homelessness who reside in emergency accommodation. Understand families’ access to food, storage, and cooking...

Homelessness prevention for care leavers, prison leavers and survivors of domestic violence

All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ending Homelessness

Across Great Britain, tens of thousands of households approach local authorities for support with homelessness. The number of cases of all forms of homelessness has risen in England, while remaining steady in Scotland, though the number of people in temporary accommodation has risen dramatically. In Wales due to legislative changes, more people are having their homelessness prevented than ever before. Between 2014 and 2016...

Quality of life and its correlates in alcohol dependent males: rehab inpatients and shelter or hostel homeless persons

Beata Łangowska-Grodzka

Ludmiła Zając-Lamparska

Alcohol abuse leads to a lot of mental, somatic and social problems and may also be a cause of homelessness. These problems are often correlated with a decrease in alcohol dependent persons’ quality of life including their capacity to handle everyday issues and the ability to obtain medical care. The purpose of the study was to compare the quality of life of alcohol dependent persons: rehab centre inpatients and homeless...

Limerick Youth Housing Evaluation Report

Eilís Lawlor

Niamh Bowen

The Limerick Youth Housing (LYH) is an innovative initiative approach to delivering youth homelessness services available to young people at risk of homelessness in several locations in Ireland. It is a collaboration between Focus Ireland, Tusla, and the local authority. Two notable features of Limerick Youth Housing include: young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness offered stable and secure housing, local ...

Nutritional deficiencies in homeless persons with problematic drinking: a systematic review

A significant proportion of homeless people drink alcohol excessively and this can lead to malnutrition and consequent medical problems. The aim of this review was to assess the evidence on the range of nutritional deficiencies in the homeless problem-drinking populations. Researchers conducted a comprehensive search of nine scientific literature databases and 13 grey literature sources. This included studies of any design...

Designing for residents: Building monitoring and co-creation in social housing renovation in the Netherlands

Large differences between the expected and actual energy consumption have been found in energy efficient dwellings. Research has shown that these differences are partially caused by occupant behaviour. The financing and payback periods of low carbon technologies are often uncertain because of the impact of the occupants on building performance. This translates into a reluctance to invest in deep renovation projects. The goal...

An exploration of the role of alcohol in the life experiences of the homeless population in Merseyside, UK

Approximately 10% of the population in the UK are estimated to have been homeless at some point in their lifetime (Crisis 2014) and there were 2,744 rough sleepers identified in England in 2014 (Department for Communities and Local Government 2015). Alcohol misuse is both a cause and effect of homelessness (Shelter 2007) and is considered to be a major health risks amongst the homeless (Crisis 2002). This research used life...

The 7 Cities on Housing & Homelessness Release Preliminary Homeless Count Numbers

7 Cities on Housing & Homelessness

Alberta's 7 Cities on Housing and Homelessness are the lead organizations responsible for the implementation of local Plans to End Homelessness in Calgary, Edmonton, Wood Buffalo, Grand Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer. The 7 Cities coordinate local plans at a systems level and align funding resources for greater impact and progress toward ending homelessness. On October 19, 2016, the second provincially-...

Housing First or no housing? Housing and homelessness at the end of alcohol and drug treatment

Evelyn Dyb

The rate of alcohol and drug dependency is high among homeless persons in Norway as well as in other Western societies. National homeless surveys also show a certain correlation between discharge from institutions and homelessness. However, the rate of homelessness versus the rate with fixed abode at the end of specialised alcohol and drug treatment has not been examined using quantitative methods. A cross-sectional survey...

Poverty and Social Exclusion in Urban and Rural Areas of Scotland

Nick Bailey

Glen Bramley

Maria Gannon

The Poverty and Social Exclusion UK (PSE-UK) Survey is the largest and most comprehensive survey of its kind ever carried out in the UK. The UK study has three main objectives: To improve the measurement of poverty, deprivation, social exclusion and standard of living; to assess changes in poverty and social exclusion in the UK; and to conduct policy-relevant analyses of poverty and social exclusion. The survey makes it...

Emergency Care for Homeless Patients: A French Multicenter Cohort Study

Anne-Laure Feral-Pierssens

the SECOURS Investigators

The objective of this study was to determine whether homeless patients experience suboptimal care in the emergency department (ED) by the provision of fewer health care resources. Researchers conducted a prospective multicenter cohort study in 30 EDs in France. During 72 hours in March 2015, all homeless patients that visited the participating EDs were included in the study. The primary health care service measure was the...

4.2 The Strategic Response to Homelessness in Finland: Exploring Innovation and Coordination within a National Plan to Reduce and Prevent Homelessness

This chapter describes the results of an international review of the Finnish National Homelessness Strategy, covering the Paavo I and Paavo II programs, which took place between 2008–2011 and 2012–2015. The strategy focused heavily on long-term homelessness, with targets to halve levels by 2011 and to eliminate long-term homelessness by 2015. Since first identifying homelessness as a social problem in the 1980s, Finland had...

Job Coaching and Success in Gaining and Sustaining Employment Among Homeless People

People who are homeless experience many barriers that affect their ability to gain and sustain work. In this study, we investigate whether personal job coaching support contributes toward employment success. This study found that clients being supported by a job coach have significantly higher chances of gaining employment than those not being supported. This holds particularly true for the youngest age-group. Furthermore,...

Understanding Homelessness

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Using Data in Homelessness Work

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The Institute of Global Homelessness