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Issue Description
BRAND NEW LOOK!
An individual is said to be homeless if they have no legal right to occupy any accommodation. While rough sleepers are the public face of homelessness, there are many more homeless people living in temporary housing or in insecure accommodation with friends and family (so-called “sofa surfers”). Some of these will be families with young children. This book looks at the homelessness problem and possible solutions, and at how young people are affected.
The information comes from a wide range of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper reports, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.
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Key Facts
- Many people only associate homelessness with sleeping on the streets, but this conceals the range and scale of the problem. The reality is that the vast majority of homeless people are families or single people who are not ‘sleeping rough’. (page 1)
- Rough sleepers include those people sleeping, or bedded down, in the open air (such as on the streets, or in doorways, parks or bus shelters), and people in buildings or other places not designed for habitation (such as barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, or stations). Rough sleeping is currently at its lowest recorded level. (page 4)
- Recent data from homelessness day centres and accommodation projects across England shows that, on average, 18% of clients were prison leavers, 14% were care leavers and 6% were ex-service personnel. (page 6)
- Mental health needs combined with substance misuse issues (‘dual diagnosis’) are extremely common among the homeless population. (page 10)
- In St Mungos hostels in 2007, it was found that: 32% of residents had an alcohol dependency; 63% had a drugs problem; 49% had a mental health problem, and 43% had a physical illness. (page 12)
- One drink- or drug-addicted homeless person is admitted to hospital every three hours, putting a severe strain on the National Health Service, new figures show. (page 13)
- The breakdown of family relationships has been identified as the main cause of homelessness, often following years of family conflict and some violent and abusive situations. In a survey of 50 families affected by youth homelessness, 72% of parents believe that extra help could prevent family breakdown. (page 21)
- An estimated 100,000 children and young people run away each year in the UK for a wide variety of reasons such as physical, sexual, verbal or emotional abuse, neglect and peer pressure. (page 25)
- According to Barnardo’s, there are 52,250 homeless families in London and another 20,000 throughout the UK. Of these, 73% involve minors, putting the overall estimate of homeless children at more than 130,000. (page 29)
- The Big Issue is not a charity handout; vendors buy the magazine for 85p and sell it for £1.70. (page 39)
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Homelessness Issues
What is homelessness?, Homelessness statistics, Causes and effects of homelessness, Transitions/leaving an institution, Sofa surfing, Homelessness trends, Happiness matters, Homelessness – it makes you sick, Drunk and overdosing homeless people put strain on NHS, Asylum seeker suffering hits new depths as destitution lasts for years, Destitution: asylum’s untold story, Rough sleeping, Life on the streets.
Chapter 2 Youth Homelessness
Young people and homelessness, Emily’s life, Hidden homelessness, Youth homelessness, Young runaways, Family breakdown to blame for youth homelessness, Off the radar, No place like home.
Chapter 3 Homelessness Solutions
Work and skills, Homelessness prevention, Why giving to those who beg does more harm than good, The Big Issue celebrates its 18th birthday, The Big Issue – how we work.
Key Facts
Glossary
Index
Additional Resources
Acknowledgements
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The Study Guide for: The Homeless Population - Volume 189
Each book in the Issues series has a study guide. These four-page guides provide a variety of discussion points and other activities to suit a wide range of ability levels and interests.
Publisher: Independence Educational Publishers
Price: £1.95
ISBN: ISBN: 978 1 86168 540 7
