Homeless people staying with family and friends: why it’s not that simple?

07.07.20

Consultation

Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Luke Hall, recently wrote a letter to councils across England telling them to “seek to encourage people, where appropriate and possible, to return to friends and family” in a letter addressing the plans for homeless people.

We sent our response to Shape History who were writing a briefing on the news right now, and wanted to get thoughts on Homelessness Minister Luke Hall’s letter to councils.

When we heard Luke Hall’s suggestion it prompted us to examine this further by talking to colleagues, highlighting the circumstances and reality for the people we support as we believe that this suggestion does not take into account the full complexities and causes of homelessness.

Often people become homeless due to a breakdown of relationships with family or friends. The very reason that many people are forced onto the streets is because of family breakdown and they have nowhere else to go; this is reported consistently as the most common reason for homelessness across the sector for example from Homeless Link https://www.homeless.org.uk/facts/understanding-homelessness/causes-of-homelessness). This may be linked to substance use or behaviours that make it difficult for the family to live with them; 90% of the people we work with were using substances, and 90% had mental health support needs when we started working with them. One person we work with has been in a cycle of living with family, being ‘kicked out’ the family home, allowed back, kicked out, allowed back… moving in with family or friends is not an option for those who are homeless because of relationships with family and friends breaking down.

Many people do not have friends and family or are in exploitative relationships and friendships. A high proportion of people who experience homelessness are care leavers (25% of the people we work with are care leavers) and do not have family, or experienced abuse or neglect in their family home growing up – 48% of the people we are currently working with experienced physical abuse and 41% experienced sexual abuse during childhood. Often, the relationships that people do have may not be ‘normal’ or ‘healthy’ and may involve substance use and/or be exploitative. For example, a woman we work with lived with her elderly mother for a while in sheltered accommodation and stole her money. In other situations, people are in violent or abusive relationships where they are at risk of harm from the other person; we are currently working with 9 people whose housing situation is linked to a coercive controlling or domestic violent relationship.

Where people might have a friend or family member they could stay with, small homes means they would be sofa-surfing, which is itself a form of homelessness. Often, family members or friends live in small council properties and do not have extra rooms or space for anyone else to live. The only space would be sleeping on a sofa, which is itself a form of homelessness. Not having a stable address is a barrier to many things important to stability and progression such as registering with a GP, getting a bank account and finding work; it also has a negative impact on mental wellbeing; this is powerfully documented in a report by Crisis in December 2019 (https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/humiliating-painful-depressing-new-crisis-report-lifts-the-lid-on-the-brutal-realities-of-sofa-surfing/ . Moving people from the streets and onto sofas would be transferring them from one type of homelessness (rough sleeping) to another (sofa surfing). People need homes.

There might be vulnerable people who would be at risk of harm, for example, if there are children in the house. Two of the families of women we work with look after their children and it would not be appropriate for them to live there due to substance use. Another woman we work with was living with her mother, and when she owed a dealer money the window of the mother’s flat was smashed in putting the mother at risk.

“I have spent periods of my life bouncing between people’s floors and sofas…even when I was in recovery and had a baby. Having stuff everywhere and no-where, and no place that you can relax and just be, feeling like you’re imposing, in the way, or overstaying your welcome, is damaging to your sense of identity and security.”

Often people become homeless due to a breakdown of relationships with family or friends. The very reason that many people are forced onto the streets is because of family breakdown and they have nowhere else to go. This may be linked to substance use or behaviours that make it difficult for the family to live with them. One person we work with has been in a cycle of living with family, being ‘kicked out’ the family home, allowed back, kicked out, allowed back… moving in with family or friends is not an option for those who are homeless because of relationships with family and friends breaking down.

Many people do not have friends and family or are in exploitative relationships and friendships. A high proportion of people who experience homelessness are care leavers and do not have family. Often, the relationships that people do have may not be ‘normal’ or ‘healthy’ and may involve substance use and/or be exploitative. For example, a woman we work with lived with her elderly mother for a while in sheltered accommodation and stole her money. In other situations, people are in violent or abusive relationships where they are at risk of harm from the other person.

There might also be other vulnerable people who would be at risk of harm, for example, if there are children in the house. Two of the families of women we work with look after their children and it would not be appropriate for them to live there due to substance use. Another woman we work with was living with her mother, and when she owed a dealer money the window of the mother’s flat was smashed in putting the mother at risk.

Where people might have a friend or family member they could stay with, small homes means they would be sofa-surfing, which is itself a form of homelessness. Often, family members or friends live in small council properties and do not have extra rooms or space for anyone else to live. The only space would be sleeping on a sofa, which is itself a form of homelessness. Not having a stable address is a barrier to many things important to stability and progression such as registering with a GP, getting a bank account and finding work; it also has a negative impact on mental wellbeing. Moving people from the streets and onto sofas would be transferring them from one type of homelessness (rough sleeping) to another (sofa surfing). People need homes.