Multiple Exclusion Homelessness in the UK: Key Patterns and Intersections

Abstract

This article presents preliminary results from a multi-stage quantitative study of 'multiple exclusion homelessness' (MEH) in seven urban locations across the UK. It demonstrates a very high degree of overlap between a range of experiences associated with 'deep social exclusion' -namely, homelessness, substance misuse, institutional care and 'street culture' activities (such as begging and street drinking). It also provides evidence to support the contention that homelessness is a particularly prevalent form of exclusion, with its experience reported as widespread by those accessing low threshold support services targeted at other dimensions of deep exclusion, such as drug misuse. Further, the analysis presented indicates that the nature of MEH varies geographically, with the profile of the population affected looking quite different in Westminster (London) than in the other urban locations. The main explanation for this appears to be the exceptionally high proportion of migrants in the MEH population in Westminster, who tend to report lower overall levels of personal trauma and vulnerability than the indigenous MEH population.

The Prevalence of Rough Sleeping and Sofa Surfing Amongst Young People in the UK

“…An important finding is also that the profile of young people surveyed here who had experienced homeless is significantly less vulnerable than found in other research (Quilgars et al, 2008) and quite different in profile to those suffering 'multiple exclusion homelessness (Fitzpatrick & Johnsen, 2011). This suggests that homeless people who turn to local authorities or other agencies for support are significantly more vulnerable than other young people experiencing a temporary situation of homelessness.…”

“…These have found homeless young people to have very high rate of vulnerability-missing school, mental health problems or a history of having run away from home as a child (Hodgson, Shelton, & van den Bree, 2014;Quilgars et al, 2008). A high degree of overlap has been found between experience of homelessness and other domains of deep exclusion such as institutional care, childhood trauma, substance misuse, begging, street drinking, sex work, or 'survival' shoplifting (Fitzpatrick, Bramley, & Johnson, 2012;Fitzpatrick & Johnsen, 2011). A key aspect to debates around homelessness therefore concerns the nature and direction of causation.…”

Controlling Homeless People? Power, Interventionism and Legitimacy

“…Engagement in transgressive 'street culture' activities associated with rough sleeping, such as begging and street drinking (McNaughton Nicholls, 2009;Fitzpatrick et al, 2011), has increasingly been the focus of 'control' as well as 'care' measures that seek to foster engagement with support services and desistance terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279417000289 from these activities (Dobson, 2011(Dobson, , 2015Fitzpatrick and Johnsen, 2009;Johnsen et al, 2016;Midgley, 2016).…”

Intentions to Move from Homelessness to Social Inclusion: The Role of Participation Beliefs, Attitudes and Prior Behaviour

“…Of these, 27 participants had experience working as labourers or with 'unskilled jobs', while 19 participants reported having skilled employment backgrounds. The profile of the participants reflects the patterns reported in the single homeless literature (Anderson, 1994;Burrows, 1997;Busch-Geertsema, Edgar, O'Sullivan, & Pleace, 2010;Fitzpatrick, Johnsen, & White, 2011;Fitzpatrick, Kemp, & Klinker, 2000). All participants had used services prior to the study, and on average, the participants had spent six months in their current temporary accommodation, residing at the shelter from which they were sampled.…”